Chachu's Column #42: Of Lavasa and Future Cities

[Wishing all readers a very happy new year.]

In the IT industry, when companies want to gather information about latest technological developments free of cost, the most convenient option for them is to send Request for Proposal (RFP) to the interested parties. When responses are obtained, the companies ponder over the material and formulate the solutions and the next steps. The Lavasa Future Cities contest (http://www.lavasafuturecities.indiatimes.com/) was on similar lines where the Lavasa Corporation in association with Times of India invited opinions to certain important questions pertaining to the way cities in India are governed.

Picture taken from http://www.lavasa.com

Now Lavasa is a newly build hill city and as per the website (http://www.lavasa.com), “Lavasa is thought and grandeur in symphony. It's a place where futuristic human technology and pristine nature play hide & seek”. Lavasa is located within 80 minutes from Pune (approximately 50 km) and 3 hours from Mumbai (approx 180 km). Set over seven hills, this city spread over 100 sq km is all set to have the first hill ready by 2010. However, dig a bit deeper and there are allegations of how farmers were forced to surrender their farmlands at throwaway prices to build the tourist hotspot and how the promoters were favoured by granting licenses and approvals in a jiffy (see web reference [4]).

Keeping the controversies aside, the future cities contest organized by Lavasa Corporation in association with Times of India was directed towards citizens of 7 cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore) where each participant had to answer four questions. The answers had to be city specific whereby the problems of that particular city could be addressed.

The first question was “1. How can the transportation system in your city be made more efficient?” I thought Delhi’s issues were elementary and the basic tenets of good transportation system were utterly missing. The simplest example was the leftmost lane segregated by the yellow line to the left of which Public Buses needed to ply. However, given the mix of slow moving vehicles, wrongly parked vehicles and encroachments, it was impossible to do so. Thus, my suggestions for the question were as follows:

1. Clear all pavements from impediments for free/safe movements. These include rectifying poorly designed zebra crossings.
2. Modern & reflective lane markings across all roads which control movement and parking of vehicles on roads (e.g. as in UK).
3. Parking on pavements/major roads should be banned. Huge increase in parking costs as well as parallel thrust in multi-level parking.
4. Major increase in fuel costs as well as car registration charges. These should be put back into Metro/DTC. Major fleet increase for A/c and modern buses.
5. Dedicated lanes for buses without interference from poorly parked vehicles and slow moving rickshaws/cycles.
6. Developing shopping and entertainment zones near major metro stations.
7. Have subsidized electric powered vehicles in colonies that connect to nearest metro/bus stops.
8. Entry tax for non-commercial vehicle at Delhi borders.
9. Strict monitoring of overloaded/poorly maintained vehicles.

Picture taken from http://www.lavasa.com

 

The second question pertained to “2. How can your city be governed better?” I strongly felt Delhi was not governed at all. There was complete ad-hocism where a plethora of bodies tried to run the city as per their whims and as per the per capita income of those living in a particular area. So, you had the Lutyens Zone where the roads were clean, footpaths were well made and round-about had proper signage. In contrast, some of the outer areas were completely ignored with poor roads, no footpaths and complete apathy. Given this, my response was simple. This city needed an interface with the government machinery whereby its citizens could raise their concerns, concerns which were tracked/ escalated/solved and if necessary - reopened. This should have interface via physical presence (citizen kiosks across Delhi), phone (backend manned by call center) and online (internet). Complaint should have a Ref. #  and its SLA should be based on nature/seriousness of complaint. With single window to citizens, the backend should link public services i.e. MCD, DJB, Police, Hospitals, Ministry, etc.. The Forum should permit issues, complaints, feedbacks, policy suggestions, etc.” One forum where complaints can be lodged in Delhi is the Public Grievance Commission (http://www.delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/pgc1/Public+Grievances+Commission/Home/Public+Grievances/Lodge+Complain). This site openly tells that one should approach it only when all other doors have been closed. And I could not see many doors (or many effective and efficient doors). As a side note, our company too has this helpdesk mechanism all service departments with automatic escalation mechanism. Given this, my observation is that no one likes his/her name being highlighted to the supervisors. The consequence of this is that people have typically become more responsive and efficient in resolving complaints.

