Attempts to channelise energies and think positively

Today as I got back home, I was filled with frustration, that caused by all the traffic jams I had to face during the day (and for all these days in Gurgaon). For example the area around my office is in such a mess and chaos especially during office hours (and even otherwise) mainly because of bad planning of roads, their 'available' area (quite a bit of it being blocked by parked vehicles without fear of any legal action) and rest of this mess being contributed by erratic traffic sense of people, lack of patience and lack fear of traffic laws. And this is the situation when there some 7 DLF towers operating in an area of about 300 metres radius; there are another 5-6 coming up, and I am really sceptical about what would happen when the number of cars would double on same cramped road infrastructure. The roads inside old town of Gurgaon are totally broken and have lived out their utility due to excess traffic. I am worried and frustrated as well at the end of this experience.

But as I settled at home, I realised that this negative use of energy won't help; not at least my mind. So I thought of writing this note, essentially to cool down my mind and at least help me channel the energy in a positive direction.

You know I realised that all these years we thought that better growth would bring happiness; I think the reverse is happening; while I agree that there are pains involved in growth phases, but how does one explain broken roads and lack of planning to accommodate growing traffic which is result of such growth. Doesn't investing in growth and actually growing at >8% also include planning and implementing new systems and infrastructure so that we accrue the benefits of this growth in a happy manner. Roads in Gurgaon have remained the same quality since I was a child. I cannot attribute this to pains of growth; I thought higher growth would generate higher incomes for government also in the form of existing and new taxes, which should improve infrastructure. But no, that is not happening. Not only existing infrastructure has not improved, but the upcoming infrastructure is not being planned to accommodate growth. Leave Gurgaon, talk of Bangalore or Bombay; wasn't there anybody there who realised that there would be many more people and businesses in the city, so that infrastructure at least keeps pace with the needs, if not deteriorate. Well, I think Hyderabad (and also Delhi) was one place which fares somewhat better and has managed to keep things in order during this growth phase. It is another thing that the man, i.e. Mr Naidu who brought about this change was given thumbs down primarily by rural voters (rural voters were right in the sense their lives did not improve because of all this); educated, intellectuals like us anyways do not care to vote.

How many times have you voted in any of the elections of your constituency?

All these years the politicians believed or rather wanted to believe that India would grow a Hindu rate of growth ~ 2-3%. Well, even for that kind of growth we had bad infrastructure. They never planned that there would be better growth and Indians would be richer to afford cars and ACs and hence they need to build roads and power plants to take care of these needs (well, the government also makes money on new toll roads and by selling electricity at 14% profit margins and earns taxes on each new car and AC). How else can one reason out that liberalisation in early 90's and investment in infrastructure did not go hand in hand for almost a decade. We only had NHAI quadrilaterals, Delhi Metro projects starting in late 90's, while the liberalisation and growth began in early 90's. Electricity is anyway in serious problem even now.

So, planning was completely missing from all this. And of course what was missing was the will to improve things; anyway politicians and the richest class who could afford to stay in good localities and only travel on highway like roads and have 24 hour power back-ups didn't care much. The bureaucracy anyways could not do much beyond a point; in a democracy like India, politicians are the all powerful creatures elected by part of the billion population; and this part anyways doesn't include many of the educated intellectuals who work from 9 to 5, crib about situations but do not vote and then full stop!

Machines do not do planning, roads and power plants do not think; it is people behind them who plan and think. If people do not think and plan or do not have the will, good intentions and the calibre (calibre having small contribution though in this) to plan and implement good things in a country, then nothing would improve. In all this, till now the biggest shortage has been of will and intention to 'do something'.

If out of the 'n' people who plan and run the system/country/government, less than 50% people are 'the willing' and 'good intention ones' the system would never improve. Boss! This is a democracy and the unwilling and wrong intentioned would outnumber and overpower the other half to make things better for themselves and worse for the rest of the country.

So why don't we have good people into the system? Why is it that the educated intellectuals who are better planners, thinkers, implementers and good intentioned do not outnumber the other half? They do not even vote, damn it.

I wrote all this because we are a lot who were together taught a lot of planning and managing in the same school, and I thought you would think of answers to this mess: the mess of not having good people in the system. More importantly, can we do something about it. And I call it a mess because higher is the worse lot of people in the system of a country, higher is a chance that the 'willing' and 'good intentioned' lot would be discouraged to contribute anything to the system. It is a clear vicious cycle.