Shubhra’s Article

The other day, as I was strolling down Vyapar Kendra Market in Sushant Lok-I, I saw the unabated use of plastic in shop after shop. The toy shops had teddy bears hung outside in thick, glossy plastic bags, the dry-cleaning shops displayed readied business suits in long plastic canvases, and the carry bags that were being doled out to customers were the typical multi-coloured polypropylene bags. As I came outside the busy market, cows were eating from a large open mixed waste dump, much of which had polythene bags. With so much reliance on plastic, the on-ground scenario made me think: Are we indeed ready to implement the single-use plastic ban announced by the Prime Minister, starting October 2, 2019? Single-use plastic refers to disposable plastic that finds a one-time use. It is the most visible and used plastic; in fact, more than 50% of all plastic produced is single-use plastic. To be sure, the ban is on six items — plastic bags, cups, plates, small bottles, straws and certain types of sachets. The national objective, as per the PM, is to wipe off the use of all single-use plastic by 2022. While it is the first time that a nationwide call against plastics has been made, it will need a Herculean effort from all quarters — the government, the manufacturers, the product users and the end consumers — to abolish single-use plastics. In the past, most states have declared bans and strict penalties on the use and manufacture of certain kinds of plastic. At the national level too, the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules were put into place as early as 2011 and the Plastic Waste Management Rules were introduced in 2016, but the rules were of little use. Clearly, the fight to make India plastic-free is not an easy one. We will have to break away from the lure of plastic. The end consumer has to say a brave no to plastic carry bags and polythene bags while shopping, and replace them with cloth bags, stop buying plastic water bottles when on the move and use metal bottles instead, stop buying food items in plastic containers, avoid plastic cutlery and straws when eating outside or while organising events, and say no to products delivered in plastic packaging from online companies. That will, to my mind, reduce the demand. There are some positive changes already. The Airport Authority of India has banned single-use plastic items at 16 airports. Some airlines have announced that they will not use plastic products on their flights. Some manufacturers have shifted from using plastics to renewable and biodegradable packing material for their products. A large e-commerce company recently announced that it is replacing poly pouches with recycled paper bags and bubble wraps and airbags with carton-waste shredded material. Another e-commerce giant has said that it will eliminate single-use plastic from its packaging by June 2020. These companies are also beginning to collect back a part of the plastic as part of the Extended Producers’ Responsibility and recycle it. Besides, more conscious citizens are replacing plastic kitchen jars, plates, lunch boxes and bottles with stainless-steel or metal items. Cloth bags are now in more supply and have become fashionable too. In spreading awareness about plastics, two to three messages are paramount. One, plastics never get degraded but get broken down into smaller, minute pieces, and these microplastics enter our food chain and humans and animals end up eating and drinking from them. Plastic in landfills percolates down and pollutes our groundwater. If we burn it instead, it pollutes the air. Two, it is most unhealthy to use low-grade plastics for food and beverages. This needs to be stopped immediately. Lastly, very little plastic gets recycled; what is largely done is down-cycling of plastic to lower grades and reusing it. However, downgraded plastic still stays in the environment. Let Gurugram take a serious note of the nationwide call for a plastic ban and be among the first few cities to declare it is as being free from the use of single-use plastic.

