Advanced Locality Management's do not get cooperation at ward level: Activists

Residents have complained that BMC wards are not taking ALM (advanced locality management) meetings regularly, as a result of which they are losing interest in participating with the civic body in different civic works. Not only that, there are complaints that wards often do not cooperate in registering new ALMs in the city.

Currently, there are 765 registered ALMs in the city, of which around 450 are active.

A senior civic official on condition of anonymity said, "ALMs play a major role for every civic initiative to be successful. The success of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, too, depends a lot on them.'

"When citizens participate, things become much easier as everything is under the public eye. However, there are reports that they don't get cooperation at the ward level, which could be because
of political influence," the official said.

The official cited several examples where ALM participation has helped the BMC perform better.

"The role of ALMs is crucial in case of segregating waste in the clean India drive, or in bringing to BMC's notice the different civic issues in the city," the official said.

Residents too agreed that at times they don't receive cooperation at the ward-level.

Jason Fernandes, a civic activist, said, "The ward is our immediate point of contact. When we don't get cooperation at the ward-level, it definitely is demotivating for us. Unfortunately, such instances are
quite common."