Politics makes strange bedfellows, or so the adage goes. And perhaps no nation’s systems so very exemplify this maxim as India’s. Political outfits which swear by the inimical nature of their interactions at one moment, become the best of buddies in the very next. Sometimes, this change of heart is prompted by ‘national’ interest, sometime by ‘self’ interest, and sometimes because coming together will benefit everyone in the system. It is very rare for the political class to come together for something that will really go to work for the ‘people’, and therefore when they come together, it only bodes ill.
Just a day after the ‘executive’ President of the Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray made a pronouncement that the Congress was the Sena’s enemy number one, the Sena, in a majority in the local Municipal Corporation, managed to get the Congress to join hands and pass through a resolution modifying the status of a huge plot of land from no-development to residential. The plot of land falls under the strict CRZ norms and hence development till now had been hampered by the environmental norms prevalent under the CRZ regime.
Politics and environmental concerns rarely go hand-in-hand, at least not in India. One reason for this could be that there isn’t much awareness about to what extent the environment affects us. And in a place wherein such an issue gets such low importance, it tends to be bartered away for trivial benefits. The benefits per se may not seem trivial, but in the context of what one is giving away, certainly comes out to be very trivial.
The BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) has decided to de-reserve the aforesaid plot and re-designate it as a residential plot, in lieu of which the developer will construct, as ‘compensation’, primary and secondary schools, playground, a maternity home, a library, and a market. These all may seem good, but are we being bribed here? Are the people being told, “Sure, I am destroying the environment, but am I not building these facilities for you at the same time?”
Mangroves are the natural drains for Mumbai. After the cataclysmic deluge of 27 June 2005, their importance is perhaps even more emphasized, and yet it would seem that neither the State nor private enterprise is neither keen to appreciate this, nor are they ready to do something to ensure that environmental concerns are given a fair hearing before they are haggled away to satisfy developmental requirements. This deal is perhaps yet another breach of trust committed by those who claim to enjoy the mandate of the people, who claim to represent the will of the people. Given a choice between slower development and better safety during such adverse climatic conditions, I am certain that the people of Mumbai would be more in favour of better safety. Any initiative hindering or hampering such a need is clearly against the ‘will’ of the people.
That there were voices of protest against this move is still a good thing, a sign that there are still some representatives who feel for their constituents, for the ‘tired and toiling masses’. It Is only my hope and prayer that this minority become a more vocal and most powerful majority, so as to ensure that at least at the local level, our democracy can truly become ‘by the people, of the people, and for the people’.
9 comments:
The only way India can improve is by electing people who are well educated. According to me Indian politics should make it mandatory that only people with non-criminal background and graduates+ should be allowed to contest!!! :-) Good post..
i happened to read your other posts as well today! "Rumble at Raisina Hill...." is excellent! Very well written! you should consider writing editorials!!!
-Krishna!
I agree, the cause for such abject apathy is the ignorance or lack of awareness about environmental issues. People are too busy trying to make a fast buck and such matters are indeed trivial considering the potential monetary gains.
The solution would be to lay greater stress on issues plaguing the environment. This must be part of the curriculum in schools and must be made a cumpulsory subject. Colonies/societies/local governing bodies must be made responsible for not polluting their area and creating awareness among people. Finally, it is all a matter of wanting to do it and not imposing.
Most of all we need people at the helm of affairs to strictly follow environmental norms and not buckle under political/economic pressures.
There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics. Only interests.
So we shouldn't really be surprised or unduly perturbed by politicians practicing realpolitik.
One point of disagreement from ur post
"Given a choice between slower development and better safety during such adverse climatic conditions, I am certain that the people of Mumbai would be more in favour of better safety."
I don't think so! Its too much to expect a man who works from morning to midnight just to make ends meet to think abt environment.
Environmental issues cannot be left to public opinion. We need strong lesiglations and stronger implementation of those legislations if we are to check the abuse of the environment.
I'm not posing as an anti-ecologist here; nevertheless when the Government is unable to contain the population growth, it does become a necessity to clear the way out for human habitation.
It will be a pity if Mumbai soon becomes Manhattan!
But its not about putting personal interests to the fore or about mere money-making.
Sure, When you talk about 'compromising' on our eco-friends for the sake of social development, that should work the other way round too, where-by we can preserve the eco-social balance.
Another prime concern is the pollution of the Mithi river. The river is becoming more like a dumping ground and a drainage carrier. And the ones who suffer are the same people in the vicinity. Ignorance is definitely not bliss.
Aarti: I am not against development, but development for the sake of development is neither prudent nor right. Development must be sustainable, not just over time, but in terms for the benefits derivable from it.
You mention population growth. I am not sure whether you know this, but a recent demographic survey has revealed that the population outflow in major urban centres such as Mumbai and Calcutta is increasing. This implies that in tot, the population of Mumbai is not growing; au contraire, it is decreasing slowly. So the population argument is not relevant here.
Let us be very truthful here. Do you sincerely believe that the development that will be effected by this proposal will be sustainable?
You have spoken of the travails faced by those who now live alongside the banks of the Mithi. Who is say that in the event of another such cataclysmic flood, those whose houses are now being planned for construction in the area concerned will not undergo similar travails.
Nature has instituted her own share of checks and balances against all eventualities. It is Man who wishes to play God and disrupts her balance. And it is he who must bear her brunt.
Disclaimer: I am not anti-environmentalist.
We always hide behind the line "Nature has its own checks and balances".
While I do appreciate nature in its pristine form, we must admit that if we are to tinker with nature, we must do it well.
If not, we must have the courage to renounce and destruct all the dams we've created for holding water/creating electricity.
Most of Mumbai's troubles today are because of an archaic infrastructure that has failed to keep pace with the growth of population, commercial activity in the past couple of decades.
Our low lying areas get flooded because we've not augmented the capacity of our drainage system in ages. In 1990, an ambitious plan was drawn to overhaul the city's storm water drainage system which had not been reviewed in over 50 years. The BMC committee dismissed the idea as "too costly".
Moreover, a number of problems like air,water pollutions, traffic are because of over concentration of people and offices in certain areas of Mumbai. (Any soul who crosses Saki Naka daily will vouch for this like yours truly)
The road ahead is to expand our mega cities into geographically spread areas connected by high speed mass transit systems.
This way, our development wil need not be at the cost of ecological balance.
Disclaimer: I am not anti-development.
Why 'tinker' with nature in the first place?
New York is a great city, in terms of size and population. But even the New Yorkers appreciate the need for nature, which is exemplified by the gargantuan size of Central Park.
Human follies cannot be justification for destroying nature. And I am not saying that the developer in question should not be allowed to do his 'bit' for society. I am only saying that the de-reservation and the re-notification of the plot concerned is distressing and completely unwarranted.
Shiv Sena has become(or has always been) highly opportunistic...That they sought the support of the Congress party for the redevelopment issue is just another example of the callous and indifferent behaviour of our politicians towards the people.Look at the way they ran to support Arjun Singh's "walking stick sister" Pratibha Patil just because she's a Maharashtrian.The so-called alliance of so many years that they had with the BJP was literally "Gone with the Wind"!!!
Well,I wish these political leaders were a little more
concerned about the public.But,of course,our "chalta hai" attitude is the root cause of almost all our problems.
As for this redevelopment thing,"bribing" is an integral part of our system.I have no clue how many ages it'd take to eradicate this vice from our system,if it were possible that is.
- Maya
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