Any urban local body has a lot to contribute to a city’s liveability. In the last few days, several developments have once again put the spotlight on Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG). The latest was the news of the takeover of eight colonies by the corporation from private builders. This means that all services such as maintenance of roads, sewerage, drainage, upkeep of park and street lights as well as issues such as security, encroachments, etc. of these private colonies would now be in the hands of the MCG. The MCG is also planning to get ward committees in each of the 35 wards of the city to ensure that citizens of these wards act as foot soldiers and watchdogs for maintenance of all civic activities and that councillors play a more active role in local governance. There was also the news that MCG was able to utilise only 25% of its allocated budget in 2018-19. All these developments point towards the need for urgent capacity building within this large institution, which has several departments and a complex organisational structure. To begin with, frequent changes at the top is very unsettling for bringing any lasting functional changes. The organisation structure also doesn’t allow any central intelligence to build up and very often the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. Responsibility and accountability remain loose and the organisation is always in a reactive gear than a pro-active mode. Motivation of staff to outperform is also low. There is simply too much on the plate — too many functions to administer, several ongoing and new projects to be undertaken and too many special drives to be undertaken. Some positive changes, such as increasing the use of IT in project monitoring (e-samiksha), encouraging online payments (e-payments), grant of certificates, etc, have not only reduced legwork and paperwork for residents, but also improved efficiency and removed delays. The empanelment of vendors is another commendable step. A list of wet waste community composting agencies is provided on the MCG’s website. Similarly, for rainwater harvesting, three agencies for installing and maintaining rain water harvesting systems have been empanelled and listed on the MCG’s website. The MCG has also empanelled suction tank owners to collect sewage from unapproved colonies and discharge it at specific disposal points. RWAs often face a difficult time trying to find the right vendors for a particular task or an initiative. Now, RWAs will be encouraged to take up these at a greater speed. Besides, a standard design for all road cross-sections in the city has been finalised. This will ensure that the contractors adhere to the basic requirements and that all the cross-sections in the city will have a similar design. Then, several sustainable initiatives are being tried out such as water ATMs, multi-level parking, vertical gardens, development of green belts, nurseries. Also, a state-of-the-art camera museum that showcases rare cameras, photographs and allied equipment at Chakkarpur Community Centre will be inaugurated this summer. Creating social spaces helps to enrich living experience and build the soul of the city, as people of all age groups and from all strata converge at these places for an engaging experience. The MCG has a promising but a large development agenda and to implement these plans and projects efficiently and takeover new colonies, monitoring needs to be stepped up. Systems and procedures need to be defined and tightened and teams built to execute and monitor these projects well. The MCG must also create ways and means to mobilise the city’s intelligentsia and talent in its development plan. There is a role and opportunity for local engineering firms, consultants, residents’ welfare associations, CSR wings, corporates, NGOs, progressive citizens’ groups can also contribute by becoming a part of the ward committees. While the role of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will remain largely strategic, and the role of Haryana Urban Development Agency will diminish. The MCG will continue to carry the bulk of the city’s development and maintenance on its shoulder. The more efficient it is, the faster it will show results. The GMDA is already creating a strategic development vision and plan for the city. If MCG too spruces up, hand-in-hand, they can connect the ‘missing links’ and ensure a better quality of life to the citizens.

“We made plastic. We depend on it. Now we are drowning in it.” This statement aptly describes how plastic, once considered a boon, is now threatening the earth. It’s strewn everywhere—on the streets and in the waste dumps; it is blocking sewer pipes, choking up landfills, floating on rivers and destroying our oceans and marine life. The problem is that left on its own very little of it gets recycled. It never decomposes, but finds its way back in the food chain as micro-particles that wreak havoc to life in soil and groundwater. It was the plight of our oceans and marine life brought out by research studies and documentaries that rung the alarm bells globally. Almost 90% of debris floating on the oceans and lying on the beaches is plastic. Given the damage it has already done, it is difficult to believe that the first plastics were made just about a century ago. However, its production shot up after the Second World War. The world produced 335 million tonnes of plastic in 2016 and this figure is set to double by 2050. India too is producing more and more plastic. Sadly, most of the plastic is produced for single use — 40% of all plastic produced is just meant for packaging, to be used once and thrown afterwards. From cars to toys to medical and sports equipment, plastic has become an indispensable part of our daily life. Milk comes in plastic sachets. Our waste liners are made of plastic. It is estimated that 40 plastic carry bags per week enter the average household in a city like Gurugram. Plastic are synthetic polymers that mainly exist as one of the following: polyethylene terephthalate or PET (found in bottled water and jars), high-density polyethylene or HDPE (found in snack boxes, toys), polyvinyl chloride or PVC (used in credit cards and pipes), low-density polyethylene (used in films and wraps) and polypropylene (found in straws and lunch boxes). In India, there are no formal ways to segregate plastic waste. Most of the sorting is done by ragpickers who sell it to kabariwalas, who further sell it to reprocessing units. There is a plan by the city administration in Gurugram to create plastic collection centres from citizens where plastic waste will be bought at ₹ 10 per kg. PET and HDPE are most commonly and easily recycled. However, recycling is cost-intensive and also the quality of recycled product decreases with every processing cycle. Besides, all plastic is not recyclable. There is now a rising demand to produce only biodegradable plastic or that plastic that can be recycled easily. But the best way to fight plastic pollution is by reducing the consumption of plastic. Here, the role of citizens is paramount. Simple behavioural or lifestyle changes can go a long way in reducing usage. Carry your own shopping bag. Stop buying bottled water and carry your own metal water bottles. Carry your own containers for buying meat, etc. You can take your own thermos to coffee shops. Glass jars can replace plastic containers. Newspapers or biodegradable liners can replace waste-liners. You can stop using straws easily. You can also avoid using plastic cutlery at events At the national level, the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 have created frameworks for better management of plastic waste. It has increased minimum thickness of plastic bags, expanded the jurisdiction of the law to rural areas, allocated responsibility of producers and brand owners to take back plastic waste under Extended Producers’ Responsibility, and revamped pricing under the plastic waste management fee for importers of plastic bags or street vendors for selling the same. While these rules will guide sustainable management of plastic at the macro level, we must not forget that ‘reduction in use’ is the easiest and the most natural ways of curbing plastic pollution. Unless each one of us makes informed choices in our daily life, this menace is here to stay.

