1157 POSTS
Shekhar Gupta is Editor-in-Chief of ThePrint and one of India’s most distinguished journalists. A recipient of the Padma Bhushan and multiple journalism awards, he has reported on key events in India and from around the world since the 1980s. At ThePrint, he does a daily online show, Cut the Clutter, in which he dissects, analyses, and contextualises complex daily news developments and current affairs. He also writes his weekly column National Interest.
over 10 years back, when I was living in London to roll out a software program for a bank, the Grenfell tower tragedy happened. It was awful, mostly working class people living in council houses (government subsidised). Everyone, from PM to mayor to civil servants were on the ground overseeing rescue and recovery.
I have come back to India since but followed the consequences.
A public enquiry where people responsible were subjected to difficult, uncomfortable questions in public followed. Heads rolled and it became an election issue.
More importantly, the cladding which was responsible for the fury of the fire, became the main focal point.
The cladding rules across the country changed and apartments across the country were given deadlines to change the cladding or insurance turned down.
That is called a proper action and follow up.
We can only dream that in India, whether this government or any other.
Public’s life has no value.
In college, read a column which explained that there are really two Indias. This was before the reforms of 1991 which further widened disparities. One, which conforms to say the less developed parts of Europe, in terms of living standards. The difficult to answer question of exactly how large is the middle class. The other, not very much better than sub Saharan Africa. This same cleavage plays out in urban India. As if citizens of the same country are occupying two very different spaces in terms of economic development. Reflected, very visibly in their housing and level of civic amenities. 2. When the government announces its plans to make Delhi a world class city, appoints a retired diplomat as LG to helm that transition, it is really not thinking beyond LBZ and the gated communities. The Lal Doras will always remain with us. In my heart, the deepest love, respect, empathy for fellow citizens who reside in them. When a glitzy G 20 style event is organised, they will be shielded from the gaze of the foreign dignitaries.
Is it enough to describe the curses of urban governance?
100000% Agree with the Article
Planned urbanisation. Much needed. The high cost of urban land – all land in India, in fact – is an insurmountable constraint. Hence for about one half of the urban population, slums, or some variant, is the only viable option. The island city of Bombay has the long standing issue of dilapidated, tenanted buildings.
Who opposes village modernization and laws implementation The rich and powerful villagers. They are the one who in connivance with builders and realtors let all noncompliant constructions.
However, I feel that citizens specially city educated folks including government and nongovernment servants are also not very law abiding and safety conscious. We as Indians believe in shortcuts, in bypassing safety norms and in bribing to get certificates for compliance.