Residents' Associations are a prominent category of community based organization, especially among the urban dwellers, all over Kerala. Starting initially in a few main cities, they have now spread to the suburban and rural areas. Residents' associations have grown so fast and strong as to become an integral and inseparable part of society now.

People in a particular locality gather together on a household basis, chart out a common programme of activities and register themselves into an organization called Residents' Association (RA) under the Charitable Society's Act. The majority of associations are managed by a committee comprising elected members including a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Jt.Secretary, Treasurer and Committee Members. These positions are decided by way of nominations at an Annual Meeting where they can be challenged/altered. The number of households as members in a Residents' Association varies from a few tens to many hundreds.

The prime objective of an RA is to ensure the physical, mental and social well being of its members (ref. Memorandum of Association of RA's). However efforts to encourage intellectual, artistic and cultural talents of the members, to provide vocational and entrepreneurial training for the youths and to help the members for gainful employment also form part of objectives of an RA. It is the role of the RA's to strengthen unity, fraternity, cooperation and coexistence among their members. Making facilities like drinking water, smooth roads, proper drainage, uninterrupted electricity, regular transportation and good sanitation available to the members as well as maintaining a clean and healthy environment throughout their area is another important activity undertaken by the RA's.

Acting as pressure groups, RA's often handle developmental issues, utility service problems, consumer disputes, security lapses etc effectively. They liaise with agencies concerned and seek redressal of their grievances. The success of RA's is attributed to their non-partisan, apolitical, democratic and participatory nature of functioning. RA's work in close association with the Local Self Governments and act as major stakeholders in the grassroots level planning and implementation of developmental programmes for the community. Realizing the enormous strengh and potential as well as the go-between roles of the RA's, the Local Self Government has started registering Residents' Associations recently. As part of the new Waste Management policy of the government, the City Corporation has decided to prepare a database in order to make use of the RA's in the capital.

First Three Residents' Associations at Thiruvananthapuram

If we trace the history back, we find that the Jawahar Nagar Welfare Association, Kowdiar (Reg. No. T  40/65) also known as IAS Colony, established on November 14, 1964, is the first registered Residents' Association in Kerala. Formation of this RA followed the Government's decision to build a housing colony on an uninhabited landscape under the leadership of then Chief Town Planner Thomas Poulose. The State City Development trust was also formed in this regard. Then we see the Gandhi Nagar Association, Vazhuthacaud (Ref. No. T  87/1974), inaugurated by the then Mayor K.C Vamadevan on October 02, 1969, the Gandhi Jayanthi Day, appearing as the second RA. The Third in the list is the Santhi Nagar Association, Thampanoor. Later in the early 90's more and more RA's began to be formed almost every nook and cranny of the city. Thus there are more than 1000 RA's in the capital district today.