Picture taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavasa

The third question in the contest was “3. How can technology be used in your city to make your life better?“. To this, I shared some comments but Lavasa website had some interesting points to make.

1. Lavasa's infrastructure is supported by new-age systems and processes. The hill city enjoys uninterrupted power and energy.
2. Lavasa also plans to build facilities to harness wind and solar power, apart from miniature hydro dams for additional electrical supply to ensure self-sufficiency.
3. Lavasa is also the first Indian city to be fully-mapped on GIS, coupled with an optic fibre network - thus conforming to cutting-edge telecommunication standards.
4. Lavasa also has a Water Supply System which is backed by water supplied from the lake to a Water Treatment Plant that meets current international health standards. This ultra-modern Water Treatment Plant will cater to the need of potable water within the town. The Water Supply System, too, meets European Health Standards as far as quality and purity of water is concerned.
5. Lavasa also has a state-of-the-art optic fibre cable network and telecom infrastructure that'll promote e-governance initiatives to fulfill the needs of everyone at Lavasa. The e-governance initiatives are planned using advanced technologies and trends, which include utility services, facility management, security enablement, on-demand services, tele-medicine, home entertainment, traffic management, online communities, voice and video services, and a lot more. A digital elevation model has also been developed, which allows for 3D visualisation and analysis.
6. Minimizing soil erosion and facilitating ground water recharge by setting up a plantation of fast-growing shrubs, and 20000 running meters of continuous contour trenches (CCT), covering 33 hectares.
7. Implementing hydro seeding (which has been applied successfully for the first time in India) has resulted in a 44% germination rate over 12000 square meters of area.

Picture taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavasa

 

The last question of the contest was “4. How can you improve the cleanliness and the look of your city?”

Again I think the city has many facades: beautiful, historic, dirty and at times, even ugly. The city had been encroached by the immigrants and the residents alike. It was a matter of convenience and connivance. And different civic bodies took different view of the situation differently. For Delhi to be beautiful, again some basic steps had to be taken:

1. Removing all encroachments from footpaths (e.g. Hawkers, Tea shops, goods, shop signs, etc.)
2. Having effective Lane marking system and proper parking policy to avoid chaotic traffic movements.
3. Complete ban on use of polythene bags.
4. Decentralized waste management systems where recycled waste is consumed at colony levels. The left over waste is charged as per the waste generated.
5. Making rain harvesting mandatory.
6. Capturing grey water generated across localities and using it to increase green cover.
7. Controlling the level of suspended particle, including dust and soil by allocating small tracts of public land for general maintenance by corporates in return of adv. rights.
8. Develop low cost and ultra cost housing on mass scale to avoid slums.
9. Use GPS to monitor every inch of public land to ensure proper usage.

 Lavasa being a new and a private city was most likely to face less of such a problem. Thus, the hawkers and slums could be a distant possibility. And in all probability none of the problems mentioned above would be faced by it. But then, the key question would be at what cost? Would it mean that all those people including the maid servants, drivers, dhobis, the milk wallahs and the news paper wallahs would disappear. And if not, would such spanking cities catering to the needs of the rich and the ultra rich find affordable homes for the lowest strata in our society?

 Chachu, 

1^st January, 2010

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Edited Comments on Chachu's Column Chachu's Column #41: From Chachu’s Unwritten Diaries

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1. Web Logs (a.k.a. Blogs) are the new age diaries.  For many like me, the charm of writing the diary is double if there are hoards of readers for it.  The blogs does just that. Thanks for the article. (Courtesy Gautam G)

 2. I like your new mantra for the new year...to reduce your TPS (thoughts per minute).... (Courtesy Karuna)

  

Web Resources

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[1] http://www.lavasa.com         

[2] http://www.lavasafuturecities.indiatimes.com/

[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavasa

 

Also see some not so pleasant information

[4] http://purefriendship.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/08/know-our-political-leaders-courtesy-pil-on-sharad.htm

Previous Chachu's Columns

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Chachu's Column #41: From Chachu’s Unwritten Diaries

[Wishing all readers a very happy new and prosperous year ahead.]

