India’s cities need more than cosmetic change

Last week, more than 15 people were killed when a 43-year-old bridge in Gujarat’s Vadodara district collapsed and with it, the myth of the Gujarat model that supposedly saw huge steps forward in “development”. What is worse, media reports say that officials from the state’s roads and buildings department were alerted three years ago to “unusual vibrations” coming from the bridge. They ignored the warnings. Since 2021, there have been as many as four bridge collapses in Gujarat alone.

Hundreds of kilometres away in the national capital Delhi, the same day as the Vadodara bridge collapse, a spell of heavy monsoon showers caused massive water logging on the roads, with shocking images of cars floating in the water and traffic that crawled for miles. According to media reports, 9 people were killed across the National Capital Region, including a 25-year-old who died of electrocution, and an auto driver who drowned in an uncovered manhole. The police received over 400 distress calls that evening mostly from people whose cars had stalled in 3 or 4 feet of water. Once again, the national capital region’s pathetic infrastructure was exposed. We know the monsoon comes every year and yet we are so badly prepared to deal with the rain. Only days earlier, the Haryana chief minister declared that 500 acres of land had been identified near Gurugram for a ‘Disneyland’. A state whose roads crumble with one spell of rain wants to build a state of the art amusement park. These are the priorities of our elected officials. But who is holding them accountable?

It is the same story every monsoon. Whether Mumbai or Delhi or Bengaluru, the same outrage and anger which lasts a few weeks and then disappears as soon as the weather clears.

Lack of civic infrastructure

Make no mistake - India’s big cities are collapsing and lack of civic infrastructure hurts everything, from our day to day lives to the economy. It is infuriating to see the well heeled residents of Gurugram’s posh apartments complain about what the rain does to our roads and yet only a handful of them will vote in state polls and would probably not bother about civic elections at all. When citizens don’t demand answers, governments take them for granted. Gurugram is home to some of the world’s leading multinational companies. None of them has raised their voice against the poor infrastructure here. Haryana has had the distinction of being ruled by the BJP for over 10 years now, both in the state and in the centre. And yet, this is the state of affairs. All fancy on the outside, crumbling on the inside. But more than anything, it is the rampant corruption in our civic bodies that is at the heart of the problem.

Even on a good day, our cities have piles of garbage, unregulated growth of buildings, and massive overcrowding. They are bursting at the seams, unprepared to expand anymore. And yet, this rapid urbanisation continues. So where is all the taxpayer money going?

Mumbai drainage system

According to a ‘New Indian Express’ report last month, an IIT Bombay study says Mumbai’s drainage system dating back to the 1860s, is unfit for 22 million people, yet Rs12 billion in desilting contracts in 2024 went to shell companies, leaving 55 percent of the drains clogged.

Encroachments on river basins and natural waterways have reduced the city’s natural drainage capacity. The Mithi River, a crucial stormwater drain, has been narrowed due to construction and pollution.

Yet, for over five years, Mumbai’s civic polls have not even been held on some pretext or the other. The real reason of course is that the BJP is nervous about losses for Asia’s largest civic body. But who cares?

India has made huge strides in developing some major infrastructure projects like highways and rail links. But in our cities, our roads are still riddled with dangerous potholes and our bridges are collapsing like a pack of cards. Everyone is cutting corners. The abysmal state of maintenance of our roads and bridges is there for everyone to see. Urban development needs to be urgently addressed as a priority political issue. Climate change and rapid expansion at the cost of preserving our ecology is taking a toll on our cities. We need to wake up now.