A highly deformed draft that was thrown into the
public domain in 2009 received such hellish flak that it had to be rejected or
cancelled at the highest level of the state administration. Drafted under the influence and,
presumably, guidance of the real estate lobby with tacit approval of the political bosses, it was destined to become a massive
disaster. Those who guided its process of drafting took common people as fools
and aimed at plundering the most vital resource of land to make hay. They,
therefore, overdid their act enraging the townsfolk who rose as one man to
attack it right down to the dustbin.
The revised plan was to come out in 2012 but was
again subjected to delay and this year a decision was taken to unveil it only
after the Assembly elections later in the year. Speculations were set off – and
quite rightly so – that the politician-builder nexus wanted to utilise the
interregnum to maximise their income by using up the available land to the
benefit of both the parties – one for investing the proceeds in the elections
and the other for making quick easy money and laugh all the way to the bank. Even the consideration of the concept plan
prepared by the professional body of Centre for Environmental Planning &
Technology for conservation and development of the Upper Lake and its
catchments has been postponed as the yields from the usage of these pieces of lands
before imposition of curbs, if any, were estimated to be massive.
The question thus arises is whether the city
development plans are meant to satisfactorily meet the needs of its citizens
and its growth maintaining the balance between environment and the developmental
needs or whether these are instruments for facilitating enrichment of the
greedy, venal and self-centred builders and politicians. Every plan plans for
expansion of the town at the cost of thousands of hectares of forests and
farmlands. Bhopal already has expanded in all directions without the essential
civic infrastructure. Yet none seems to be keen to cry a halt and say “this far and no further” because of the monetary
spin-offs from development of real estate.
What is more, the 2005 Plan that is still current
has not been fully implemented. In any case, it does not seem to have improved
the quality of life of the people, reduced poverty or improved their
productivity which should be and are the objectives of CDPs. And
yet a fresh
plan is waiting to be approved. Regardless of that, builders and colonisers are
relentlessly expanding the city’s limits. One does not know
whether their building activity is covered by the current CDP or ad-hoc
permissions or even without them.
In a
brain-storming session in which ministers, senior bureaucrats, builders and
developers participated in 2011 the Urban Administration minister was reported
to have said that Bhopal had “all the elements, be it lakes, hills, greenery, road, rail
and air connectivity”, which make it an attractive real estate investment destination.
Likewise, the minister for Housing and Environment (H&E) felt that when
returns from the stock market are not encouraging investments in real estate and bullion appeared to be viable
alternatives – thus fostering more investments
in real estate in the city. This not only was music to the ears of the builders
and developers but also indicated the thinking in the government regarding
development of the town.
Sunita Narain, the noted Indian
environmentalist, in one of her pieces expressed a sort of a truism when she
said, “The real-estate lobby has a
vice-like grip on Indian cities. All too often land use decisions are based on
what will make a quick profit for the real estate developers. And without fail, the decisions disregard
common sense. The casualties are
social and environmental.” One, therefore, is left with the
inescapable feeling that the state politicians sought partnership with the
builders, developers and colonisers only for personal gains and not for larger
social and environmental benefits for the city and its citizens.
Be that as it may, one of the most
pertinent reasons against further expansion of city limits is that the current
2005 CDP still remains unimplemented to a pretty large extent. No work has been
done on as many as 24 roads that were planned and there is no hope of work
relating to them starting any time soon.
Another reason is that when
currently the city as it exists within its limited confines suffers from acute
want civic services there would seem to be no point in enlarging it further.
Everyday newspapers carry news and photographs of the broken down roads,
leaking or overflowing sewers, accumulation of garbage, clogged drains on
accumulation of filth or for being built over. Shouldn’t there be planned effort to improve matters in order to offer a better
quality of life for the residents? Even the newly-included area of Kolar in the
municipal jurisdiction with relatively newer colonies and complexes are crying
for attention. None of the civic services are being rendered by the local
municipal corporation with any semblance of efficiency or competence. If the
city is expanded wouldn’t it trip up more with its much
less than required capability? City development does not refer to only its
expansion to accommodate future growth of population with the concomitant
requirements of business and industry; it also means improvement, enhancement
and up-gradation of the existing civic facilities of roads, sanitation, health
care, education, mobility and so on.
