GREEN EMINENT

Urban Development: Growth Prospects and Gainers

We are living in the age wherein the development of cities are being taken at the reckless speed no matter what comes we are bound to grow at least to show that our infrastructure in up to the mark. Who benefits? rather we need to take care how to make maximum out of present development policy of the state and central governments. The urban development bodies of state are in hurry to complete the detailed design without waiting for the citizens to have a look that what is being done for the city. The city leaders are made to sign on the dotted line since the states do not have times to look at what they concerned about. The constitution of India however may have empowered the local bodies to take developmental decisions but its central and state governments calling the shots!! This allows only the local body implement the schemes as per the wishes of the state. The local bodies are not been made capable to decide what is right for them inspite of lots of dissatisfactions from the citizens the state is hell bent on projecting cities as their own political mask for development.

The local businesses or the developers or contractors are seldom benefited from this kind of the activities. Since the grand scale of the project does not allow them to goahead in their economic plans. The multi nationals or the large corporate bodies are running the show whether its development of mumbai, delhi or kanpur. Not only that they have guts to now bid for the minscule projects on the medium and smallers cities for the projects scaled upto crores of rupees.

How does this help the local industries to revive or survive in the present economic slowdown? When we have last heard of environmental ministry hearing for these large scale projects. Rather it was never felt that these require any clearances. Like land acquisition policy we have now development policy which have been enforced to the local bodies no matter what concerns they have its state or central bodies who decides what can roll on these urban lands. Its matter of grave concern that urban planners being party to the development efforts which is reckless and devastating for the cities where in the concerns of the citizens are not taken care by the urban development policies.