Wake-up time for Mumbai
ANDso its come to pass that Mumbai is in a state of general decay, decline and disrepair. The city can truly blame some external forces such as, collapse of the rural economy and the ensuing migration into the city for much of the mess. But, then its also true that the city is sinking deeper into the morass because of its inability to float or a lack of desire to salvage its plunging fortunes. The stress is evident on all organs of the metropolis and recently one of the citys lifelines piped up with a suggestion, made out of turn but definitely born out of a sense of frustration.
The Western Railway general manager recently suggested that the Maharashtra state administration should seriously consider moving its offices and staff out of downtown Mumbai, especially business district Nariman Point, to somewhere else in the state, preferably Navi Mumbai. Now, this might seem a bit bizarre, given that the man is not only way out of line but is also speaking his mind when nobody asked him for his opinion. But then, his statement carries immense logic it is his railways that have to bear the load of the government, in a manner of speaking.
The state governments main administrative offices employ close to 10,000 people. In addition, another 10,000 come from various parts of the state to these offices with some grievance or the other. This doesnt take into account some of the other government offices, such as the collectors offices or the income tax, municipal corporation or even licensing departments. In all, over 250,000 people from these offices probably use the rail corridor to come to the southernmost tip of the city to work. And, we are not even counting customs, excise, and sales tax, Reserve Bank of India, State Bank of India or LIC. These offices then spawn an ancillary and dependent structure around themselves, who also depend on the rail system.
Look at the load that the railways have to carry every day. On the western suburban line, the railways carry 32.4 lakh passengers on 68 rakes. Another 33 lakh commuters use the central suburban services. But, this is not a static number. Its growing every passing day. For example, Western Railway added 87,000 new passengers in just five months between April and September. Apart from all the other suggestions on increasing multi-modal transport systems in the city, the gentleman from the railways has rake-loads of logic on his side.
The central point is this: the government and its administrative machinery in all states has no business locating its headquarters in either the city center or the business districts. The Maharashtra government, for example, should re-settle in Navi Mumbai (or anywhere else) and sell the land in Nariman Point. This would also help bring down real estate prices in the city and induce new businesses to bring in their investments. In some cases, like Writers Building in Kolkata, the government can turn their magnificent edifices into a museum. One dare not suggest that the Karnataka government turn Vidhana Soudha into a hotel, but some other sensible use could surely be found for that splendid structure.
But, theres no getting away from the issue: there is no earthly reason for a government to be in the middle of the city, hogging acres of valuable space for work that might be productive in some senses, but whose value surely does not justify the opportunity cost of the land. There are examples of how governments have moved away from their traditional seats of power and formed new cities. Take the example of Gujarat. Following the split of the old state of Bombay (into Maharashtra and Gujarat) in 1960, Ahmedabad should have logically become the capital of Gujarat. But, then they decided to build a completely new city 32 km from Ahmedabad, called Gandhinagar, to house just the government machinery. Professional architects were drafted to design a new city from scratch. The inspiration was drawn from another new city created by independent India, Chandigarh. On his visit to the site where modern-day Chandigarh today stands, former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru is believed to have said: The site chosen is free from the existing encumbrances of old towns and old traditions. Let it be the first expression of our creative genius flowing on our newly earned freedom. Let it be a new town symbolic of the freedom of India unfettered by the traditions of the past and expression of the nations faith in the future.
Will the Maharashtra government renew that faith?