16 hindustantimes
FRI DAY, JANU ARY 19, 2018
e sta b l i s h e d i n 1 9 24
speak to those
on the margins
Citizens should have a greater
say in the smart cities mission
T
he names of 10 more cities to be funded under the
Centre’s Smart City Mission (SCM) will
announced shortly, the Union housing and urban
affairs ministry said on January 16. Launched on
June 25, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the
mission, which seeks to create 100
smart cities in India by 2020, is one of
the flagship programmes of the NDA
government. Since the mission promises ₹500 crore as central
assistance per city to implement projects – an equal amount has
to be generated by the state — a number of cities across the
nation are vying with each other to climb on to the ‘smart’ band-
wagon. The idea of creating an efficient urban infrastructure in
100 Indian cities by 2020 with an objective to modernise them
with high-speed Internet, uninterrupted power and water sup-
ply, along with efficient public transport and living standards
comparable to Europe is ambitious. So it is worth examining
some of the criticism that has come the mission’s way.
One of the biggest criticisms of the mission, say urban plan-
ners, involves a conflict between two power structures in urban
governance: local civic bodies and the special purpose vehicles
(SPV), mandatory public-private entities created to manage pro-
jects and the funding attached to them. Ideally, the SPVs should
help local bodies generate funds from private sources, but they
often go against the tenets of local self-governance, contend rep-
resentatives of local bodies of some of the cities.
Another cause for concern entails what critics call the mis-
sion’s non-inclusive nature owing to the purported lack of public
participation in the citizen consultation process. Eviction of peo-
ple from slums generated its share of controversy. Then there is
a question mark over whether the mission really addresses the
needs of marginalised groups, according to a 2017 study by Delhi-
based advocacy group Housing and Land Rights Network. Given
the levels of homelessness, poverty and exclusion of the urban
poor, the concept of a smart city, perhaps, needs to be relocated
in the Indian context. For it to be successful, citizens and local
governing bodies should have a greater say in the mission.
§
Aministryforlonelinessis
anideaworthemulating
India,too,mustfocusonmentalhealthof
thosewhofeelaloneandalienated
A
s Britain appoints the world’s first ever minister for lon-
eliness, a case can be made for similar focus on the issue
everywhere else in the world. Loneliness has become
almost the defining emotion of our times. As the world becomes
more connected, it has also created islands out of human beings;
we have become used to a life of technologically-mediated con-
nectedness that is not quite the sort of interpersonal connection
that has defined humanity so far. This is as much a health con-
cern as a sociological one. Loneliness can lead to depression,
social isolation, even trigger anti-social behaviour.
It has been estimated that there are more than nine million
people in Britain who always or often feel lonely. The most vul-
nerable groups identified are the elderly, 17 to 25-year-olds,
migrants and refugees. In India, the World Health Organization
in 2017 reported that 4.5% of the total population suffered from
depressive disorders. The National Sample Survey Office had
indicated in 2004 that 1.23 million men and 3.68 million women in
India were living alone and suffered from loneliness. There is
evidence to suggest that the numbers have only increased in the
ensuing years.
In both urban and rural settings, families are becoming
nuclear, senior citizens are living alone, more young people are
migrating from homes for work, and living alone has become the
new normal. In such a situation, focusing on mental health must
become a government priority. There is still some social stigma
associated with mental disorders, and seeking help for issues of
depression, isolation and loneliness is still considered taboo.
Awareness programmes and a government thrust on mental
health will go a long way in changing that mindset and improv-
ing the life of millions of citizens. India would do well to emulate
Britain’s example and take the issue of loneliness seriously
enough to include it in its healthcare framework.
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§
citysmart
swAti rAmAnAthAn
Gurgaon’s millennial magic is fast
melting into misery and squalor
be But all is not lost. A revised 2031 masterplan may
be the spark of hope for a seemingly doomed city
G
urgaon’s meteoric success over
two decades has been made pos-
sible by a remarkable economic
ourtake vibrancy, attracting invest-
ment and growth to rapidly out-
shine rival extensions of Delhi,
Faridabad, Noida, and Ghaziabad.
This gold-rush of blue-chip companies
has been spurred by Gurgaon’s strategic
spatial advantages, right along the Delhi
Mumbai National Highway 8, against the
Northern Railways line, and in closest prox-
imity to Delhi’s International Airport.
Unfortunately, the investments have
been largely lopsided, NH8 becoming the
purab–paschim line that divides Gurgaon
spatially, economically, culturally and
administratively. The consequence has
been the rise of private gates and public
ghettos. The asymmetry in investment
extends to the provision of public services:
private borewells for water, gensets for
power, guards for security, the first private
fire station in the country, even the first pri-
vately-funded metro in the world.
Such self-serving investments are short-
sighted: beyond the gates of private para-
dises, the city forces all residents to confront
a common nightmare of traffic congestion,
potholed roads, high pollution, monsoon
flooding, overflowing sewage and piles of
garbage. Gurgaon’s millennial magic is fast
melting into misery. From being hailed as a
success model, Gurgaon is now a case study
of a failing city on the brink.
