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Losing ones way in te nar-row lanes o Gautam Nagar inSecunderabads Malkajgiri is
a surprisingly pleasant experience.Awe-inspiringly clean and green, temaintenance o tese lanes is teandiwork o 82 year-old S SitaramaSwamy, a recipient o te AndraPrades governments LietimeAcievement Award. Ater 40 yearswit te Great Indian Peninsular
Railway (GIPR)e rst started as a20 year-old Grade A reman, rising tote level o Driver (A) SpecialSwa-my retired in 1988.
Since ten, e as dedicated all istime to common people. Initiallye looked into teir water woes andpower problems. In 1992, wit teelp o a ew like-minded people,e ormed te Consumers WelareAssociation, wic as since madeseveral representations to te stategovernment and te Centre. Te in-troduction o te Citizens Carterin 2001 oered im a larger scope todeal wit te municipal corporation,te police department and te Man-dal Revenue Ocers (MRO). In 2005,wen te Rigt to Inormation Act(RI) came into orce, e began to usete platorm to urter te cause.
One doesnt need a degree to argue acase, says Swamy, wo spends a great
deal o time understanding every caseand ten prepares is arguments.I ave basic education, but trougte years I ave read so muc legalcorrespondence at te ConsumersAssociation tat I ave developed akeen eye or detail and a sense o logi-cal conclusion. Experience as mademe an almost-lawyer!
O te many battles ougt against tecussedness o te establisment, ecounts two as is biggest so ar. Te
rst, wen e ougt to register is
local Consumers Welare Associationwit te state body. Te second wasagainst te injustice o dismantlingillegal structures, were te poorwere te biggest victims. In 2007, telocal Hig Court gave a ruling tatall illegal structures needed to bedismantled. Tis aected most o temembers in is association, wo adte relevant permissions but were onte tresold o losing teir dwell-
ings. He approaced te Hig Courtand exposed te illegal activities ote iger and lower bureaucrats inte own Planning Department, teElectricity Board, te MRO, and ot-ers. Ater several representations, anorder was issued in 2009 to regularisete so-called illegal structures. Teaected parties ad to pay a penaltyunder te building penalisation sys-tem, but didnt need to worry aboutlosing teir dwellings.
In 2009, Swamys consumers asso-ciation was registered wit te localbody. Realising tat it would be betterto stay connected to te state body,te association put togeter a petitionand asked te local Registrar to makete required cange. For monts teykept edging and would not move tele. Finally, Swamy and is team mette State Inormation Ocer to pres-ent a copy o te petition. Te ocergave te required instructions to telocal body and asked or te needul
to be done witin a week.
Tis special link as given te local as-sociation teet, as it now as te rigtto give permission or extensions tobuildings, electricity connections, andpermissions or bore wells. Te localbodies, and related dubious middle-men, ave tus been eliminated. Incase anyone as issues, teres alwayste RI to ceck any wrongdoing.
For is activism, Swamy was sougt
out or consultation. Te MunicipalCommissioner asked Swamy and isassociation to raise awareness in teirwards about various environmentissues and appeals to keep te cityclean. On 18February 2011, te staterecognised is work and presentedim wit a memento designed as teLietime Acievement Award. It restsprominently on is mantelpiece.
Swamy credits te Rastriya Sway-amsevak Sang (RSS) or disciplinein is lie. o date, e goes to teneigbourood shakha or pranayamand to meet people. His wie passedaway 10 years ago and e lives alonein is little apartment in Malkaj-giri, Secunderabad. He as two sonsand our daugters; one lives in anapartment on te same foor as isand looks ater all is needs. I amdisciplined about my diet, as restric-tions elp me maintain te requiredbalance. I also ave a strong sense o
nationalism tat gives me te courageor my work, says Swamy. Under teaegis o te Malkajgiri CWA, six daycentres or senior citizens ave beenestablised. Silvers are encouraged tocome and spend time ere rom 9 amto 11 am every day. At present, I amworking on putting togeter a team oyoung senior citizenspeople woave just retired and ave te energyand entusiasm to volunteer teirtime or oters. I strongly eel tat
younger people need to come orward
and work so te gt can carry on. h
One doesn't need adegree to argue a case.I have read so muchlegal correspondence...experience has made mean almost-lawyer!
A citizens callAt 82, S Sitarama Swamy keeps the RTI fame burning, reports Shyamola Khanna
LEGAL EAGLE