The park I go to for my morning walk is frequented by three distinct categories of people: the “real” Gurugram residents who have been staying here for generations, those who have moved from the Delhi-NCR to live in larger homes and retire in Gurugram, and the young millennials who are here for work. The only time I see the three types coming together and chatting in the park is when they converge at the open-air gym; else they prefer to confine themselves with their likes. Public places, such as open-air gyms, are great meeting grounds. These are places that all residents, irrespective of their socio-economic standing, feel inspired to share and use. But such places are indeed rare in Gurugram. The city has been so caught up in building malls, hospitals and office buildings that there has been no time, resources or foresight to build ‘social infrastructure’ such as public libraries, auditoriums, centres of art and culture, clubs, community centres, public parks, playgrounds, picnic spots, bio-diversity parks, public toilets and so on. An apex centre for art and culture is, for instance, non-existent in Gurugram. There is Rangbhoomi, the open theatre at Sector 29, where weekly music, dance and drama performances are held, but you can hardly call it a space that promotes art and culture in the city. Public parks, libraries, play grounds, stadiums, clubs are few and far between, do not cater to all sections, or are in a dilapidated condition. Picnic spots are virtually non-existent. We are not talking about the facilities within Gurugram’s licenced or gated colonies, but ‘city-centric’ facilities that are available to all at affordable prices. In some HUDA colonies, community centres have been built and handed over to some RWAs recently, but RWAs need to find ways and means to make these centres more user-friendly by having basketball/badminton /tennis courts, libraries and senior citizen clubs at these centres. Some of these projects, I am told, are at a proposal stage. There has been a proposal to set up an art-and-culture centre at a cost of ₹ 100 crore in Sector 52. While the government needs to move fast on the new projects, it must also invest in renovating, modernising the existing social infrastructure in the city to make it relevant and usable. A case in point is the public library in Old Gurugram that was in such a bad state that it was overhauled through private donations. There are not many playgrounds or parks for children, so much so that one hardly finds children in the parks in the evenings. An innovative solution could be to encourage schools to let out their playgrounds in the evening for neighbourhood kids. After all, schools have been built up in spaces earmarked for community use. In fact, the concept of a shared resource needs to be put in place. Schools and hospitals should keep a certain percentage of their admissions reserved for the underprivileged class. Besides, we certainly need more sport academies and indoor stadiums, other than the solitary Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 38 and community fitness centres in the public domain. Special needs should be catered to as well. There should be one or two parks where people can take their pet dogs to walk and play. Infrastructure for differently abled persons at the bus stops, railway stations and public utilities also needs to find its place. Then, we can certainly revive select water bodies in the city and develop them as picnic spots for families. Also, creating non-motorised infrastructure such as cycle paths or walkways will encourage residents to use the city in more engaging ways, such as walking and cycling. The 5.2-km-long Chakkarpur-Wazirabad Bundh is a great example of an equitable non-motorised pathway-cum-eco-reserve being used by one and all in the city. More such paths could be developed. For tourists visiting Gurugram or for Gurugram residents, there are no historical or heritage sites or tours that are well-etched out. Due to a dearth of such sites, most visitors end up at the malls or at best visiting the culture gully at the Kingdom of Dreams in Sector 29 that is not fully representative of the city’s culture or heritage. Last but not the least, the bio-diversity zones need to be protected. Gurugram’s shining glory, the Aravalli Bio-Diversity Park, which hosts many native species of trees, grass, birds, butterflies and wild life, needs to be protected and preserved as an urban forest for all times to come. A butter fly park is coming up in Sector 52A, but more of such eco-reserves need to developed and made popular among residents. The best part about a greater number of public places is their direct correlation with higher safety and security. Vibrant spaces visited by diverse sets of people in the city ensure better safety. These spaces can be made more interesting by street art or wall art. Certainly, the more social infrastructure we build, the more liveable our city becomes. After all, a city’s soul is not defined by the state-of-the-art malls and buildings it has, but by the collective consciousness and shared values and beliefs of its residents. The role of equitable, shared social infrastructure in creating platforms where residents can meet, interact, and learn from other another is crucial. This will not only help in emergence of a shared culture of belongingness to the city, but also help in building a more tolerant and safe society. Gurugram, critics say, is torn between the new and the old. Shared social spaces will bridge that gulf.

