He's cleaning up. Can Mumbai do the same?
by Charlie Edwards
The lack of infrastructure and the almost mind-numbingly slow action by local authorities to rectify the increasingly difficult problems of sewage, transport and roads, are what many people believe to be the 'bottle neck to the city�s further expansion'.
But in reality it is the sheer scale of the problem that is the cause of such little action. An estimated 40-50% (6-7 million people) of Bombay's residents are said to live in slums or shantytowns, with most of the inhabitants migrating from the poorer states of Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Due to poverty, high rent and real estate prices, they are unable to afford proper accommodation and so are forced to build where they can find space.
This has a major impact on Mumbai�s infrastructure; such an impact in fact that some businessmen in Mumbai privately admit that the city�s reputation as an offshoring destination will begin to wane if the problems persist. Already some companies are moving to other cities in the region citing infrastructure problems and market saturation.
One possible way to help the situation is actually already happening, albeit on an ad hoc basis. Some of the business parks that are being privately developed include new roads and drainage systems. The local authority then develops link roads to the actual site.
Might it be possible to harness this type of public private partnership and put it to use in some of the worst off areas? I can�t help thinking that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one framework that companies could employ in local areas near their sites around the city. We can't simply rely on NGOs to continue to work in the slums, instead a concerted effort has to be made to make everyone responsible for developing the city..... I know I know, easier said than done.