Lucknow: A Struggling Megacity
The WSJ has an interesting article about the challenges faced by the city of Lucknow.
This capital of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh was once an orderly place known for its baroque monuments and lush gardens. Today, Lucknow has more than 780 slums, overflowing sewage pipes and streets choked by gridlock. Its population of 2.7 million, nearly triple the number in the 1980s, is adding as many as 150,000 new residents a year.
Here are some fundamental issues related to governance as outlined in the article.
Part of the problem: Lucknow, like many Indian cities, is managed by a bewildering array of government bodies that don’t always coordinate activities. In theory, Lucknow is led by an elected mayor and 110-member Municipal Corporation, similar to a U.S. city council. Together, they share oversight of basic services such as water, housing and roads. But in practice, the elected officials’ authority is sharply limited by the half-dozen or more other government bodies that wield power in town.
Chief among them is the Lucknow Development Authority, a group of unelected bureaucrats who have the authority to develop new housing projects and roads within them. But after a few years, when the developments are completed, the LDA hands over management of the projects to the Municipal Corporation, which doesn’t always have enough money to maintain basic services such as water, sewage and street lights.
The result is dysfunctional government, says U.B. Singh, an urban-studies professor at the University of Lucknow. The mayor has the power to authorize the building of new roads, but not new bridges — a big problem in a city that flanks a river and is crisscrossed by canals. Despite rapidly falling water tables, there is no single authority empowered to determine when and where residents can drill wells. Private citizens regularly take matters into their own hands and drill for water themselves, further depleting the resources.
Clearly another case for a more efficient approach to governance. Similar challenges are bound to be there in other parts of India.
About 700 people from different parts of Delhi went to the national headquarters of Congress, BJP and CPM today to ask– “If you came to power, will you pass the law to give us Swaraj?” Swaraj Abhiyan is a campaign being run by several NGOs, organizations, groups and individuals across the country who are demanding power to the people these elections. The parties assured that they would consider the matter and revert.
The Swaraj Abhiyan group reached the Congress office at 10 am, when immediately about 11 people of the campaign, including Arvind Kejriwal, were detained and taken to police station for almost two hours by Tughlak Road police. They were later released.
The party representatives, who met us today, did not give any commitment but assured that the letters would be placed before party high command and would respond soonest.