Managing the urban chaos in India

India is at cross-roads. While the economy is booming, and the rupee is very strong, we have cities that are chocked to death, and where traffic is a nightmare. So is the water problem or the power situation or the law and order problem, made worse by the presence of the underworld, having very powerful political connections.

Every big city is the result of unplanned growth. Private entrepreneurs promote "nagars" or residential colonies in localities as far as thirty kilometers from the city centre, and all these localities develop over a period of twenty years. What seems to have been a distant suburb becomes the centre of the city, when the city starts expanding far beyond fifty kilometers, and the State Government belatedly starts to invest in infrastructure in such places.

Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai is a case in point. Forty kilometers from the city, it is no more a suburb, but a thriving industrial hub. It is very well connected by train and road.

What urgently needs to be done is to decongest the cities by planning satellite towns with all infrastructure in and around the city at places that are around 100 kilometers away today, but in future, will hopefully be connected by high-speed trains. That day is very far away today, but when investment in Railway infrastructure is thrown open to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), may become a reality.

Similarly, it is wise to privatise infrastructure facilities like garbage disposal and use the most modern technology for the same. Otherwise, garbage that gets collected will pose massive environmental hazards to the city's citizens, making it very difficult to even breath properly.

In cities like Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkatta, it is absolutely essential that massive investments are made in desalination plants that can provide drinking water to the teeming millions. Even this can be privatised to the tune of one hundred percent, and people may not find it difficult to pay for such services, as they are already doing so, although in a very small way.

Another innovation that needs to be done is to allow shared autos to run in all routes for all the twenty four hours, from the main Railway stations and the central bus stations. This will enable the citizens to reach their homes safely and cheaply at odd hours and not pay huge amounts to the autorikshaw drivers, who tend to fleece them.

Similarly, wherever big schools are situated, there should be total ban on any private vehicle in the vicinity of the school, for a period of one hour prior to the starting time or the shift as the case may be. This should be done, so that the school buses can play safely to the school and all accidents can be avoided.

Smoking and consumption of alcohol should be totally banned in all residential localities. There should be a facility for smokers but this should be an isolated area, far removed from the houses.

The poor cannot be left alone. A wise thing would be to force every corporate house to construct pucca houses of around 300 square foot as part of their Corporate Social responsibility, and the entire amount spent on such an initiative should be totally exempt from Corporate tax. If this suggestion is accepted, what will happen is that the poor will get to directly benefit from such initiatives. Similarly, if the Corporates invest, say in computers in municipality schools, the entire amount should be exempt from corporate tax.

What needs to be done is to innovate and provide adequate incentives for the rich to contribute to the growth and development of the city itself. This will also make the accumulation of black money unattractive.

Social scientists and sociologists need to come up with the most innovative solutions to save our cities from further decay. If nothing is done, tomorrow will be too late.

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