I started writing diaries when I was in college. 

Now you see, the mind is an agile entity and it is difficult to fetter it with bounds and limits. Ergo, when the narrow spheres of mind made it difficult to contain the chaos within, a diary was born – born more than 12 years ago. At that time, it was like a passion. Daily or twice daily or thrice daily. More the agitation, more the frequency. Some times it was a friend, Sometimes it was a burden. Sometimes it was lovely, Sometimes it was a pain. 

Over the years it lost its relevance. 

Marriage meant conflict of interest. What does one write I thought? The true – or the untrue. To write for one self - or to write for the day when your spouse seeks answers when she finds what is written? Truth if found could be deadly or misused. The Untrue was irrelevant and unnecessary. And needless to mention the additional burden of keeping the diary hidden – and the challenge of explaining your better half why she could peek into the deepest corners of your heart and body and yet not read your diary. Consequence was simple. Most pages of the diary were now empty and unwritten. Except may be 1 (typically the last one) and if goings are good then 2 (first one and last one). On rarest of rare occasions the third page some where hidden in the middle was written yet almost oblivious. But yes, for last twelve years, each year has its own diary (though none has been found for 2009 till now nor is the last page of 2008 filled).

Despite this consequence, you still see, the mind is an agile entity and it is difficult to fetter it with bounds and limits. What is possibly possible is to moderate it for the well-being of your family lest it goes totally out of control. So the new mantra is less thoughts and even lesser diaries.

                                                    ---- **** ----  

Till sometime back, each new year brought with it desire for new year resolutions, targets, goals and et al. Most of the goals remained unmet and those that had to be met were met. The diary, where these were jotted down, thus lost its utility. 

With time, the approach towards life is to take things as they come. 

However the agitated mind is not happy with the state of affairs. Many many time it shrieks that the life is going nowhere. It is as if we are just standing where we are, celebrating each new year in even lesser time, but nothing new to add, except the few inches gained by the kids, salaries and bank balances increased or decreased (depending upon economic conditions) and traffic (always increased despite many new flyovers) and roads (always worse then they previously were) and people (in even greater hurry to cross roads, overtake or reach the moon). 

So the agitated mind constantly demands change – change from work for more salaries, more responsibilities, better environment or simply for the sake of it; and change from residences in search of better colonies and roads and neighbours. But change of job means risk of proving again to new set of people; to forego the comfort zone in which your supervisors have been placed by you and to forego the comfort zone in which you yourself are placed and reveled and worshipped (albeit needlessly) by others. So the chosen approach is to be the frog of the well. Changing residence too means more trouble, costs and loss of leaving aged yet independent parents. So again the chosen approach is to stay put and maintain the status quo. 

Despite this modus operandi, you still see, the mind is an agile entity and it is difficult to fetter it with bounds and limits. What is possibly possible is to divert attention lest it goes totally out of control. So the new mantra is less thoughts and even lesser diaries.

                                                    ---- **** ----  

Going back to college, where diaries had better days, there were some incidences that could never be forgotten. One dates back to the day when the diary had not even came into existence. It was the first or second day of college and we were still trying to settle in our hostels. My friendly neighbour then suggested that we go to the market for some shopping, may be to buy some indoor games. Off we went and brought back a chess board worth Rupees 20. The rickshaw wallah took about the same amount of money. Now, I don’t know whether I was naïve or a fool but eventually my friend (or probably the friendly neighbour) kept the chess board while I foot the rickshaw bill. And probably that was the only day I played chess game on that board!

                                                    ---- **** ----  

May be the sharing strategy was not well defined at that time, but even many years before that, it was still not clear. There was no diary to help either. A club was formed between few teenage friends where the money collected was used to buy the cricket bat, ball, clubs, pads et al. But within months of club formation, my father asked the family to pack the bags in search of greener pastures. What would happen to our contri I thought? Promptly we went to our captains house where the stuff was kept and we picked (you may say snatched) some cricket goods commensurate with our contribution. We thought that would be the end of matter. But that was not to be. The well-built and tall captain chased us and told us categorically that it was our decision to stay and use the stuff or leave the city and forget everything. The choice was clear. The stuff was forgotten. And since then it was decided and remembered never to share costs with friends or friendly neighbour. (except for the day in hostel where the chess board and rickshaw costs were shared).

