Can we save Mumbai from slums
The Government in Maharashtra has done what was expected due to the forthcoming State Assembly Elections – it has extended the cut off date for slums from 1995 to 2000 and to hell with the Court Orders! Political expediency always prevails – long term solutions are way beyond the mental capacity of our leaders/dealers. By extending the cut off, we are now going to give free housing to an estimated 250000 people – at what and whose cost? Does the city have the infrastructure to support its existing population? Today we are facing a 20% water cut due to the delay in the monsoons, roads are no longer roads but a series of potholes, garbage disposal is more a headache, construction debris is dumped on the only green cover left in the city, the marshlands – with the builder-police-politician nexus turning a blind eye. So where are we heading? Why do our politicians not look for solutions which are obvious? The only reason is lucre – filthy lucre with which our so called leaders have been bl...