Cities of Despair

A survey published by Forbes magazine lists Mumbai and Delhi among the world���s 25 dirtiest cities. But do we care? Do we even realise that our cities turned into massive slums, with open sewers and garbage dumps, a long while ago? We do take umbrage when visitors offer a candid view; we accuse them of harbouring prejudices if not plain racism.

Yes, it is convenient to argue that the dirt is in the eye of the beholder and refuse to admit that our cities stink, but we alone are responsible for the mess.

City life has improved by leaps and bounds in most parts of the world whereas ours has progressively declined. Cities have grown in size - area as well as population - over the years but urban planning has failed to match the growth.

Planning is such an elaborate exercise in India with a specialised bureaucracy, that it looks great on paper. But, in fact, we are hopeless planners.

The economic boom in recent years has complicated matters further as the real impact of sustained high growth is still to dawn on our planners. People in India are producing and consuming more goods than ever. There is a massive increase in the volume of waste as well. Have our urban planners and civic officials worried enough about how to handle the flip side of high economic growth and consumer spending?


European cities were in a similar state until the late 19th century. They choked under industrial pollution, animal waste and sewage. The rivers that flowed past them were devoid of fish and other aquatic life. Urban planners, public officials and the civil society came together and with the aid of new and clean technologies triggered a turnaround. Just look at the Thames river in London, it sparkles. Such a turnaround in the state of our cities is an urgent need now in India.

We could begin by revamping health and sanitation services in cities. There is a need to infuse the latest technology in these services. Most of our sanitation workers work with broom and bare hands, which explains the high rate of morbidity among them.

Basic equipment like gloves and gumboots should be made a must for workers while vacuum cleaners and mechanised dumpers should replace brooms and push carts. Few civic bodies in India have scientifically designed landfill sites. The efficiency of urban services can improve radically with mechanisation.

Civil society organisations in cities should be involved if the urban plans are to be implemented and laws enforced. Educating citizens methodically on how to lead urban lives is another area where NGOs can be roped in.

Recycling of waste material is a major and innovative industry in India but this huge workforce is in the unorganised sector and is hardly given its due. Urban planning is not merely about making grandiose plans, it���s about efficient management of available resources, human and material. Start now, before our cities turn into complete disasters.