A few days ago, my son, a sixth grader, approached me for some help with his social science homework. He had to answer the question “How does India’s diversity add to its unity?” While helping him write the answer, I realised that the answer is what defines our Indian identity and its essence. Diversity for us is not a remote concept, but a part of our everyday lives. We follow different beliefs and religions, speak different languages, dress differently, look different, have different ethnicities, experience different seasons, reside in diverse geographical terrains and yet are woven in one common fabric. Diversity forms the basis of our character, our values, our philosophy and our strength. As we celebrate our 73rd Independence Day, we must recommit ourselves to this Indianness. A serious reading of the preamble to our constitution is a simple yet very powerful gesture towards such recommitment. We may have read it before, but it is important we reinforce within us the values it enshrines. This one-sentence preamble, I feel, is very empowering and all encompassing. It lays down core principles and objectives we wish to achieve as a country. It reminds us about the ideas and ethos of India. The opening phrase “We, the People” gives a sense of both empowerment and responsibility. The words —sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, liberty, equality, fraternity, unity, integrity and dignity—reinforce the promise to provide and promote better life to all citizens. Delve a bit more into the constitution, to read about directive principles of state policy and our rights and duties as a citizen, and in one stroke you get an overarching view of how the state needs to set policies and how we can become better citizens of this country. Our preamble highlights why it is important to vote and to pay our taxes. Why it is critical to ensure better wages and working conditions for workers in our factories and houses. Why employment opportunities must be available to all. Why we must consider men and women, rich and poor equal. It also reinforces why we must accept diverse religious beliefs. Why we need far greater education, housing and health infrastructure for the poor and the needy. Why a pedestrian has an equal (in fact even higher) right on the road than the car-owner. Why we need to protect children, senior citizens and differentially able in the society. Why all citizens have equal rights over natural resources, such as water, in the country. And, why must we protect our natural environment, such as lakes, rivers, and the wild life, of this country. The gap, in terms of where we are and where we should be, is abysmally wide. The onus is both on the governance and the citizenry to work towards reducing socio-economic inequalities through all formal and informal means. Some recent incidents indicate that we are still far from internalising the core values enshrined in the Preamble. In a recent unfortunate instance, a customer who ordered food online, refused to accept it because the delivery boy was of a different religion. In yet another incident, a customer cancelled a cab as the cab driver was of a particular religion. While both these acts are unconstitutional, and they were widely criticised on the social media, they indicate deep social biases and prejudices that still exist in our society. Such biases are not just related to religions, but also related to sex, economic class, regions, colour, etc., that are also widely prevalent. Clearly, we are missing the idea of what India is, as defined by the fathers of our constitution. What can we do to bridge this divide? We should certainly stay away from activities that polarise or divide us and we must root ourselves in India’s core values to build a stronger nation. This means celebrating all festivals, bringing different communities together, upliftment of weaker sections, making sure everyone’s rights are honoured, ensuring better health, housing and education facilities for the under-privileged, ensuring public spaces are used by all, saving water, reducing pollution and increasing the green cover. There is clearly a lot to do at an individual, community and city level. As I was telling my son about the Constitution and read the Preamble to him, I was drawn towards the following lines that sum up the spirit of our constitution: “Let’s be equal, just, and free…strong in our diversity…free in thought and free in prayer…and free to dream and free to dare”.