                                                    ---- **** ----  

Still in college, it was a perfect love at first sight you may say – a sweet smiling face that glowed among lesser mortals. The ever increasing CGPA suddenly found a nemesis. And the diary (probably the reason for it to be born) got lot of ammunition for thoughts. And when the matters of heart did not make any progress, one last ditch attempt was to be made, “I have to talk to you”. “Talk what?” The response to this question was well laid out. In diary. In the mind. In pages. Pages after pages. In the mind, same thought repeating again and again and again, almost infinitely. It was as if it would break the head with constant reverberation. But the answer had to be prepared and so the rehearsal was done. Pages of diaries were underlined. As though they would speak for the inner heart. May be the diary could be couriered. The mind kept on asking this question, “I have to talk to you”, “Talk what?”. And the answer was given. About love. About the greatness of love. About its purity. About commitment. Pages. Pages after Pages. Pages after Pages after Pages.

One fateful day, almost unprepared, the encounter happened. 
“I have to talk to you”. 

“Talk what?”

No response!

“Talk what?”

No response! And that was the last time any more words were exchanged. 


Chachu, 
10th January, 2009
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Edited Comments on Chachu's Column Chachu's Column #40: Boom, Gloom and Disshum
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1. Usually a big fan. The single nugget of wisdom that is usually inherent in most of your columns was missing from this one. This one was all over the place. Materialism, Excess Population, Government Bureaucracy, Economics, and Environmentalism were compressed in as many paragraphs. (Courtesy Pankaj S).

2. Very nice article, I liked it very much. (Courtesy Manisha)


Web Resources
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None


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Chachu's Column #40: Boom, Gloom and Disshum

In my childhood, I had heard a story. The story was of a master who found a Genie. The Genie agreed to serve his master as long as the master could find work for him. However, if the Genie was out of work, then he would eat his own master. The master agreed to the condition and started giving work to the Genie. All the tasks assigned to Genie were done in a jiffy and the Genie returned only for more work. Obviously, his master did not have infinite work and thus soon ran out of tasks. The Genie was about to eat his own master when the master struck upon the idea of asking the Genie to straighten the tail of his dog. The genie could never straighten the tail and the master and the genie lived happily ever after.

In this modern day world, who is the genie and what are we talking about? It is the world economy that has become a big monstrous Genie that feeds on production and consumption. If there is a drop in consumption then soon the ever burgeoning industries face stock piles and then the whole world starts producing less. As soon as there is less production, profit margins erode, jobs are cut and there is general insecurity in the minds of people. This insecurity leads people to cut spending (not knowing who will be the next to lose his/her job) and tendency to resist from all times of loans (home loan, car loan or personal loan).The banks on their part turn cautious and raise interest rates causing further distress to the consumption patterns. This in turn leads to further slowdown in key markets like automobiles and real estate. The culmination of all this is various forms of economic downturns including slowdown, deflation and recession. So, a year that started with big bang and the stocks markets touched all time low in January 2008 have turned upside down in less than twelve months. Oil which had turned mind-boggling 150$ a barrel is now about $40 and people now predict 25-30$ a barrel.

Much before the slowdown had hit like a bolt of tightening and caught most of us unawares, one question that always bugged me was “how did we define growth?” There was this weird rat race without any direction of the larger picture. Did growth mean producing more stuff without any clue as to where or how the product was being consumed? We were producing more cars and motorcycles but most urban cities were already choking under the current traffic load. While some criticized the Tata’s Nano car as an urban nightmare, but the simple point was that not “enough” thought was given as to where they would move on roads or where they will be parked at night. Forget enough, while automobile makers merrily queue at the Finance minister’s office for excise and tax cuts, not one voice is heard about effective private transport management system. In fact, business newspapers are more worried about dwindling car sales rather than choking roads and crowded colony lanes.

The problem is not limited to cars or motor cycles. All items are now packaged which means that our highways are dotted with bisleri bottles and empty packs of chips. People want cheaper computer and television but no one bothers to know what shall happen to the unused and discarded stuff. The rich countries ship their toxic and unwanted waste to developing countries, while the developing countries continue to produce more. If one goes around any major steel plants, then possible mounds and hills of industrial waste and ore dot the cities - the air around carries the pollutants like a thin cover.