1. First of all the attempt should
be made to implement unfinished part of
the current plan
2. The new plan should upgrade the (progressively deteriorating)
quality of life of the citizens by taking up the following:
i) Improve quality of roads all over in
the town, including those that are within the old and new residential colonies
ii) Revamp the sewerage of the town to
expand the capacity of the system to meet the needs of the next twenty years.
Despite the money spent in the Bhoj Wetland Project and that taken on loan from
ADB sewers still keep leaking and one can even now find manholes in dangerous
and deplorable condition
iii)
Planners have to contend with the problem of effective management and disposal of solid wastes. In the course of next few
decades it may become far more acute. As landfills create more problems than
they solve using the solid wastes for
generating power is environmentally a far better alternative. Many
countries are doing so and even Delhi has now got a plant
iv)
Provision of adequate water for a burgeoning population is going to be a major
issue during the coming decades. Upgrading the supply system obviating the
chances of major and minor leaks that occur so frequently involving in losses
of hundreds and thousands of litres of scarce water is imperative. Besides, recycling of waste water and
rain-harvesting should be mandatory wherever possible. Speeding up of
meterisation of supply should be prioritised with planning for equitable water
supply all across the town
v) The
new plan should focus on eradication of
slums. The government had projected in 2005 that Bhopal would be slum-free
by 2012. That has not happened. Resettlement of slum-dwellers in low-cost
housing should be a priority. Likewise, with projections of an enhanced rate of
migration into the cities during the next few decades the plan should also
provide for meeting the influx by making arrangements that avoid further
slumming.
vi) As a
corollary of above, a comprehensive plan involving development of trade and commerce, education and healthcare in the
neighbouring smaller towns could be thought of to entice migrants from
their respective catchment areas to prevent their crowding in Bhopal
vii)
Public transport needs to be planned in a manner that it eases pressure of
private vehicles on the roads. Feeder services have not been planned so far.
Unless buses running on the main arteries are fed from hinterland of the stops
public transport would never become popular and the roads will progressively
get choked. Even the BRTS might not be of any help
viii)
Planners have also to think of providing
a system of mobility to the commuters comprising roads, railways, metro or
light-rail or monorail or sky trains, cycle tracks and pedestrian pathways to control
the vehicular emissions. World over efforts are on to reduce vehicular
emissions as automobile sector contributes about 30% of the greenhouse gases.
So far there has been no attempt in Bhopal to control it despite the relentless
increase in the number of vehicles and even check on polluting vehicles is
conspicuous by its absence.
ix)
Regardless of the acts of omissions and commissions in respect of the city’s
water bodies a new plan should indicate measures over the next two decades for their sustainable use and conservation in a scientific manner. Likewise plans
should be made to revive the city’s
streams which have now become worse than drains. Many cities in West and
the East have revived dead urban rivers and streams for improving the
environment.
x) Plans
should also be formulated to prevent
further colonisation and re-greening of
the surrounding ecologically important hills and forests.
xi) The
city is known for its green ambience but it has lost a great deal of its roadside
canopy which needs to be fully restored.
xii) From
the Nawabi era, it has also been known for its parks and gardens which have
constantly been encroached upon or are being degraded. The master plan for the
city should provide for their revival
and upkeep in order to extend to the citizens a better and green habitat.
xiii) The
older part of the city is littered with rundown, neglected heritage
structures which need to be taken care of. A city is not worth its salt if it
doesn’t take care of its heritage. The plan should provide for their aesthetic conservation and beautification
of their surroundings with suitable facilities for tourists. In fact, these
structures need to be properly marketed.
xiv)
Above all, for effective governance in the city the CDP should determine the extent to which it should be expanded
and allowed to grow. Planners need to make an objective assessment of the
critical lack of civic governance in the city’s current smaller avatar and,
given the unlikelihood of any significant improvement, need to set a limit to
its growth. They should, nevertheless, plan for strengthening the civic
governance to provide clean, healthy, secure, productive and fulfilling life to
the citizens of the city.
No comments:
Post a Comment