I believe that all is not lost.
Global cities such as New York and Lon-
don have experienced many such challen-
ges. It is in the crucibles of crisis that urgent
and innovative responses have emerged,
with partnerships of cooperative federalism
forged across tiers of government, and deep
engagement with external stakeholders.
At the heart of Gurgaon’s failure is its
masterplan. The Haryana Urban Develop-
beyondthebite
rAJDeeP sArDesAi
People’s confidence in the
judiciary is really shaken
how does an institution retain its moral and legal sanctity
if it is split wide open on issues of conscience?
T
here is one thing that journalists
and lawyers have in common, we
both love to gossip!” a senior
jurist reminded me a few days
ago. In the week since four
Supreme Court judges virtually ‘revolted’
against the Chief Justice of India, gossip has
often replaced fact. Then, whether it be CPI
leader D Raja’s meeting with Justice Che-
lameswar or the prime minister’s principal
secretary calling on Chief Justice Dipak
Misra, every move has been gleefully specu-
lated upon. Lost in the clamour is the real
significance of what happened on a dark but
revolutionary Friday for the judiciary.
There are four core issues that lie at the
heart of this ‘revolution’. First, the four
judges by their unprecedented action have
firmly put the spotlight on judicial account-
ability. This isn’t just about who will judge
the judges but even more important, who
will judge the chief justice. By going public
with their grievances, not only have four
THE CRISIS STRETCHES BACK TO A
PERIOD WHEN JUDICIAL
APPOINTMENTS WERE MADE IN A
NON­TRANSPARENT MANNER.
FOR TOO LONG, OUR HIGHER
JUDICIARY HAS FUNCTIONED LIKE
A COSY, OPAQUE CLUB
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comment
ment Authority (HUDA) has used its sweep-
ing power to accelerate plan approvals and
building sanctions, manipulating the mas-
terplan to maximise profit — laissez-faire
economic forces conspiring with a laissez-
faire State.
The irony is that the masterplan (i.e. a
well-designed one) is, in fact, the crux of the
answer, the primary blueprint around
which all solutions should be designed and
implemented. An enlightened revision to
the 2031 masterplan is, therefore, the need of
the hour.
Of highest priority is ensuring that the
problems of Gurgaon are not compounded.
The Gurgaon planning area is 466 sq.km, of
which developed land occupies 375 sq km.
Before HUDA’s machete slices up and dis-
tributes the remaining 100 sq km, the state
government must re-assess the merits of the
current masterplan.
A revised masterplan must frame the key
networked infrastructure requirements —
connected hierarchy of road networks,
metro and bus transport routes, water sup-
ply, drainage, sewerage — along with land
reserves for civic infrastructure such as
power stations, treatment plants, landfill
sites, etc. Only upon clear articulation of
such a spatial framework can progressive
zoning be detailed, for the conservation of
land, transit-oriented development, mixed-
use, affordable housing, parks, police sta-
tions, and playgrounds.
What will well-planned infrastructure
based on such a masterplan cost? Rough
estimates suggest ₹50,000 crore of invest-
ment over the next 10 years. This seems
staggeringly large, until one considers that
Gurgaon could account for close to 1% of
India’s GDP (Delhi’s is 4%), or about ₹125,000
crore per annum. The revised masterplan
can also contribute towards public infra-
structure financing in two ways: by facilitat-
ing careful unlocking of land values; and
senior judges questioned the efficacy of the
internal redressal mechanism of the
Supreme Court, but, in effect, challenged
the unbridled authority of the Chief Justice
to be master of the roster. It is apparent that
the judges are accusing the chief justice of
‘bench-fixing’ and thereby expressing a lack
of faith in the office of the chief justice. The
message is loud and clear: the chief justice’s
office cannot be above legal scrutiny. Being
master of the roster is for administrative
convenience, but doesn’t confer automatic
immunity.
Second, there is an even graver concern
of judicial corruption that needs to be
examined. While no names have been
explicitly spelt out by the four judges, it
is now apparent from the transcripts in the
Odisha medical admission scam that
the role of senior judicial officers must be
investigated. If the CBI has mentioned ‘ille-
gal gratification’ of a judge in its prelimi-
nary inquiry, then surely permission must
be granted to file an FIR against the judge
concerned: failure to do so will only raise
troubling questions over whether there is a
concerted attempt to protect specific high
ranking individuals.
Third, there is the vexed judiciary-execu-
tive relationship that is under the scanner.
That this equation has been marked by
growing mistrust was obvious when the
former chief justice TS Thakur broke down
in front of prime minister Modi over criti-
Shreeprakash Sharma
Worries are the most integral part of human
life. They exist until a man takes his last
breath. The presence of anxieties shows us
that we are alive. If life and worries are
inseparable and inevitably interwoven,
then a very important question arises is:
Why do panic when worries turn up? It is
followed by yet another equally important
question: How to fight worries with ease?