Even for developed countries, I wonder what the next trigger is. Considering that most people have houses, cars, TV, mobile and other items of household comfort, what would be the trigger for next bouts of large scale consumption? The consumption was probably fed by the easy availability of credit card and low prices. The card companies having gone bust, there is no easy money. And huge number of job cuts has caused havoc too. With mounting losses, a large chunk of business has started moving from high cost to low cost countries. This has caused even further damage to the economies of developed countries leading some of them to recession.

Another casualty in this distress times is the tourism industry. This industry is linked to many other allied industries including air-travel, hospitality, shopping, ground travel and food-beverage. With slowing economy, this too has become a big casualty. The recent carnage by terrorists in Mumbai and the heightened security risks doing no good either.

The point here is not simply one of waste management or environmental sustainability or job transfers or terrorism. The moot question is how do we provide economic livelihood and decent living conditions to the world’s 6.7 billion people? How do we create an economic balance that does not endanger the nature’s delicate balance? How do we define growth so that our cities do not choke? While these are very big questions, I may share my two and a half cents.

For starters, the problem is exacerbated with the rapid population explosion, especially in the Asian continent with China, and Indian subcontinent including Pakistan and Bangladesh, leading the way. While the world population was about a billion at the start of 1900 century and took more than a hundred years to add a billion, another 35 to add the third. But since then, every 12-15 years another billion people (the size of India’s population) is added to the list of people. Most developed countries have nearly static population and the pressure is coming from developing and the under-developing economies. Thus, the ones least endowed are the ones who are producing the maximum. Obviously, some stringent steps are needed to control world population.

Secondly, the governments must resist from short-term parochial measures and try to take a long term view of what is in the best interests of the nation. India’s rich, diverse, cultural and geographical heritage is ideal candidate for tourists for all flavours including those interested in adventure tourism, medical tourism, heritage tourism and the list is endess. The country need to invest in its infrastructure, airports, railways, roads, hotels, public utility management and again the list is endless here. This two together can be a very effective mechanism to boost economy. In parallel it has to boost its security systems to prevent or minimize terror attacks so that visitors feel safe while visiting here.

Thirdly, it has focus on environmental sustainability. This would imply that it takes stringent measures (like one taken in Delhi where within one month all diesel buses were taken out). Some of the measures would include massive overhaul and expenditure on public transport, high taxes on private cars and high parking charges, and battery operated cars for local needs. Other steps could include rain water harvesting, banning use of polythene bags and resurrecting rural economies by facilitating allied business like horticulture and animal husbandry. Further steps are also needed on waste management. Given the large populace that we have, there is huge environmentally sustainable business in segregating and managing waste. And obviously, people have to pay for every kilo of waste they dispose. The direct and indirect taxes could also be reduced to give more money in the hands of public. This spare money could then be used to charge various services provided directly or indirectly by governments (e.g. waste management).

In closing, the economic boom was driven by extreme greed with easy availability of credit. The subsequent burst of the bubble has caused panic and it shall take months and years for this panic to subside. But when it has subsided, then we need to form a vision as to what sort of country we want to make? What should be its priorities? How do its 1.1 billion people live, eat and spend their money. How do their industrialists shape up? We need a vision and a leader to fulfill that vision.


Chachu, 14 December, 2008
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Edited Comments on Chachu's Column #39: A billion mutinies and few baby steps
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1. Very well wrtitten and the sentiments expressed are quite similar to many of the 'educated' minds of India. Is it possible to clean our political system (politicians?) and thus improve the quality of every other system, whether legal, educational, organizational or any other? We need some iron fisted leaders who care for the country, are truly patriotic and know how to make sacrifices and revel in creating national glory. (Courtesy Manju B).

2. Great article. I liked it very much. (Courtesy Manisha)


Web Resources
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population


Previous Chachu's Columns
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I, me, and myself.

Of Chachu's Pens and Chachu's Blogs.

