Every day when I walk from our ‘new’ home to catch a train
or a bus, my mind doesn’t stop but notice the little things around it. Be it the
walking zones, restricted parking lots, pedestrian walk ways on busy roads, free
drinking water fountains, sheltered bus stops with time table, multi-purpose
shops, post office, banks, ATMs, parks, primary school, high school,
kindergarten, play home, play grounds, restaurants, cafes, fitness centre,
sports complex, dedicated garbage and recycle bins and their respective
locations, trees planted, florist garden, town hall, places of worship and a Gemeinde, in simple terms it is a
municipality or a corporation office. Mind you, this is a ‘dorf’- German translation for a village and not the main city
itself.
This serene
village is close to the main city of Zurich. This locality reminds me of my
layout, as it is termed in Bangalore. My locality in Bangalore has almost everything
this village has, just that it is more chaotic and that chaos is down to lack
of simple practices being adopted with time. Though there are zones of
calmness, you are never away from the disorderliness. Not an intolerable
situation, it just requires a degree of attention and sustained maintenance to
make the change from the chaotic state. The idea is to reduce the chaos and not
eliminate it.
The point that amazed me ever since I got a taste of
Switzerland (since 2009) is its policy of dividing the small country into smaller
Cantons (states) and each state into petite zones (Gemeinde). Each Canton has a
different set of rules and four languages are spread out in these 26 Cantons;
English being not one of these four languages (German, French, Italian and
Romansch). On a larger scale, India resembles this system.
Depending on the region you come from, the primary language
dominates the area. English is slowly making its way into the Swiss culture,
though it is not compulsory to know it.
In this little country of approximately 41,000 m2,
there are close to 2,500 municipalities. India too has a similar mechanism. We
have Union Government, states, divisions, districts, taluka (Tehsil or Mandal)
which in turn is divided into Municipal Corporations, City Municipal Council,
Town Municipal Council, City Panchayat or Gram Panchayat.
Any geographical location (with the best of my knowledge) in
India can be traced to one of the aforementioned administrative structure of
India.
Having established the basics facts and figures, the key
aspect to development comes in the model of ‘drop management’. I guess I am
coining this term with respect to citizens or residents becoming responsible
for their nearby surroundings as a means to community development. Just like
that tiny drop in an ocean. India is nothing but an ocean of people and we are
all but a drop.
For starters - How many of us have to compulsorily register
in the local ward before living in a particular locality? Do we have such a
rule? If yes, I have not seen it being enforced and if not, why don’t we appeal
to respective local wards to have such a register, which maintains the record
of all the individuals that lives in that particular locality?
It is a simple process. Land-lord or a builder of a newly
constructed apartment must have a clause to have a future resident/owner in the
local ward office as a part of the process. It starts with this, and in the
longer run, helps many residents in getting their voter ids or having to show
their proof of residence and what not. A simple letter of authorisation or a
local ID card is good enough. The newly built apartment complexes have such
security measures to keep a check on their residents. But such issues are
privately managed and lack authenticity as a proof of residence. This will also
eliminate the hassles of running around houses to collect data for census or to
enrol for the Aadhar card.
I have not voted when I had the only opportunity back in
2008. Since then, I have never been in my home town during the elections. And
like me there are plenty of them, who were muffled by not having their names in
the Voter’s list. Such confusion could have been avoided, if there were to be a
simple registering process when any new occupant moves in to a new place. And
when there is a need of shifting to another place or a different ward,
de-registration is a process through which one can register in another
municipality or ward by simply showing the deregistration letter. Similar
registrations must be encouraged for private and other business establishments.
I believe this process will atleast streamline the residents
* with proper housing. I know there
are a lot of private associations that does this work. But, however it is,
unless government is involved even at a local level, the changes and its impact
will fade away. Just make it a rule, and enforce it and soon it becomes a
habit.
Let the municipality or a ward collect a small tax from the
residents if required and improvements can be seen within the ward. It would
also be encouraging, if provisions are made for individuals to volunteer in
their free time in getting few things done for the local area.
Secondly - To sort the parking mess, have zones marked with
clear lines to highlight parking. Else collect fines, which can only be used to
improve the area. Free parking, dedicated parking and public parking with a
nominal fee can be allotted in each of the areas. Yes, this means you cannot
always get a slot right in front of the place of interest. Well, aren’t we experiencing
this already?
Thirdly - Garbage disposal is also an issue to deal with. Somewhere
things have to change on this front. Throwing whatever comes to the dustbin
will not help the slowly evolving recycling industries in India. There are glass,
plastic bottles, cartons, papers, organic waste and other miscellaneous waste. Have
a proper time table for collecting each of such wastes or alternatively provide
few stations where resident and commercial establishments can come and dispose plastic
wastes, glass wastes, cartons, papers and organic wastes respectively. It might
be difficult initially, but with such provisions, you can expect cleaner
surroundings.
Lastly - Most of the residents have dogs and pets. It is important
they take care of the dump while they are on a stroll. A provision for disposal
pet covers can be provided to ensure, the pet owner does this job of clean up
act on public roads. Why would you expect government to clean for your pet’s
mess?
And street dogs – It is the ward’s responsibility to ensure
they find a proper shelter. Well, someone has to care right. It is in the
neighbourhood looking for a shelter.
The point I have mentioned may not be the first time people
would have thought this way. To me, developing India as a whole is impossible
and hence I won’t even think about it. I would not want to waste the time and
resources which cannot be entirely monitored unless a larger group is involved
across India. So why don’t we take a good look at our surroundings, understand
it better and deal with it in a best possible way? Idealistic – Yes, that’s how
it looks like and that is how ideas come to reality.
This is not an instant process but not an impossible task
either. With generations getting exposed to global best practices in keeping
the surroundings and neighbourhood cleaner, I am confident it is a matter of
initiation and acting locally while thinking globally. This way, drop by drop
each ward can take care of itself and when looked as a whole, the district, the
state and country appears better. Just give it a little effort and time;
results will be there to be seen.
*Note: There are issues about illegal housing. A
process of registration helps new residents to identify houses that are legal
vs. Illegal establishments. It is not that citizens are not smart or
in-disciplined, what we all lack is awareness.