In life, worries cannot be uprooted. They
originate naturally from the daily activities
HINDUSTAN T IMES, NEW DELH I
n Beyond the gates of private paradises, the city forces all residents to confront a common
nightmare of traffic congestion, potholed roads, high pollution, monsoon flooding,
overflowing sewage and piles of garbage
providing credible and concrete goals to
harness private capital with transparent
instruments, for example, a local municipal
bond with tax benefits. Corporates with
large investments in Gurgaon could be
given an opportunity to invest in such
bonds, as can the residents of Gurgaon — the
greater such local participation, the greater
the accountability of such funds when they
are deployed. The structure of such instru-
ments will need to be coordinated with both
state and central governments.
Pulling Gurgaon back from the brink
requires state leadership, resources,
and technical competencies. The exit
of HUDA and the developers at this juncture
smacks of desertion in the aftermath of a
n By going public with their grievances, the
four judges have questioned the efficacy of
the internal redressal mechanism of the
apex court, and challenged the authority of
the CJI to be master of the roster PTI
cism of the judiciary. While the judiciary
has zealously tried to protect its turf, the
political executive has long felt that judicial
overreach has eroded legislative authority.
Moreover, the allure of potential post-re-
tirement benefits has meant that individual
judges could be vulnerable to political pres-
sures. When retired chief justices are
appointed governors and heads of govern-
ment committees with a range of perks and
privileges, there is a temptation to believe
that sitting judges can be enticed to discrim-
inate in favour of the ruling political class.
Then, be it the recent Judge Loya case, or
indeed, the upcoming potentially explosive
Ayodhya matter, there is the lurking fear
that judgments in politically sensitive cases
which we need to outdo. The continuous
thought to cease worries from life will only
create havoc, altering the basic principles of
life. So what we can do is to tame our anxie-
ties. However, that’s not an easy task.
Insulating ourselves from worries
requires a different bent of mind. It also
requires a deep understand of the modus
operandi of life.
First, we shouldn’t take life for granted.
The only thing constant in this world is
change. And when we take these changes
stoically, we are able to be immune to its
PRAVEEN KUMAR/HT
disaster. The Municipal Corporation of
Gurgaon is simply not equipped to set right
the wrongs of the plan. Addressing the
technical and institutional gaps will require
the Haryana government to play the leader-
ship role — if for no other reason than to
atone for the sins of omission and commis-
sion that have created Gurgaon’s woes in
the first place.
The masterplan is not an overnight pana-
cea for all of Gurgaon’s woes. However, for
those who care about Gurgaon, it can be the
spark of hope for a seemingly doomed city.
Swati Ramanathan is chairperson, Jana Urban
Space Foundation, and co­founder of Jana Group
The views expressed are personal
could be manipulated.
Finally, there is the question of institu-
tional integrity which is now being high-
lighted. How does an institution retain its
moral and legal sanctity if it is split wide
open on issues of conscience?
Public confidence in the judiciary was
built around the belief that our judges were
men and women of honour and character. In
recent times, amid whispers of possible mis-
chief in the courtrooms, that confidence has
been shaken. Which is why it has been
important for at least a few good men to
stand up and be counted.
Modi-sceptics would have you believe
that these judicial ailments originated in the
BJP’s massive victory in May 2014 that con-
vinced the political leadership that it could
bulldoze the courts to fall in line. Truth is,
the present crisis in the Indian judiciary
stretches back to a period when judicial
appointments were made in a non-transpar-
ent manner, first by an imperious political
leadership during the Indira Gandhi era,
and later, by a tightly-knit collegium of
judges. Indeed, for much too long, our
higher judiciary under the guise of judicial
independence has functioned like a cosy,
opaque club.
Often protecting its own, this club has
used a mix of legal weapons like contempt of
court and constitutional guarantees like a
cumbersome process of impeachment to
build an almost impenetrable wall of silence
and secrecy. It is that wall which has been
now breached by the Chelameswar-led
revolt. Which is why it deserves two cheers:
a third cheer would follow if the revolt
results in genuine reform.
Postscript: A WhatsApp joke that has
gone viral calls for the BCCI to now appoint
a three-member committee to reform the
Supreme Court. When a venerable institu-
tion becomes the butt of jokes, it only
emphasises the urgent need to repair a
creaking system before it is too late.
Rajdeep Sardesai is a senior journalist and author
The views expressed are personal
repercussions. And as a human being we do
not have any control upon what happens to
us. We all are only puppets into the hands of
the invisible omnipotent. He is the greatest
physician, who keeps on prescribing the
most apt medicine in the form of a host of
changes which befall us. Going against
these prescriptions means only getting vul-
nerable to worries.
(Inner Voice comprises
contributions from our readers
The views expressed are personal)
n innervoice@hindustantimes.com
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