Materialism is neither development nor civilization.

JVLR & Singur

I have been born and brought in Powai, a central suburb in Mumbai which is more like an extended neighbourhood where I know almost every second or third person. Of late, it has become famous for three landmarks-Powai Lake which is fighting a losing battle against humans and weeds, IIT (needs no description) and Hiranandani Gardens (one of the earliest concrete jungles to come up in the suburbs). The lives of the residents of this small place are all set to change thanks to JVLR (Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road), a six lane highway that will make commuting between the Western and Central suburbs faster and easier. Many landmarks are set to be erased or relocated by the bulldozers and the prominent amongst them is a Hanuman temple that was built much before even India got its independence. The demolitions and road widening have started on what is now the Adi Shankaracharya Marg and what will soon become a part of the wide road that is one of the many vain attempts to transform Mumbai into Shanghai.
Singur is making headlines because it is the site where the Tatas are setting up a plant that will be producing the common man’s 1 lakh car.
Now what is common between Singur and JVLR?
In both cases land is being snatched from the poor in the name of development for projects that have no or little social value. Besides what moral right or legitimacy does the government have to promote such causes at the expense of the less privileged?
The answer to this question is that the society has to make sacrifices to move forward on the path of progress and development and such sacrifices are unavoidable. It must also be understood that such projects do not always yield immediate or direct benefits to those affected or involved. Therefore the least that the Govt. can and should do is to ensure that the following conditions are fulfilled.
Adequate compensation and rehabilitation is provided to the displaced and affected population.
The project is environmentally and socially relevant.
This article deals with the second condition which is ignored by most and considered only by environmental crusaders.

I must concede that once JVLR is ready it will significantly cut down the time taken to commute between the Western and Central suburbs. However has anyone thought as to why does it take so much time for commuting in Mumbai in the first place?
Most people might say that the city does not have roads good enough to handle the traffic. This perception though popular is not the correct answer and it does not reflect the right approach to solve the problem. Some facts and statistics should make it clearer.
About 250 new vehicles get added every day to the streets of Mumbai and there are roughly 599 private vehicles per square km. in the city. Flyovers and widened roads are used more by the private vehicles rather than by BEST buses. One glance during the peak hours is all that it takes to understand the problem. Typically during the peak hours a BEST bus carries close to 100 passengers which is well beyond the permissible limit. On the other hand most of the space in roads is occupied by the private vehicles, auto rickshaws and taxis which normally carry one or two passengers which is well below their capacities. In other words, a BEST bus is equivalent to almost 30-40 cars. It is obvious that such fancy projects do not serve the needs of the majority but instead fulfill the desires of a privileged few. It does not take a scientist or a Nobel laureate to tell you that in a country like India projects of social relevance should take precedence over politically motivated or populist policies.
Just a few days ago a long caravan of cars was seen in IIT on the day when students appeared for JEE and as expected it clogged even the widest road in the institute. The cars belonged to parents who had accompanied them all the way to Convocation Hall where the exams were being held. Ironically this is the same institute where symposiums, conferences and festivals are held to solve the problem of Global Warming.
Moral: You can alter your shirt to clothe Stuart Little but don’t try to do the same for a baby elephant.
Coming to Singur, has anybody thought whether our country, which has 16% of the world’s population and 2% of the land, needs a car that can be bought for Rs. 1 lakh? Assuming that we manage to solve our energy needs and discover a fuel that can be used to run the Rs. 1 lakh car (an impossibility as long as the Govt. tries to subsidise petroleum prices instead of looking for cheaper, cleaner and renewable sources of energy), will things still be better than what they are now? What will be the costs the society and the environment will have to pay when every Indian has a car of his/her own?
The society and the government have two options in front of them:
Resigning and reconciling to the fact that this is India where not everybody can have a car of his own and therefore mass transport makes a lot more sense.
Or developing a radically and fundamentally different system of transportation like ‘teleporting’ as shown in some sci-fi films, cartoons and Poke’mon where people are transported through wires like e-mail and telephone calls.

The total indifference to the social relevance of these projects is a reflection of our collective conscience and our attitude towards life. Therefore we complain that there is a shortage of power, water, adequate transport system whereas we are not willing to adjust to the situation. Therefore the spoilt brats of South Mumbai do not hesitate to fiddle with their gaming consoles and latest gadgets and thanks to them students in the suburbs and outskirts of the city are forced to study under streetlights. Would you get a new pair of shirts every fortnight for a man who is expanding laterally and getting fatter every day or would you advise him to become slimmer? Elaborating on this point will be a diversion and therefore I reserve it for discussion some other time.

Luxury comes with two price tags. One is for possessing it and the other is for flaunting it. So one pays for the car or AC he buys but does he pay for the pollution it creates? Many of the problems that we are facing today is because people do not pay for the recurring costs. The recurring costs have to be borne by the society and many a times the harm caused cannot be always translated in numbers. Therefore we lose our precious foreign exchange on petroleum which is the economy’s biggest exchequer. Besides can the pollution so caused be quantified or translated in money? Real luxury can and should never be cheap.
I do not advocate a complete obliteration of private vehicles or luxury items. I don’t expect Shahrukh Khan or Anil Ambani to commute in a BEST bus. They are the ones who can afford luxury and deserve it. But the vast majority does not deserve such items

Moral: If you want to display your opulence, do so by buying the latest Hydrogen powered car instead of the usual energy guzzling SUV.

The Argumentative Indian (if there is one) does not sit back and watch politicians (a derogatory word for people who were once among us and who are unfortunately our leaders) woo gullible voters with their populist policies. He stands to be seen and speaks to be heard by those who are in power. Therefore Mr. Yadav, we do not need internet cafes or tea in kulhads at railway stations. Instead what we demand is quadrupling of the
stretch from Borivali to Virar where more than 5000 people get squeezed in a train meant for 1800 just to earn their livelihood. There are so many issues such as these that need to be urgently handled and handled in a way so that the purpose of the entire exercise is not defeated. Finally when you enjoy the ride on a highway or a railway line, just think about those who once lived there. When you buy a gallon of petrol just think about the rise in sea level in Hawaii and your money that goes to Middle Eastern countries to fund terrorism.
The readers cannot dismiss or ignore this article under the erroneous assumption that it has been written by a cynic, socialist or by someone who is plainly jealous.
To conclude, before we become the next economic superpower we must not forget that we have more than a billion mouths to feed. As for Powai, it will become the scapegoat and get dissected by the demolition squads because it is not Peddar Road.