The devastating floods in Chennai, the catastrophic air pollution of Delhi, the foaming Varthur Lake in Bengaluru due to water pollution, the choking of Mumbai’s drains in monsoons and the monumental civic neglect in Kolkata all point to the havoc that we have invited upon our prime cities.
There is no mistaking the fact that these are legacies of neglect and standing examples of civic maladministration and corruption. It is small wonder then that civil contractors milk the exchequer by making poor quality roads which, after every monsoon, develop potholes and craters which shame us before the outside world, damage our vehicles and even lead to several deaths. We are indeed bequeathing a frightening legacy for our future generations unless we learn from our mistakes and take remedial action fast.
The municipal corporations on which the Central and State governments have left the task of civic administration have proved totally unequal to the task. They are a hotbed of bribery and corruption with the politician and bureaucrat making a ‘killing’ in collusion with contractors. The deterrent against bribery and corruption is very weak indeed.
Take the case of Chennai which has fallen a sad victim to devastating floods. Normal life there was paralysed for weeks. Apart from the average citizen having to survive in sub-human conditions with no power and acute scarcity of provisions, industry was at a standstill causing immense loss to the exchequer.
While torrential rain was a spoiler, the disaster was man-made to a major degree. Vested interests were invariably at play in controversial decisions taken by successive governments in Tamil Nadu.
A new airport built on the floodplains of River Adyar, a sprawling bus terminal in flood-prone Koyambedu in Chennai, a Mass Rapid Transit System constructed almost wholly over the Buckingham Canal and the Pallikaranai marshlands are just a few examples of ill-planned construction.In more recent times, an IT corridor and a Knowledge Corridor consisting of engineering colleges were constructed on water-bodies, and automobile and telecom SEZs and gated residential areas built on important drainage courses and catchments.
There are also the problems that are common to all metros—insanitary conditions, poor drainage due to clogging of waterways, lack of drinking water and ill-planned urban growth. Typically, in Chennai as in other capital cities, the VVIPs live in plush bungalows with unlimited power supply, water aplenty and all provisions. During the period when Chennai was reeling under the onslaught of floods Chief Minister Jayalalithaa ventured out of her fortress-like home only twice, of which once it was for a function for Prime Minister Modi.
The municipal corporations on which the Central and State governments have left the task of civic administration have proved totally unequal to the task. They are a hotbed of bribery and corruption with the politician and bureaucrat making a ‘killing’ in collusion with contractors. The deterrent against bribery and corruption is very weak indeed.
Delhi is another glaring case in point. The quality of air in the nation’s capital, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) survey of 1600 world cities, is the worst of any major city in the world.Poor quality air damages the lungs of 2.2 million or 50 per cent of all children irreversibly in the metropolis.
In December -January 2015, in Delhi, an average dust particulate matter level of 226, a level considered very unhealthy, was noted by US embassy monitors in Delhi. The average in Beijing which had the second highest level for the same period was 95. Delhi’s air is twice as bad as Beijing’s but while China is attacking the problem on a war footing, India is smug about it.
The Delhi Aam Aadmi Party government has summarily announced that from January 1 the cars with even and odd numbers will be allowed to ply on alternate days. There is no thought given to the inadequacy of public transport, no thought spared for those having to rush to hospitals.
Most shockingly, the police which is tasked with implementing the decision was not even consulted before the decision was taken.
Surely, some concerted steps needed to be taken to improve air quality which is a cause of reduced lung capacity, headaches, sore throats, coughs and fatigue, and cause of early death. But such poor preparation and planning has ensured that chaos will rule the roads.
The city of Bangalore was in the news recently when the famed Varthur lake was so severely affected by water pollution that it was frothing profusely and that foamy water was coming on to the roads. The foam is because of the Varthur water containing high amounts of ammonia and phosphate with very little dissolved oxygen. Once called the Garden City, Bangalore is today a city denuded of much of its forest cover.
The Bombay Municipal Corporation, India’s richest civic body, which boasts an annual budget of over Rs. 20,000 crore, is grappling with serious problems of water logging and potholed roads during monsoons. Poor sanitation is an issue of deep concern and clean water supply is woefully scarce.
Kolkata too is plagued with a whole host of civic problems including bad roads and pollution and there is never any respite in sight.
Enough is enough. The governments at the Centre and the states and the civic administrations must wake up to save these cities from multiple disasters. Posterity will rue the fact that these metropolitan centres were allowed to drift into decay and horrendous suffering.
The time to pick up cudgels is now or it would be too late. Our loose system of democracy cannot do without due accountability. Civic problems will grow in geometric proportions if the corrupt politicians, officials and civic administrators are allowed to have their way without being called to account effectively.
