Mono or Metro

Most of us, the aware citizens, exercise dutifully our franchise whenever elections are held, and vote massively in favour of a change, hoping that the new government makes beneficial changes. And that only after dissemination of information, dialogue, discourse and even informed dissent as befitting a mature and enlightened democracy. But what we witness today is disruption, dismantling, demolition, or an attempt to throw out of the window the bath tub and the baby just because something was initiated by the predecessor government.

If only this TGV- (Train a Grand Vitesse)like speed is the standard the new government has set for itself in reforms, particularly in bringing to the people services without elements of a patronising culture and executing infrastructure projects ahead of schedule, then there is no doubt that Tamil Nadu will be numero uno in India in the near future.

However, a doubt arises regarding the interface of aspirations of an elected government and the advice of the permanent bureaucracy. Even if many projects in infrastructure, office space, education and health are not exactly to the liking of the new dispensation, surely they were prepared by competent bureaucrats after thinking through and writing elaborate internal notes and power point presentations. Why is it that our corps of “neutral” officers, even if not individually but collectively is not able to prevent costly disruptions and new misadventures at the whims of the new government?

The MRTS experience

Be that as it may. Highly qualified town planners, experts in urban economics, aces in transportation had been engaged for decades in debate over the issue of the right mode and mix of mass transit for the exponential increase in requirements for Chennai. It was thought MRTS (Mass Rail Transport System) would be an answer or at least a partially. MRTS was and remains an eternal WIP (Work In Progress). Of course, when it was planned in the eighties no one may have foreseen that the entire landscape would change with the advent of IT industry and services and rapid urbanisation. In a recent article in

the New York Times about the chaos called Gurgoan near Delhi, it was pointed out that the meagre administration in Haryana could not cope with the lightning speed with which private industry, office space and transport requirements grew phenomenally. . At least Gurgaon has an excuse that the only officer posted to look after its development till 1990s was a Commissioner of Industrial Development in Haryana. Chennai grew right under the nose of powerful Chief Ministers.

Travails continue

For over two decades, all we had was seminars, newspaper articles highlighting commuters' travails in the form of foot board travellers, strap hanging rail commuters and parlous obstacles for pedestrians. With the success of the Delhi Metro there appeared to be some hope of replicating the model here. The hapless citizens were informed that a 45-km Metro would be constructed with Japanese assistance to be operational from 2013 and fully ready from 2015. There are always arguments about the relative merits of various mass transit systems: Metro Rail, Mono rail, Rapid Bus Corridors and so on.

To the limited knowledge of the author and his stay and visits abroad it appears the Metro is a clear choice for the teeming and dense population such as Chennai. It is reported that the new government is having a rapid rethink on Metro to supplant or supplement by Mono rail. In the end, should we blame electoral democracy for our uncertain destiny?

(The author is a former Member, Ordnance Factories Board.)