New Political Dharma of NDA

The NDA seems to have been wearing shoes of Communist Party of India (M), while the nation grapples with the price hike (though we thought the NDA agreed to decontrol the petrol prices by Government of India, the sector is still in the clutches of government. Given the decontrol regime the prices of the essentials are well within control, the petroleum sector now dominated by major corporates even NDA would not be able to live without pleasing its corporate funders. The comparative prices of the petroleum products under the free market economy is controlled by the corporates. The subsidy components offered to the citizens of India were to be phased out, but could not happens sans the political will of the parties in power and opposition.

Now after recent hike the NDA would be on the roads, and so would be our 'poor' middle class. The traditional congress bashing and credit of price rise would be going to core group of Government of India. From Corruption the country is diverted to petrol price hike..do you see politcal angle...let the new poster boy of BJP handle the situation, and leave the sulking grand old man of BJP aside.

Hail the champion of 'Party with Difference'

Truth Prevails..or Ignorance

Development issues or those concerning the masses are seldom being discussed in the public domains where commons are more busy about looking life and beyond the ordinary life. The recent TV show Satyamev Jayate hosted by Amir Khan holds discussion and brings issues common to the concerns of those into the development works. The tasks scientifically performed by organisations such as Population Councils, Planning Commission, Pollution Control Board etc who seldom produce the results in the language most understood by the men on the street. The TV show is welcome step towards looking at the issues from the different prism. Many concerns related to society which remains to be driven by highly technical talks by the experts needs to be told to citizens of the country. Their concerns and activities goes beyond nominal corruption, the people are poorly aware about the functioning of parliaments, operations of MNC, trading of stock, banks, insurance companies. The bottom line is that many of these functions are poorly managed and some times people ignore the realities behind the scenes. The ignorance of the people or deliberate omission of the resposibilities acts like a twin sword on the development agenda.

How many of us know that urban local bodies needs to conduct Area Sabhas (like Gram Sabha) to take opinion of citizens on development issues?

Crores of Rupees are spend on the cities and citizens are charged through taxes but we have not bothered to ask questions on how and why such an project?

Participation of citizens for the development projects remains to be just beneficiaries only, the people who are left out has not much concerned to the activities or planning for their own cities. Do we mean all these money or expenditure done by the governments, people have no role?

Prices of properties across the cities are rising steeply. Do we think the middle class even with the monthly take of 10,000-25000 would be able to purchase property in metropolitan cities?

Answers are difficult to find, there are layers of activities, it would be wise for the TV shows to inform the public on truth behind the scenes. Rest let them be ignored for their own plight.

Development erodes your past...

As it is true for the community development programs, the image make over of the CM Modi in Gujarat had been immense. For the worse nightmares of 2002 to the giagentic development projections of 2012, the state has moved ahead to bulldoze any defamation sought after the Godhra and its aftermath. Despite the thousands of rims have been written accusing the CM, he has staged a clear win over his rivals. Many may not like it this way, but not many would also like to punish the CM who has benefitted the citizens of state he is being cherished as Gujarat no Sher. There are people who with real passion for the secularism have backtracked given the frontal attack by the RSS, BJP and other friends. The ideologies produced for the political gain have succeded in polarisation of the societies and now the state against the centre. The notion of state verses central if it limited to political lobies its okay but it has traversed its path towards the general public, hoardings and banners have come out in support or opposing the claims by the centre and state. Who has the authority on the state is clear Round -I Mr. CM has won over the centre's so called the weak PM. The personal attack has become talk of the political circles if you do not like my thought just go out and bark somewhere else.

Nothing happens so as to unplease Mr. Modi, he feared and respected as Uncle SAM, the streets are well praising the Namos success, the past has given to the ghost to talk about till the table is turned. Not for sure in next election.

Hail the ruler.. Hail the Namo Kings Amen!!

Dream Merchants: Dharavi Unmarked

Dharavi represents the class conflicts and the lust for the land grabber with slew of promises to the slum dwellers, during the last ten years scores of architects and planners have landed in Dharavi each promising them better life than another. The state government going with the wind pledged investment to the tune of 15000 crores just to see the face of Dharavi lifted from being 'Slum' to an 'elite' areas with all the modern amenities and lifestyle. Rather than listning to what the learned professionals were saying and people in the slum tend to believe in themselves have rejected the lure by the developers. The people who had planned heavens for them are lingering again to adjust their plan as per the peoples wishes, but there is not a end to their desires.

The urban elitists who would otherwise have shunned the slum dwellers are vying for their precious land, just to justify their investments. The combination of professionals makes them deadly in the sense that they have counted themselves as 'stakeholders' and have forgotten about the people. The numerous design awards for the space design had really place excitment over the place but counter arguments and so called stakeholders veto the decisions. Thus there is hangover of the desingers looming large over the space and people repeatdly confronting them of the why and how. May be the manner in which the Slum Rehabilitation Schemes have progressed in Mumbai where in the developers and builders have chance to grab the land and give some peanuts to the people. The people who they have termed illigal and unwanting on not so precious at another site and place here they have been cajoled to shall out the peice of land for the neo-rich where they agree to stay with providing identical settings for the slum dwellers.

Mr. Architect, turned back from US now, looks for green pastures outside the Dharavi, where to go now, ten years of wait has made the life of his firm on backseat with state governments not promising any action, these dream merchant is now selling spree on other parts of country. Here comes the big stakeholders, do you know what slum rehabilitation is like...just a peice of concrete and nothing more. The image of city, without Dharavi will be no diffrent there are fifty more in making...some more thought making your city 'Slum free' just ignore them!