I keep reading about how other cities have been slowly improving. But it had not prepared me for the shock I got when I went to New Delhi last week for a conference. The infrastructure there is so vastly superior to that in Mumbai. Flyovers dotted the entire stretch of road from the airport to my hotel in Green Park, and all the way to the conference in Pragati Maidan. Further, the roads were 3-5 lanes on each side with proper footpaths and even had side-roads. So wide were the roads that even where the work for Metro phase-2 was going on there was still enough road left for cars to cruise along and there was also some greenery at the sides at many places. In Mumbai we have only a few roads which can match these – the Western and Eastern Express Highways and some small stretches in Sounth Mumbai!!!!
The roads in Delhi were so clean; in comparison Mumbai’s roads are filthy and full of potholes and encroachments, besides being narrow. If only Delhi could improve its law and order situation it would be the city to live in. During 3 days of reading Delhi newspapers there were 7-8 rape cases reported and even a survey which revealed that 80% of women of Delhi feel unsafe even in malls :-O . Even the general law and order situation is said to be bad with everyone linked to some politician or babu and hence having a license to get away with breaking the law.
I think the difference is due to 2 factors – one that Delhi is the National Capital and has a separate government of its own, and that somehow the people there must have shown less apathy to the city’s development than Mumbaikars do (consequently the politicians know they must do some work atleast). Whatever failings Sheila Dikshit might have I think she deserves credit for doing something for the city’s development during the last few years she has been in power. Otherwise this transformation would not have been possible.
In Mumbai the governance system is in shambles. We have multiple agencies doing the same work and they can conveniently blame each other for the lapses. An example is roads where BMC, MMRDA and MREDC all do some work or rather don’t do any, and then blame the others for it. Land development again is controlled by BMC, MMRDA and MHADA. If someone wants to learn how to play passing the buck then please go to Mumbai’s administration.
The corruption in the BMC is so rampant and the hold of the builders, contractors and the goons on the police and administration so strong that it seems to be a herculean task to get anything done right. The only thing the BMC ever does is either dole out more and more FSI to builders or de-reserve land meant for public amenities for private developers. They allowed the development of mill land without the city getting much out of it. We lost a golden opportunity to get some public space. The argument of the mill land owners that the land is theirs so they should have freedom to do whatever they want is a sham. The land was sold to them at low rates in early 1900’s for a purpose – to put up textile mills. If they are not using it for that purpose the land should revert back to the government with some compensation being paid to them.
There is one thing these people are shielding behind – a total lack of transparency and accountability. For example we never get to know how road contracts are being awarded, what are the responsibilities of the contractor, whom do we contact in case the work is not being done properly, etc. Ideally for each work a sign should be put up beside each site mentioning the name of the contractor, how much has the contract been awarded for, what are the timelines within which the work must be completed and who in the BMC is responsible for supervising whether the work is being done properly. So many times I have seen roads dug up with no made progress for days and shoddily made roads which crack in a few days and present another opportunity to award a repair contract to someone. There is absolutely no system of accountability.
The administration is actually opposed to further development of the city. And it makes sense given they have proved incompetent to handle the current development. The expansion of Mumbai port is being opposed on the grounds that it will lead to more congestion. Well, the solution is to go out and build a better transport network rather than oppose the expansion!!!!
Another problem plaguing Mumbai is encroachments. And the politicians like Kripashankar Singh who consider them their vote banks and stall every effort to evict them. So first we had pre-1991 encroachments regularized. Then 1995, 2000 and now our CM has gone a step ahead and plans to make it 2006. Why don’t they just declare that anyone in the country is free to come to Mumbai and encroach anywhere upto 2050 (after which a further extension will be considered favourably). It will save so much of time wasted in deliberating the issue every time even when we know the outcome. To give you an example when airport expansion was underway a minister opposed rehabilitation of slums which had encroached on AAI land and said “The slums will remain here; you can shift the airport elsewhere”
Then there is the filth. Travel on Harbour Line and you will wonder whether this is the city which dreams of being world class. Slams surround the tracks at many places (without doubt they have some politician protecting them) and you have mounds of litter on both sides. It is not just the poor who litter. People throw things out of trains/ buses as if the tracks/ roads are a waste bin. Then you have people spitting ‘paan’ and ‘tambaku’ anywhere and everywhere without looking where they are and who it lands on as long as it is not them or their own house.
And finally there is apathy. No one has time to right any wrong being done, no time to raise a voice. We have had an instance of a rape happening in a train while fellow passengers simply looked on!!! People litter the roads and we simply look on. Rules are broken rampantly and we simply look on helplessly.
I do not accept the argument that since Mumbai is an island there is less scope for expansion and hence it keeps getting more cramped. Common, Vashi and Kandivli today are equidistant from CST/ Churchgate and still people prefer Kandivli to Vashi. And we may have had the trans-harbour link coming up years ago if the administration felt connectivity was such an issue. It has more to do with the mindset than with distance. Where there is a will to grow a city will find a way to do it.
The people of Mumbai need to wake up otherwise their beloved city will continue its slump downwards. Forget Shaghai, it won’t even find a mention in the good cities of India, leave alone the world.
