For all the talk about Swachh Bharat, we haven’t been able to clean up the dirt and rot in either the country or the government
Kapil Sharma’s bungalow at Four Bungalows area in Andheri (West), MHADA Colony, where the actor had allegedly carried out some illegal alterations. File pic
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Many people who live in cities envy me, since I shifted from Mumbai to the hills above Dehradun. There you are they say, surrounded by Nature in all its resplendent verdant glory, away from the hustle and bustle of city life, the tedious and tiresome daily commute, the pollution, the angst and the dystopia. Well, that’s one way of looking at it.
The other way is that every urban conglomeration in India is on its way to hell. I have been very proud of the Bombay I grew up in and the Mumbai I lived and worked in. For decades, it was undoubtedly the best city in the country on any manner of levels: Urbs primus in Indis. No more, of course — no more is it held to that high standard.
I have spent some time in Gurugram and Gurgaon both and the name change has only emphasised that this urban conglomeration has no gurus that mean it well and all the worst traits of village life are built into it — no infrastructure and plenty of discrimination.
We are now all about a Clean India or a Swachh Bharat if you want to be properly nationalistic. I hear from people involved in the mission that the government push to make the Prime Minister’s scheme a success is enormous. IAS officers for instance are being asked to go back to their first posting and assess how clean that area is now. Several NGOs and charitable trusts are working on the Clean India Mission.
But take a look around you. Drains. Where are they? Sewage systems. Where are they? Public toilets? Where are they? Garbage collection systems? Garbage bins? Garbage segregation and disposal? Big claims? Everywhere!
There is a wonderful myth perpetuated by those who believe in the ‘Noble Savage’ theory of life, that urban India is dirtier than rural India? Really? From my experience, people will happily throw garbage where they can. River beds are often a favourite disposal system. No matter if that river provides drinking water for someone somewhere. Maybe even for you.
Garbage collection in Dehradun has been hit by a bizarre battle between the municipal authorities and local residents. The usual garbage dumping ground, once in a remote area, has since been surrounded by apartment blocks, schools, shopping malls and office spaces, some quite posh. Not surprisingly, residents do not want to live with the stench of garbage, theirs or someone else’s. They do not allow garbage trucks into the dump. This means that the whole of Dehradun is every now and then perfumed with the aroma of rotting animal, vegetable and mineral matter as garbage cannot be collected. There is a court case, there is delay in shifting the garbage dump, there is an impasse between an immovable object and an irresistible force. Sounds familiar to anyone living in Mumbai?
Even worse, when you discuss waste segregation and management with the authorities, you meet a sort of blank stare tinged with sadness. The idea was mooted in Mumbai ages ago, but how far is it actually followed? I know some gated communities in Gurugram do it, but few have a clue as to what happens to this carefully separated garbage once it is picked up from homes. Judging from what we saw of Gurugram after various floods this monsoon, the idea of municipal infrastructure and the claims of a ‘millennium city’ evidently have no meeting ground at all.
Here in Doon, one ‘smart city’ idea is to have gigantic underground garbage collection units which will be electronically fitted so that they will inform someone when they are full. Then, presumably, the garbage will be taken to a disputed dumping ground where local residents will stop garbage trucks from entering. Being ‘smart’ can only take you so far.
Meanwhile in Mumbai, well-known TV comedian Kapil Sharma is now the villain of the piece for attempting to expose what many have known for years about the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The accepted norm for social behaviour is to bribe and shut up. To bribe and to speak? Full condemnation. To not bribe and not speak? To wallow in misery. To not bribe and speak? To be swallowed by some seven storey garbage heaps in Deonar?
Alternatively, you can tweet hashtag Clean India and chuck that wrapping out of the window. That works anywhere in India.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist. She tweets @ranjona. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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