The vision of the Mahrashtra government and Mumbai Metropolitan Corporations is: "Transforming Mumbai to a world class city with a vibrant economy and globally comparable quality of life."
So what are they doing to transform Mumbai - the Manhattan of South Asia - into a world-class metropolis? I got an opportunity to peep into the plans of the biggest metropolis next door, thanks to South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA). It took a delegation of journalists, politicians, businessmen, social activists, educationists and artists; we got an opportunity to inter-act with government officials and representatives of the civil society, besides touching base with our usual friends. I spent a week in India all that I saw and learnt would take a couple of weeks to diary.
First, let's have a look at the ambitious plan of the government to transform Mumbai into a world-class city. Mumbai is a melting pot of over 18 million people squeezed in some 4355 sq.km. The peninsula of Mumbai has 7 corporations, 13 municipal councils, 7 urban centers and 950 villages. At present it is the 4th largest city of the world and planners think that in 10 years it would be the second largest city after Tokyo.
Karachi is the 13th largest city and by 2015 it would be the 9th largest city. But the major problem with Mumbai is that it has water on three sides. While Karachi has a land mass to grow in three directions, Mumbai can grow only North-ward.
Mumbai Metropolitan Commissioner, Dr Chandra Shekar explained to us that the three-pronged transformation plan: Building transport infrastructure, housing for the poor and civic infrastructure. All this they envisage would make Mumbai a world-class city and contribute to economic growth.
In Mumbai 11 million people travel daily by public transport. It has an efficient public transport system but it is crumbling and over-stretched. The mainstay is rail, which carries 48percent load, followed by 44percent by bus and 8percent by private vehicles. Against the total capacity of 1750 passengers per train, they are carrying at an average 4500 passengers.
To ease the situation they are now going to expand the railway network spending something line Indian Rs 31.40 billion. Two reasons for their train system taking the biggest load of the commuters are that the rest of public transport works as feeder system from the railway stations and the trains ply more frequently.
While the local train system is breaking even operationally from the ticket revenue, the buses are in public sector and are cross-subsidised by the income of the Bombay Electricity and Transport (BEST). These perhaps may be the biggest cause of the failure of our circular railway. There were only a few trains plying during the day connecting North and South Karachi and the rest of the public transport system was not complementary either.
All mega cities usually have subsidised public transport system, some thing that our market fundamentalists cannot digest because of their narrow vision. The fact is the subsidy provided to public for commuting in the city is indirectly a subsidy to the employers. An efficient and reliable public transport system also makes economic sense, as it is linked with the productivity of the people and is more environment friendly.
According to Dr Shekar the city is working on an Indian-Rs 26.47 billion programme to build expressways, roads and flyovers. This is expected to ease the painful Mumbai traffic jams.
At present people living in suburbs have to commute two hours each way, if they choose to do so by car. Over 60,000 vehicles are being added to Mumbai's 1.3 million cars and motorbikes on the roads.
One of the major problems according to Mahrashtra Chief Minister Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh is that of slums in Mumbai. Roughly every second person in Mumbai lives in slums, which are some 3000 in number. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has estimated that they need 1.2 million houses to remove the encroachments and settle these slum-dwellers. This does not include a huge number of dilapidated buildings which are dangerous for living. So the task ahead is mammoth.
They have started shifting the slum dwellers to the small apartments, which are being constructed in public private partnership.
Ghazi Salahuddin highlighted some of the best practices in the housing sector, which have been successful in Karachi. He gave the example of the work done by Tasneem Siddiqui on Khuda Ki Basti and Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan in Orangi. I think while NGOs can show us the path they cannot fill in for the government and allow them to abdicate from their basic duties.
Unlike Karachi, Mumbai suburbs are developing very fast. A visit to its IT suburb Malad shows the rising purchasing power of the middle classes, as a number of world-class shopping malls and business building are sprouting up in every district of Mumbai.
The three year plan of Maharashtra government to develop Mumbai in to a world-class city is estimated to cost over Rs 366 billion, which includes Rs 107 billion financial assistance.
When we came out of the briefing by MMRDA on this plan Uzma Noorani, a social activist, asked me, do we have any such plan for Karachi? My reply was that there is no dearth of plans and the MQM City Government, I believe, is working on yet another greater Karachi development plan. But the real test would be how much of the ambitious Mumbai and Karachi plans would be implemented? While public perception in Mumbai is that things are improving and work in all the areas is visible, Karachi has a long way to go to build this confidence among the Karachiites.
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