Change is inevitable, so master it

Change is inevitable, so master it
The TImes of India


From Pensioner’s Paradise to IT City; horse-drawn jutkas to swanky cars; South Parade to Mahatma Gandhi Road; Cavalry Road to Kamaraj Road; Ring Wood Circle to Basaveshwara Circle; Richards Town to Pulikesi Nagar... As a fifth-generation Bangalorean (I am proud of my ancestry), I have seen it all.
Change is inevitable whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not. The single-minded objective should be to master change. Bangalore is a case in point.
The progressive periods of Bangalore’s growth are directly related to those when civic stakeholders were proactive — Bangalore Mahanagara Palike under Lakshman Rau and Bangalore Development Authority under B T Somanna. Today’s upmarket localities of Indiranagar, Palace Orchards, Koramangala, Jayanagar, RMV, to name a few, were layouts formed when the BDA was proactive. The two decades of 1980 and 1990 were, however, disastrous. BDA’s inaction forced citizens to flock to private developers. The result: haphazard growth. It is, therefore, imperative that BDA plays a very proactive role in the city’s development. Only the authority has the core competency to form large layouts with spaces earmarked for parks, playgrounds and civic amenities. The 50,000 sites allotted between 2000 and 2004 is proof of this. The intervention of BDA in the real estate market stabilises prices.
A sine qua non for the future of Bangalore is a longterm plan that is actionable and enforceable. India’s first digitised comprehensive development should have been made operational by the end of 2004, in the absence of which the city is just floundering along, directionless.
After extensive and meaningful consultations with citizens, the draft CDP has provided for various issues of Bangalore’s growth, starting from zonal regulations to spatial projections on industry, trade, commerce, education, health, housing, transportation and other critical issues based on population and the city’s core competencies. Here again, time is of essence. Every day of delay only ensures that the draft CDP becomes obsolete.
Finally, one must never forget that the Bangalorean is central to everything. The colonial principle — the ruler knows best (I do concede that the ruler knows best for himself) — is the gravest insult to the enlightened Bangalorean. Citizens expect transparency and involvement in the city’s future. No civic stakeholder can lay claim to be a patent for Bangalore’s development. The positive results of involving citizens actively in city governance has been more than amply demonstrated during the stewardship of S M Krishna. The success of India’s first Public Private Partnership — the Bangalore Agenda Task Force under Nandan Nilekeni — has been replicated elsewhere.
People today are fed up with promises. We have a surfeit of them. The need of the hour is action. Amidst all this, one should never forget the time bomb that is ticking away. In any urban conglomeration, the soft underbelly are the slums. A conscious, proactive and time-bound action plan needs to be put into operation for slum upgradation and not slum rehabilitation. One should never forget the economic contribution of slum dwellers to any city, and Bangalore is no exception. Any neglect of this important segment will widen the rich-poor divide with disastrous consequences.
I am very possessive of the city of my ancestors, the city of my birth. Bangalore to me is too precious to be wasted away due to sheer apathy, inaction and, god forbid, a vindictive attitude.
In the final analysis, there should be just one guiding principle for stakeholders and us, no matter what we do or do not — we should be the beneficiaries and not victims of development.
One may call me an obstinate optimist, but I do believe that Bangalore can believe in a brilliant future. Even through the frustration and disappointment, we can strive to come out as a people who have guarded our city’s true identity.