Detroit ,the roaring city of yesterday, is no more..This was once the capital city of capitalism, the centre of America’s rise to world power and greatness.In WW-II, Franklin Roosevelt christened the city the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ as it turned from making Cadillacs and Fords to producing 35 per cent of America’s war production: tanks, Jeeps and B-24 bombers in tens of thousands.We in India are presently in the midst of growth as also the pains of the pursuant heavy urbanisation, be it centred on trade,business , manufacturing or services.The population density in the emerging city-hubs force a vertical mode of living that geometrically pushes up costs ;land, water and sewerage, transport logistics ,health and hygiene.Cost of running a city can not be left to the largess of a benign government of the day ,that would itself, in time. go under debt. Civic bodies must learn to be self-sufficient.Cost of maintaining civic
services in most municipalities are not matched by civic revenue and in cases like Mumbai despite an ample treasury , professional management is wanting as does accountability. Bangaluru is deteriorating and so is Kolkata and may be others too.In a surging economy , the population inflow into centres of boom will remain high and hence, forward urban planning in modules of 10 or even 15 years is imperative and more crucially a civic administration structure that can seamlessly blend and meet increasing load on it .Not the least, a modicum of civic sense needs to be continuously instilled in the citizens through education , training and strict enforcement . We tend to smirk at excessive civic oversight on citizens, be it in Singapore or most of the Nordic states. It is time we realise that for growing cities, discipline is their only insurance against premature decline and perhaps eventual demise.
llllllllll R.NARAYANAN
(PUBLISHED IN THE PIONEER 20 SEPT )
services in most municipalities are not matched by civic revenue and in cases like Mumbai despite an ample treasury , professional management is wanting as does accountability. Bangaluru is deteriorating and so is Kolkata and may be others too.In a surging economy , the population inflow into centres of boom will remain high and hence, forward urban planning in modules of 10 or even 15 years is imperative and more crucially a civic administration structure that can seamlessly blend and meet increasing load on it .Not the least, a modicum of civic sense needs to be continuously instilled in the citizens through education , training and strict enforcement . We tend to smirk at excessive civic oversight on citizens, be it in Singapore or most of the Nordic states. It is time we realise that for growing cities, discipline is their only insurance against premature decline and perhaps eventual demise.
llllllllll R.NARAYANAN
(PUBLISHED IN THE PIONEER 20 SEPT )
So true,
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