The mega proposal for the beautification of Mumbai has been in full swing now. Some impact of the initiative has started showing. The project estimated to cost around Rs. 1700 crore is a serious effort to makeover Mumbai though its intent obviously is the soon-to-be held election of the Brihanmumbai municipal corporation (BMC). The main protagonists, the ruling BJP and the former ruler Shiv Sena, are locked in a spirited battle to paint each other as villains and self as the real saviours of Mumbaikars. However, the concern of the average Mumbaikar is : how much better his or her life will be after the project has been implemented.
The project aims at beautification of road dividers, improving pavements, installing street furniture including street lights, refurbishing traffic islands, making maximum usage of public spaces including those below major bridges and generally maintaining public cleanliness. The project, like most governmental schemes, appears attractive to the eye. But doubts linger.
Given the sordid experience of decades, most Mumbaikars will think twice before accepting to believe that this sudden urge to beautify their metropolis is not just an electoral prank, attempting to take the voters for a ride with an eye on the municipal polls. This feeling is gaining ground since the fact that the people living in a city also have a role to play in shaping its future appears to be totally overlooked. As planners in advanced countries have successfully established that only people-centred urban innovations succeed, BMC authorities, too, have decided to invite people’s participation in shaping the plan. If this effort proves to be sincere, many novel ideas can be submitted and some of them can actually become a reality. That will be the time any real transformation will take place regarding Mumbai’s future and culture.
Critics are already saying that most of the beautification proposals are purely cosmetic in nature, lacking real substance. Rather than giving Mumbai a facelift, it would be advisable to deal with her chronic and fundamental issues, demanding urgent attention. Unless the deterioration is arrested immediately, the city will suffer a grim fate, they warn. This undoubtedly is a harsh prediction but also a desperate reality. Mumbai’s corporators, legislators and MPs must join hands with the governmental machinery to jointly evolve a plan of action that will improve the quality of life in the city.
Ask any Mumbaikar for his priority and he will definitely demand better roads and more transport facilities for a comfortable commute. Many visitors to Mumbai remark that even smaller cities like Vadodara have better roads and more open spaces. Everyday, many lives are lost on Mumbai’s roads, which are called death traps. Those responsible to run the city invariably blame the monsoon for poor roads and their worsening conditions. However, states in North-East or Kerala and Goa have similar ferocious monsoons but their roads are much better. The reason for this situation is well known but nobody is ready to bell the cat.
The Shinde-Fadnavis government has given hopes that it will change and improve the situation. One highlight of their planning is to concretise most roads. It is out of disbelief that concretisation is the real solution though it is universally known that it is not environmental- friendly. Moreover, resorting to this measure will involve long durations, which will again derail the traffic in the city. Several experts have analysed the situation and most have come to the same conclusion : change the existing contractors and entrust the roads to firms having high credentials.
Not just roads, however, need improvements. Mumbai’s ever-growing traffic needs to be studied afresh. One obvious remedy is to introduce more buses and trains but there is not sufficient infrastructure. Now that Metro services have been starting, the situation is expected to become easier in the near future. Still, there are detractors who argue that above-ground Metros use the already available road space and cause disruption of traffic. Their reply is to have more underground Metros but they do not consider the cost and time factor to develop such underground networks.
Nonetheless, all sides agree on one point. That is to protect Mumbai’s environmental cover. Mumbai city has some intrinsic advantages. It is a port and harbour. It is blessed with vast green covers like Aarey and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. In fact, no other metropolis has a national park so close to its heart. But short-sighted political leadership and corrupt bureaucracy, unscrupulous builders and their protectors have come together to exploit Mumbai to fill their pockets, in the process obliterating all these advantages. It is on record that Mumbai has lost the maximum cover of wetlands among 22 Indian cities. Between 1970 and 2014, Mumbai has lost 71 percent of its wetlands as its built-up area shot up from 149 sq km to 1074 sq km during this period.
The effects of ecological degradation are obvious. The ambient air quality is becoming worse by the day. Open spaces have become scarcer. Generally, Mumbai has been losing its biodiversity. The BMC has a hand in this deterioration since Mumbai’s solid waste management has been proving more and more inadequate. This has compounded the issue and further damaged its environment.
Alongside traffic, the most complicated challenge for the financial capital of India is its vast and still expanding slums, from the southern tip in Colaba till Mulund on one side and Dahisar on the other. It is estimated that almost 60 percent of Mumbai population lives in slums, without any worthwhile civic amenities. Successive state governments have declared ambitious slum rehabilitation schemes and have spent huge amounts running into crores of rupees for this purpose. Still, the outcome is disappointing. Involving town planning experts to resettle the slumdwellers in Mumbai has proved ineffective since every political party has chased impossible dreams in a bid to satisfy populist demands, without ever considering practicable solutions. The fact that the slumdwellers are an important link in running the economic juggernaut called Mumbai is often overlooked and they are treated just as vote banks.
In short, the funds allocated for Mumbai’s beautification can be better utilised if there is actual consultation with people and town planning experts about recreating a city that will house its millions in better surroundings. But this will require transparency and accountability by politicians and civic authorities.
