Castles on Crumbling Foundation

The national capital, Delhi, is actually a conglomerate of 289 villages, which the British amalgamated prior to shifting the capital of India from Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1911. Since then, a lot of water has flowed in the river Yamuna, and the capital city has undergone phenomenal changes, especially with respect to infrastructural development. Initially, during the British Raj, only the Lutyens' Delhi—also known as the LBZ (Lutyens' Bungalow Zone)—and the Kashmiri Gate area, which served as the capital, were developed. With the passage of time, it slowly started changing like any other city in the world.

Every city has a distinct character. The character of Delhi, since then, has undergone a sea change, and the phenomenon is a continuous process. Till the end of the last century, i.e., 1999–2000, Delhi’s roads used to wear a deserted look after 8 pm, as it was basically a city of and for babus, who would attend to their government office duties and retire at the end of the day to quietly return to their cocoons after office hours. Hardly anyone would venture out thereafter. Places like Vasant Kunj or Rohini, etc., were way outside the city limits with negligible habitation, and one could hear jackals growl after sunset.

Major infrastructural development took place in the capital during 1980–81 as Delhi hosted the 1982 Asian Games. It was transformed into a modern city with several flyovers, stadiums, etc., in keeping with the norms of such a major sporting event. Similarly, prior to the Commonwealth Games in 2010, several major infrastructural development initiatives had to be mandatorily implemented that were necessary for the host city. In keeping with the best practices prevalent in the world, several novel projects were also implemented in Delhi, such as Pelican signals, clean modern public conveniences, smart bus queue shelters which were disabled-friendly, etc., besides a world-class Games Village which came up in the Yamuna riverbed along with the Akshardham Temple in the adjacent areas. This was initially met with much opposition from activists, who even approached the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi not to allow the Games Village to be constructed in the Yamuna riverbed.

Mythologically, it is believed that nothing can be created without destruction—Lord Brahma is supposedly the creator of the world and Lord Shiva the destroyer. However, some scientific methods were adopted—such as creating concrete bunding in the riverbed of the Yamuna—so that minimum or no damage occurred to the ecology of the riverine area. It was the endeavour of the then Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Shri Tejendra Khanna, who was able to scientifically convince the Yamuna Bachao Andolan group, which included eminent persons like the Waterman of India, Rajendra Singh, Manoj Mishra, et al., that no harm would be caused by the construction of the Games Village. With a firm and permanent moratorium issued that no further construction would be allowed—effectively protecting the 25, 50, 75, and 100-year floodplains of the river Yamuna—the protesters amicably withdrew their objections, and the world-class Games Village could finally be constructed. It hosted the Commonwealth Games athletes and sportspersons, who were all praise for the superb stay facilities provided by India during the Delhi CWG-2010.

PM Modi and the federal government's vision to be a progressive and fully developed country by 2047 is noble, and towards this goal, initiatives to transform India into a balanced economy with adequate technological advancements, uniform welfare, and sustainability have to be cautiously yet firmly implemented on ground zero.

However, it's disheartening to see the all-round and overall deteriorating and crumbling infrastructure due to a long list of problematic issues. Be it hospitals, roads, traffic, rampant encroachments on roads, footpaths, government lands—including land belonging to prominent hospitals—or unchecked illegal constructions to accommodate the ever-increasing population arriving in the capital city of Delhi, not only from Indian states like Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan, UP, MP, Chhattisgarh, etc., but also due to an exodus from neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan—the list is endless.

Everybody wants a piece of Delhi, where the economy has been constantly growing over the past three decades. As a result, the yearly influx of outsiders coming and settling in Delhi has also been steadily rising. From approximately two lakhs per year in 2009, it rose to about five lakhs in 2013–14, and as per current estimates, it's around seven to eight lakhs. Though the Hon'ble Supreme Court has directed the deportation of illegal immigrants from foreign nations, it's easier said than done, with multiple loopholes in the administrative framework.

Coupled with an extremely lackadaisical, greedy, and callous administrative apparatus that is ineffective in tackling the ills adversely impacting Delhi, it becomes difficult to effectively and efficiently address the problems that could truly transform the national capital into a modern and smart city.

Post the Hon'ble Prime Minister's address to the MLAs, Chief Minister, and other Delhi ministers, along with key officials of the capital, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi also reviewed the encroachment and crumbling infrastructure issues, with a specific focus on top hospitals in the city, in a meeting with all concerned officials last week. How this will be worked out—and how these problems are approached and resolved—will be interesting to note. Issuance of orders and directives is useless if not adequately implemented on time.

Actually, a thorough overhaul of the work culture in the government machinery, with zero tolerance even for minor wrongdoing, is the need of the hour. This can only be done by an intelligent, honest, sincere, and hardworking team who must effectively carry out the task on the ground—not from the comfort of their offices. Importantly, some policy decisions will also need to be taken at the top.

It needs to be remembered that the city of Delhi stretches from the river to the ridge. It has a limited capacity to host people and vehicles. It cannot provide enough space or basic life-support ingredients—such as clean air and water—beyond a reasonable population threshold. There cannot be a regular addition of illegal colonies, which are sprouting by the hour, to be regularised. Similarly, it cannot keep adding approximately two thousand vehicles daily, as the roads are not elastic or stretchable. There has to be a cap on the number of vehicles, especially rickshaws, three-wheeler autos, and similar modes of transport, which are ever-increasing and continue to ply on Delhi roads unchecked.

Traffic in Delhi is becoming a nightmare with each passing day, with very little action from the police, who seem to have given up managing the unmanageable volume of vehicles and often focus more on hand-held devices than on the roads themselves.

With an ever-increasing population, pollution is bound to grow. Be it the disposal of daily garbage or the highly polluted Yamuna—Delhi's precious yet degraded river lifeline, which still supplies water to its citizens despite being reduced to a sewer carriage—it all needs a caring yet firm administrative hand to address these persistent issues.

Between us, we can remain positive that if there is a will, there will be a solution. Hopefully soon.

The writer is security and geopolitical analyst, a senior officer of the IAF and served in various state & central government agencies and ministries. Views expressed are personal