ARE RESIDENTIAL WELFARE ASSOCIATIONS HEADING TOWARDS LAWLESSNESS IN INDIA?

Residents Welfare Associations were created in India, originally to address civic as well as property related concerns of residents in a legitimized manner as well as a single voice in the court of law.

However, RWAs are in no way armed to take up unilateral decisions, coerce someone to adhere to bye-laws or define bye-laws that are beyond the gambit of the actual law. Such actions are clearly considered as “UNLAWFUL ACT” and the license for such RWAs can be cancelled.

With the realty boom in India, the number of RWAs in metro cities have increased exponentially. While there are many advantages of having a registered RWA, off late the disadvantages are outweighing them.

For instance, Gaur City in Noida has been notorious for mob justice format, wherein residents constantly take up physical abuse for disagreements. Recently, few women dog feeders were molested and assaulted along with dogs, in the name of human safety. Many such incidents have been occurring in NCR region.        

Off late many RWAs across the country, are trying to mob lynch or deliver mob justice by ganging up on dog feeders who are in reality exercising their duty of compassion and helping dogs sterilized and vaccinated. The need for coexistence has clearly not crossed anyone’s mind.

Even if the assault on dog feeders are excluded and considered a non-issue, even though it is a serious offense, the concerns of other citizens on RWAs is not less either.

Many residents constantly stand up to the partial behavior of the association committee and get ostracized from social events for having a difference of opinion on an issue. Public shaming people in WhatsApp groups or hate mongering is another trend.

There have been multiple incidents of lift malfunctioning leading to death of residents, poor maintenance leading to death of a kid in a swimming pool, near miss injuries of senior citizens or physically disabled persons, poor garbage management and fencing, fights for parking space and constant hue and cry on finance management.

It is to be noted that these RWAs have also become a space of power games and fights from retired citizens who take up association president roles in the name of social activism but in the end lobby as vote bank in the local political picture.

Due to the vote bank politics, genuine social issues have now taken a back seat and majority voices and bullying of association presidents with impunity is on the rise.

“THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT TO TAKE NOTE OF THE IRREGUALRITIES, MONEY LAUNDERING AND OTHER VIOLATIONS OF LAW IN RESIDENT WELFARE ASSOCIATIONS & DEAL WITH AN IRON FIST TO MAKE SURE THERE IS NO MUTINY TO FOLLOW THE LAW OF THE LAND”

More and more federations are pitching for constitutional power in property handling and this is alarming as RWAs now have a PROVEN track record for poorly maintaining their books, lack of leadership skills to manage big properties and unrest of citizens and poor empathy for animals or ecosystems.

Today the dog feeders and pet lovers are the victims of such brutal mobbing and assault. The day is not far when any dissident resident may face abuse, if the governments doesn’t step in and tackle such uncontrolled uprising and kangaroo courts.        

About the author: Sadhana Hegde is the founder of Sahavarthin Animal Welfare Trust which is actively rallying for coexistence between humans and animals, to reduce the impact of climate change & eco-system destructions across India. She is also a writer, animal activist and a baker. She can be reached at [email protected].