Once again, the country has been caught on the wrong foot as the monsoon is creating havoc in almost all major cities of the country. Lack of preparedness was evident in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh and Mohali amongst others, leaving the citizens with no hope for protection against torrential rain and waterlogging . It was expected that this year there would be some respite from these problems as the Central Government had informed the parliament that INR 1,180 crore has been spent under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) programme to resolve waterlogging problems in 2300 points in around 500 cities and towns of the country. But the pictures of water clogged roads of Mumbai to Chandigarh and from down south clearly depict a different story. From the developments, it is now amply clear that crores of taxpayer’s money has truly gone down the drain. A collusion between unscrupulous contractors and some government servants, who were in-charge of implementation of these projects, cannot be ruled out in this regard. Surely, the states should be made answerable as urban planning comes under their purview; otherwise the deluge will continue to destroy lives and properties year after year.
Combating the menace of monsoon is not at all difficult in comparison to other natural disasters as the rainy season comes yearly at a specific time. It provides us with enough time to strengthen our defences against the monsoon. Further, ninety per cent of the problems caused by the monsoon can be tackled by simply having an effective drainage system and the rest of the problems should be tackled by the public health system. But, as we do not maintain our drainage systems, the problems become bigger with people losing lives due to electrocution or drowning. To avoid such issues, local authorities are required to follow certain procedures before the arrival of monsoon every year. Activities such as cleaning of drains, removal of silt, repairing of roads are the few essential steps that local bodies are duty-bound to undertake before every monsoon. As a matter of fact, funds are earmarked for these purposes in every local body, apart from contingency funds which can be used in an emergency situation.
It’s a pity that despite being the richest corporation of the country, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) or the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) along with other local bodies have not followed the standard operating procedures. As a result, life has been thrown out of gear in most of the important cities in India causing huge financial loss, which the country can ill afford at this crucial time when the world wide economy is on a downward slide. Urban planning and implementation is a must as the people are fed up of facing the same misery every monsoon.