The reasons why Bombay may never be able to stay afloat in case of rains and why buildings will keep crashing during rains killing people is complicated.So complicated that no government will be able to solve the problem.
First is no government has the will to address the root cause of the problem, second is the laws that prevent any solution.Bombay, up to Mahim, is still on ‘Pagdi’ system. Most of the accommodation is on rent and the rent is pathetic, stuck in history, controlled by Rent Control Act.
Some of the houses in South Bombay spread over thousands of square feet of prime space pay less than 100 as rent to the land lords. These were given on a pagdi system, where a deposit was paid and one third of transfer price of the pagadi is paid by the seller to the owner.
The properties are today worth tens of crores but the tax they pay and the rent the residents pay are pathetic. So the landlords actually wait for buildings to fall such that they can get back the land on which such buildings stand.
Today, due to many reasons, South Bombay has lost its value due to the population moving North and out of Bombay. MCGM drags its feet over property taxes and charges, the rich are able to get the government to maintain status quo and the city rots to glory.
Some of the old city areas are highly congested and have some of the highest densities in the world but people won’t budge an inch from where they are staying or working.
I have often wondered that only a nuclear strike can solve Bombay’s problem. Because nothing else can. It is my challenge to anyone, any bureaucrat or any politician, that they can not reform or change Bombay from being a glorified slum to a modern city.
We have to lump it.
So stop complaining about water logging and Bombay’s various problems, because like most things in this country, chances are you are part of the problem and are never going to be part of the solution.
Grin and Bear It.
