NOTES Economic & Political Weekly EPW february 20, 2010 vol xlv No 8 73 New Forms of Urban Localism: Service Delivery in Bangalore K C Smitha urban centres (McCarney 1996: 12). Clearly, interests of various segments particularly the upper middle class and the middle class are being protected. The role of the RWAs across the spectrum of governance is not yet formally institu- tionalised. But in areas where people are better educated and economically well off the RWAs are more powerful, what Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2009) refer to as elite RWAs, whereas in other areas especially in slums and resettlement col- onies these are relatively weaker. One of the key reasons for this is that they have no structured role at the municipal (ward) level planning and implementa- tion. Some of the associations have become powerful because of their long history and the socio-economic profile of their members 3 not due to any institu- tional backing. In fact, most area resi- dents are not even aware of the muni- cipal action plan pertaining to their locality. In any case, this information is not easily available. They are not even aware of the planning process and their role. Bangalore 4 city presents vibrant participation avenues through RWAs and NAs for the middle class and for its engagement with issues related to local governance. This reflects the existence of a thriving civil society in urban India as a number of programmes, incentives and forums enhance people’s participa- tion. Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2009) present the typology of such middle class RWAs in the city adopting various forms of engagement. The RWAs constitute sites to address municipal concern and energise the hith- erto apolitical section of the city (like reti- rees in the middle class and women) and taxpayers into becoming “responsible citi- zens”. The activities and demands of these bodies are non-confrontational and non- controversial in strategy and approach. Many citizens feel that the existing local governance is highly ineffective and that the local official institutions are inaccessi- ble and elitist. A larger part of the popula- tion has to, therefore, face this form of life dominated by the battle for urban services that is characterised as “urban dynamics”. Some studies record the RWAs’ role in the This article is a by-product of my PhD research study “Urban Governance and Service Delivery in India: A Case of Water Supply and Sanitation in Bangalore”. K C Smitha (smitha.kanekanti@gmail.com) is a doctoral student at the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore. Residential welfare associations are a window of opportunity to consolidate loose networks of local associations engaged in activities around urban services. They have changed the dynamics of urban politics. This article attempts to trace how, while working in an increasingly globalised and polarised city like Bangalore, these groups demand a better quality of life and more equality for their members. It also assesses the collective urban practices through which individual grievances are redressed. R esidential Welfare Associations (RWAs) otherwise also referred to as Neighbourhood Associations (NAs) 1 are involved in a big way in setting the priorities of local infrastructure and urban services in India. The RWAs are the forum at the community level that offer tools to engage and lobby for better serv- ices and ensure quality of life. In fact, in recent times the activities of many RWAs and NAs have gone beyond merely con- fronting and cooperating with the local administration to protecting the quality of life in their areas. They are more con- cerned about improved urban govern- ance (Zerah 2007: 61; Coelho and Venkat 2009: 358; Kamath and Vijayabaskar 2009: 368). The RWAs are actively involved in raising issues like leaking pipes, clogged drains, billing problems, security cover for citizens, water conser- vation, sanitation, construction of roads, payment of house tax, etc; and at times bigger issues like use of electronic metres, privatisation of water, and demolition of illegal structures. Before this trend started, local funds were spent at the dis- cretion of the local municipal corporator and many citizens felt that year after year important works were either neglected or poorly implemented. Essentially, the goal of the RWAs is to create a platform to voice the demands of urban citizens regarding the improvement of local infrastructure like roads, pave- ments and sanitation. This exercise involves renewed forms of mobilisation by the urban middle class to rearticulate their claims and capture most of the government resources of the developmental state (Zerah 2007: 61). Therefore, these groups, together with other more formal, private sector organi- sations, constitute an urban civil society 2 which has increased its political and eco- nomic space and created a power block in