{"id":54179,"date":"2018-09-09T12:29:55","date_gmt":"2018-09-09T06:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/?p=54179"},"modified":"2018-09-09T12:30:50","modified_gmt":"2018-09-09T07:00:50","slug":"indias-urban-rot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/viewpoint\/indias-urban-rot\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Urban Rot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Above: Rescue operation at the flyover collapse site in south Kolkata\/Photo: UNI<\/em><\/p>\n

Building collapses and fires are not the only causes of urban deaths, and these are not confined to Mumbai or Delhi. There are many more reasons and many more cities and towns<\/strong><\/p>\n

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~By MG Devasahayam<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Minutes after the bridge collapse in south Kolkata late on September 4, twitterati went into overdrive. The crux of the posts were that all construction in the metropolis is ruled by syndicates or gangs of party cadre, mostly unemployed men, who often change their political colours. From supplying construction material to labour to fixing wages, they take all decisions. No questions are asked, no answers given.<\/p>\n

They were merely echoing what the Supreme Court observed recently while hearing the Delhi sealing case concerning illegal construction in the capital. The apex court said: \u201cPeople are dying in building collapses and fires because corruption has eaten into town planning and grant of building permits across the country.\u201d It added: \u201cIn Mumbai, people are dying. Only recently there was a huge fire at Kamala Mills, no lesson was learnt\u2026. How long will this situation continue? How many lives more?… You make laws and then you make a mockery of these laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building collapses and fires are not the only causes of urban deaths, and these are not confined to Mumbai or Delhi. Mega and ultra-mega construction projects promoted by the government or moneybags block rainwater\u2019s right of way and storage (rivers, streams, canals, tanks, wetlands and other associated common land) leading to massive floods and deluge, resulting in death and destruction.<\/p>\n

Then there is pollution\u2014air, water, land. Thirty of the most polluted cities in the world are in India with Delhi being the worst. Air pollution is affecting the respiratory health of people in 102 cities. Water pollution is the cause of exponential increase in gastro problems, particularly among children and infants. All these cause death. More Indians die cleaning sewers than fighting terrorists in Kashmir. Over the last eight years at least, the death toll among sewer workers has started to converge with that of security forces deployed in the beleaguered state. In 2017, India\u2019s sewage system killed 90 people compared to 54 security personnel who died combatting militants. Heaps of waste and garbage adorn the streets and open spaces of most cities and towns, creating a rotten stink.<\/p>\n

All this indicates that there is nothing known as urban governance. There was an attempt to set up Urban Local Governments (ULGs) by enacting the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act in 1992 and to empower them to perform the key tasks assigned under the 12th Schedule (Article 243W): Urban planning and development, landuse and construction; economic and social development; roads and bridges; water supply; public health and sanitation conservancy; urban forestry and environment protection; safeguarding interests of weaker and handicapped sections; slum improvement; urban poverty alleviation; provision of urban amenities and promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects.<\/p>\n

But even after decades, there is no trace of such governments in India. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledged this in December 2005 while launching the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM): \u201cUrban Local Bodies (ULBs) unfortunately, with some exceptions, have not been enabled to look in\u00adward and build on their inherent capacities, both financial and technical, and instead are still being seen in many states as \u2018wards\u2019 of the state governments. This should and must change.\u201d<\/p>\n

To remedy this, the Government of India introduced several reforms in the Rs 1,00,000-crore JNNURM to usher in ULGs in place of ULBs:<\/p>\n