Hello All,

It is about four years since I had created the yahoogroup chachus_pen (visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chachus_pen/). The idea was to write articles of general interest, art or anything for which I felt a need to write about. About 36 odd columns were written in a span of four years or so.

However entry into grihastashram (family life) and several known/unknown reasons has taken its toll and creative writing is certainly a minor casuality. Friends and relatives ask for more, but the passion is missing.

Then I read one of my first blogs of an ex-colleague. And I thought blogging was a better alternative - at least for the time being. So here I am born - Chachu's Blog. That does not necessarily mean death of Chachu's Pen. But the latter may definitely take a back seat. But then, it already is at the back.

enjoy,
chachu

Chachu's column #1: "Of Hockeys, Violence, Cricket, and Conquests"

Chachu's column #1: "Of Hockeys, Violence, Cricket, and Conquests"

As this week draws towards its end, various events flash across my mind. Notable among these are the India's dismal performance in the World Cup Hockey, the shameless and mindless violence in Gujarat, and India's loss to Zimbawbe in the First Cricket One Dayer. Last but not the least, was my viewing the movie "Ek Doctor ki Maut".

A question then immediately comes to my mind. Are these events anyhow related? Prima facie, there seems no evidence between sporting losses, religious riots, and medical discoveries. The disparities in these topics notwithstanding, my heart laments that there is a connection, a connection that I can only feel, but cannot state.

Before I continue with this hypothesis, first let me express my deepest regret on all these events. The hockey team went to Malaysia with great expectations. In the end however, it came a dismal tenth. More than the loss, what I feel is that Indian hockey suffers because of its past, a glorious past, a past which somehow seems nowhere in sight. The situation is similar to a great sporting champion reproaching his son for not living up to expectations for which he was once famous for. In such a scenario, does the fault lie with the child who fails to live up to expectations, or the father who carries such unrealistic expectations. Burdens of expectations can be highly detrimental to growth. And I fear Indian hockey has to grope with this problem. In the process, more important issues like discussing strategies is relegated to the backburner. Thus, whenever India is one goal down, the fear of an ignominious defeat haunts them. And this fear inevitably leads to doom and defeat.

The cricket team is no different. It is however fortunate that it does not have to carry the baggage that the hockey team carries. Still, losing to minnows like Zimbawbe, that too when their last three batsmen muster more than sixty runs in last six overs, is tragic to say the least.

I am no expert of either hockey or cricket to ascribe reasons to the defeats. But what I can definitely say is that we flounder in the basics. That we fail to learn from our mistakes. And commit the same mistake again and again.

And this statement leads me to the violence in Gujarat. First it happened during partition. Then it happened again in 1992 when Babri Masjid was demolished. And now the horrendous demon has raised its devilish head again.

Every one bemoans the killing. Every one finds it tragic. But it has happened again and again. There was some justification when it happened during partition. The event had ruptured a country and it was natural that the land would bleed. But in 1992, was it justified? And for a moment, if we accept that with a heavy heart, can we do the same for the latest event too?

I am engieer. My foreign client, who is scheduled to come to India, asks me what is happening in Gujarat? What answer do I give to him?

What is most ironic about this is I fail to understand that as a nation, what are our priorities? People might argue that the common man becomes a puppet to the machinations of shrewd men, who do this for money, power or pelf. But where is this common man? Who is this common man? And if there exists any such entity, when will that entity take control over his actions. When will he stand up and say that I cannot be manipulated.

Having said many things, I come back to the connection. The connection is in the lack of discipline. An indiscipline that manifests in everyday life. I come out of the parking lot, only to bring my car to a screeching halt because another driver is heading towards me, wrong-side and head-on. I disembark from my car, and reprimand the driver for his errant behavior. He pleads that he does not know, knowing well that it was those few seconds that he was saving. Some other day, another driver may come his way. That driver may not take the pains to get down. The driver may be knocked. He may die. But the indiscipline will continue.

Do I sound cynical? Do I sound incoherent? I don't know. But there is so much to say. So much to rectify. So much wrong to be undone. A beginning has to be made. May be this weekly, fortnightly or monthly report makes a difference. Just that little difference.
Wait for more,

Chachu (9/2/2002)