Bull's eye

The Supreme Court ordered the government to demolish all illegal buildings. That meant almost the whole of Delhi would be demolished. There arose panic, protests, threats and tears. How was this extraordinary situation created? Let’s begin at the beginning. The central government made successive five-year plans. Despite that, for 50 years village uplift remained neglected. Great attention was paid to augmenting food production. After all, cities consume food. But villages lacked power, drinking water, roads, healthcare and even literacy.

Building rural infrastructure would have created jobs. It would have tapped India’s most precious resource—human talent. Instead, villages became unlivable. In search of jobs villagers migrated to cities. For 50 years the influx continued. No new cities were built. Thanks to Partition, only Chandigarh was built to compensate the loss of Lahore. Inevitably, Delhi and the state capitals were choked with migrants.

The poor built unauthorised jhuggis. The rich built unauthorised houses. Both bribed politicians and officials. The poor created votebanks. The rich created bank balances. Delhi grew vertically. Its water became polluted. Its residential colonies were swamped by factories and offices. It, too, was becoming unlivable. Then the Supreme Court intervened. And all hell broke loose.

What was the government doing all these decades? In 1962, the first Delhi Master Plan was released. It announced guidelines and building bye-laws. Minor violations of these laws were compoundable by fines. Only major violations attracted demolition.With these laws in place, how was most of Delhi built illegally? The answer is simple. During the 40 years of the first plan it was amended 65 times to accommodate law-breakers. Corruption and vested interests triumphed each time. In 2001, the second Delhi Master Plan was conceived.

But the Delhi government refuses to change its ways. It is pursuing a crafty strategy. It targeted elite schools for demolition. Parents set up a howl. It demolished fashion stores. Weeping models and designers created good media publicity. Meanwhile, to circumvent the court, the Delhi government framed an ordinance to legalise all residential construction before this year. The PM obliged by setting up a committee to study the ordinance. That is where matters rest. Even this ordinance would have made sense if it had reflected a genuine resolve to end the rot. But it seems done only for electoral advantage.

With this kind of approach can India become a global power?

(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)