Vanity versus empathy
Vanity projects have characterised the historical past but their relevance in the 21st Century amid the pandemic remains doubtful
A pandemic spares none but perhaps, a privileged few, who secure the scarce resources. In the unforgiving swathes of erstwhile Rajputana, some benevolent rulers like Raja Ram Singh and Raja Jai Singh built the Rajsamand and Jaisamand lakes respectively, to ameliorate the conditions of the drought-stricken peasantry through job support at the construction sites. The magnificent Umaid Bhawan in Jodhpur, touted as the 'world's largest private residence', owes its genesis to relief provisioning to drought-stricken farmers in the 1920s. Some 2,500 locals were employed in the palace project that seemed counter-intuitive and a vain even then, but the logic of providing employment was publicly posited. Along with the fierce Ranbanka Rathores of Marwar, Maharaja Umaid Singh is fondly remembered for his stately bearing, concern for locals and for dying whilst on a tiger hunt — but certainly not for his prowess in economics.
Nearly a century after the monarchical instinct of showcasing vanity projects of building palaces and residences as an effective way of providing fiscal stimulus in desperate times — the modern understanding of economics questions the prudence of such an approach, as the benefits were not according to inputs, and alternative deployment of preciously finite resources could have yielded better outcomes. The over 20,000-crore Central Vista Project to revamp the three km long Rajpath with the construction of new Parliament, Secretariat, museums and residences for specific leaders of the country is being conceived as a similar vanity project in the 21st Century, especially wounding the already teary eyes of the common citizen, as many amongst them are gasping due to shortage of oxygen and other crucial medical wherewithal. The backdrop of the painful pandemic and its mismanagement has raised serious questions on the priorities of, and empathy (if any) amongst the ruling classes, towards the reeling masses!
The Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, a distinguished former diplomat, offered a rather specious, inelegant and ill-timed defence of the 20,000-crore spend by counter-stating that "the GOI has allocated nearly twice that amount for vaccination!" He further added incredulously: 'We know our priorities'. This unrequired brazenness militates in the face of both the vaccine shortages and the overburdened medical infrastructure that is clearly in dire need of emergency requisitioning and build-up. The cruel irony of the situation is magnified by the Health Minister who had unbelievably and bombastically claimed that the country was better prepared mentally and physically to beat the pandemic, as compared to last year! Lancet alluded to the worrisome warnings of a possible million deaths by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation by stating: 'If that outcome were to happen, Modi Government would be responsible for presiding over a 'self-inflicted national catastrophe'. Blistering reportage in the international realm notwithstanding, the Health Minister still thanked the Housing and Urban Affairs Minister on clearing "the air around the Central Vista project with hard facts" and ironically tweeted, "Trust, transparency and accountability!" The delineation between the pain felt by the common citizens and the imagined normalcy by those governing is palpable and obvious.
The logic of persistence with this gargantuan project is predicated on the symbolic importance of what the Housing and Urban Affairs Minister tweeted, "Ready in time to host #RepublicDay Parade in the 75th year of independence!" Such misplaced notions of readiness and celebrations by the Minister belies in the face of the sheer unpreparedness and the ensuing reality of a fellow former ambassador who passed away in the parking lot of a hospital after waiting for nearly five hours for admission. Similar stories from defence veterans who would have presumed adequate medical facilities to take care of their familial needs are waking up to the horrors of shortages, even within their supposedly dedicated facilities. Beyond the staring 'morality of choice' (which presumably is no longer a factor anymore) on the part of the ruling dispensation, there are questions that beg simple answers. If the expenditure over the Central Vista Project is economically justifiable in comparison to the alternative forms of fiscal stimulus to relieve the expected pressure on the post-pandemic Indian economy? What could be the 'multiplier effect' on the Indian economy with the said project as opposed to investing (if not in the pandemic management) in developing connectivity to border areas, road/railway networks, education, sanitation etc? This 'beautification' project, like the statues, parks and residential complexes of the past, has the urgency of optical and political grandeur that hopes to overlay and dominate the Lutyens sensibilities with the dominant aesthetics of the day.
That such a project was initiated by the previous dispensation is a partisan logic, not one borne of situational concerns and the need for setting the right priorities. Much like the bandied 'Bullet Train' project, this infrastructural project needs to evaluate the actual public need for development. The real problem perhaps is fourfold — firstly, the patent disdain for 'experts' in the respective fields that resulted in infirming economic actions like demonetisation, the ham-handed rollout of GST etc.; secondly the glaring hubris of never owning or reneging from a stated position owing to postures of infallibility; thirdly the diminishing of contrarian voices within the governance system, even if these have the backing of a fair share of diplomats (e.g. Housing and Urban Affairs Minister) or medical practitioners (e.g. Health Minister); and lastly the unmatched electoral impulse that consistently puts electoral considerations over all other concerns, something that is at the root of pandemic mismanagement. The spin-doctors of the system are enthusiastically deploying a familiar cocktail of whataboutery, nationalism, distractions and 'fearmongering by the naysayers' to downplay the concerns of what ought to be the revised priority. If symbolism is the greatest priority in the 75th year of independence, then perhaps announcing the re-routing of the vain Central Vista Project funding towards alleviating the pain and misery of the beleaguered citizen, may just be symbolically the biggest act of empathy and sensitivity by the government — but will it happen?
The writer is the former Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands & Puducherry. Views expressed are personal
