Times of India: Chennai: Monday, February 02, 2015.
They have had
a free run so far, with lack of tabs and accountability allowing them to loot
crores of rupees in public funds every year, but Corporation of Chennai's
councillors will soon have to keep an eye out over the shoulder.
Chennai-based
NGO 5th Pillar will soon appoint 'shadow councillors' for each of the
corporation's 200 wards to keep tabs on the functioning of the ward
representatives, monitoring them for corruption, expenses and use of funds,
necessity and quality of civic projects. The shadow councillors will also file
RTI applications to ensure that there is transparency in work being done in each
ward.
Vijay Anand,
president of 5th Pillar, said the organization will emulate Britain's shadow
cabinet, in which opposition members scrutinise the government's ministers.
"The
shadow councillors will check corruption and misgovernance and make public all
offences by councillors," he said. "This is a nation-building
exercise."
Anand said
the organisation would recruit young volunteers to be shadow councillors.
"We will provide them training in how to use the RTI Act to make
councillors accountable," he said. "They will also help residents to
get civic services without having to pay bribes."
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