Our Projects

Accountability

Introduction to Accountability Project

•	Do you know which ward you live in?
•	Do you know the names of the Councillors and the MLAs representing your ward?
•	Do you feel you can approach your elected representatives at any point of time?
•	How much do you know about them?

Praja conceived the Accountability Project as a long-term effort for instilling good governance. The onset of Internet usage in India has opened up a new way of tracking information and networking with people. The web space is dynamic, it is both macro and micro. You can talk about the issues in your constituency in a micro fashion but by projecting it onto the web space, you have launched it at a macro level where others can also read the information and interact with you.

Increasingly, we are moving towards a phase where the Internet is becoming a way of life. In future, we might even reach a stage where votes for municipal, state and national elections will be cast online. Hence, now is an opportune time for active citizens, political parties and elected representatives to start using the Internet as a medium of interaction. The Accountability Project is an attempt to realize this future scenario today, for if we do not explore the potential of the Internet to foster good governance, we will miss a golden opportunity.

Work so far..

Since 2007, we have been collecting information about the background of each of the 227 elected Councillors and 34 MLAs of Mumbai city. We have collated details of their financial assets, criminal backgrounds and their educational qualifications. Additionally, we have gathered data, by filing Right to Information (RTI) applications. This information includes: the questions the elected representatives asked during the assembly sessions and BMC committees, and the amount of money spent on various projects from the discretionary funds allocated. We have compiled this information in a comprehensive format which allows citizens to view the performance of their elected representatives during their term of office. This information will be updated every quarter, thereby enabling citizens to analyze more frequently how their elected representatives are faring rather than waiting to evaluate them at the end of five years.
The information is managed by a Data Management Software (DMS). This will provide regular reports about the issues in your constituency, and the work done by your elected representatives. These reports are useful to keeping track of whether your Councillors and MLAs are aware of the real problems in your constituency and how they are working to resolve the problems.

So far, there has been a dearth of avenues where citizens can communicate directly with their elected representatives. The accountability project and the programs under it have been conceptualized to facilitate debate, dialogue and negotiation between people and the elected Councillors and MLAs. Once this interaction is initialized, elected representatives will increasingly have to respond to people in real time. This could well be the beginning of implementing true participatory democracy...

An initiative by Praja Foundation