I found the theme of a recent workshop held in the city quite fascinating. Organised by the international Charter for Compassion, the workshop brought together change-makers to talk about compassionate initiatives in Gurugram. My mind went a trifle off tangent. I wondered how compassionate is Gurugram as a city? Here are some of the thoughts that crossed my mind. Is the city serving its workers well? These are the industrial, construction and domestic workers—the people who built this city and are sustaining it. They left their villages to work here as shop floor workers in auto units and their ancillaries, as masons and labourers constructing our homes, buildings and offices; as maids, drivers and support staff. Aren’t these the ignored, invisible, faceless lot of the city? There aren’t enough government and private schools that cater to them, neither are there enough government hospitals, dispensaries or primary health centres to cater to their medical needs. Is the city conserving its natural resources such as water, air and forests? Certainly not. The real estate boom, the weak town and country planning and subsequent land use changes and manipulations have all left Gurugram and its people devoid of precious natural resources. The water table is down in the dumps; the air quality has gone from bad to worse and the natural forests of Aravallis that provide the last vestige of hope—being a water recharge zone, our green lungs and home to biodiversity—are under constant threat. The pressure on land and water resources is so high that the city’s liveability index is at an all-time low. What will we do of the plush malls and condominiums when the air becomes too toxic to breathe? We can’t stop it from penetrating our homes. It’s high time that Gurugram becomes conscious about and compassionate towards its natural environment. Conservation must be taken up on a war footing. We need to monitor our air closely and take stringent steps to clean the air, revive water bodies, conserve rainwater in ponds, homes and buildings, and save the Aravallis by declaring all of it as a “natural conservation zone” for all times to come. Is the city designed and structured to cater to the needs of all sections of the society? Is it easy for pedestrians and cyclists to move on the roads? Is it comfortable for people to use public transport? Are there enough parks and playgrounds for children? Are there public places that can be used by all in the city? Are our streets, footpaths, streets, buses etc designed for the differently-abled? Are there enough night shelters for the poor and homes for the elderly? Are there enough schools that cater to children with special needs? To sum up, can all sections of the society live with greater dignity and comfort in the city? There is a lot that needs to be done in upgrading the quality of life for the disadvantaged. Are the city authorities compassionate enough in ensuring a hassle-free experience for residents to get basic services done such as renewing driving licences, paying property tax, getting a birth/death certificate issued? These functions, as per my personal experience, have become more streamlined in the city. Is there a thriving civil society that is monitoring and engaging with the authorities? Here again, I can vouch that Gurugram scores decently well. Gurugram is fairly diverse and but do people have a sense of belongingness towards the city? Gurugram has a diverse set of residents—the original descendants whose forefathers lived here, families that have migrated from neighbouring cities like Delhi, youngsters who are temporarily here for jobs. The point is, how do we develop a “new shared culture” for the city? For this to happen, we need to have more cultural centres and public places where people can converge, express, raise concerns and collaborate. Finally, are we compassionate as individuals? When our domestic help is in trouble, do we grant her a few compassionate leaves to help her tide over her issues; do we reach out to a person in distress on the road; forgive someone who has accidently brushed against our car or simply start our day with a random act of kindness? In the fast-paced, frantic lives that we lead, we need to make some room for good, even if we are not volunteering with any organisation or supporting a cause. It will need effort from all of us—the authorities, NGOs, city planners, citizen groups and residents—to make Gurugram compassionate as a city. A compassionate city will have greater well-being, will respect human values, be smart and sustainable and, perhaps, a happier city to live in where everyone feels a sense of belonging. So, get, set and go! Let’s work together to make Gurugram more compassionate. Let’s be compassionate.

A recent incident in Gurugram that went viral on social media has once again highlighted the sexual harassment dilemmas that our society face. For those who are not tuned in, this is briefly what happened. A middle-aged woman entered a restaurant in Gurugram, and seeing young girl(s) in short dress(es), she implored a group of men sitting beside them to feel free to rape such girls who had what she thought was ‘immoral’ dress sense! Shocked and outraged, the young girls followed her and confronted her for an apology that turned into a rather ugly shouting match. The confrontation was captured on a video and in no time became a social media spectacle. The apology eventually came, but by that time, the women on both sides had faced severe bullying in cyber space. There is no denying the fact that our woman in question had no business whatsoever to comment on the girls dressing and heinously insult them in public. The girls did the right thing by asking her to apologise. But in reality, while most women may not have such an outrageous and extreme outburst as our woman in question, there are many in society who mirror her sentiments. Among my morning walk friends, several felt that some girls and women do dress to attract unnecessary attention. So whether we accept it or not, this perception runs through and through. Another notion that emerged from the group was that your figure decides what could be the appropriate dressing for you. A friend in particular who had two grown-up daughters sounded helpless when she said that she had stopped commenting on her daughters’ choice of dresses long ago and that she does find some of the dresses inappropriate. This incident brings out many deep-rooted biases in our society. It highlights the twisted perceptions and biases we have about our own gender, in the backdrop of rather stereotypical cultural values. It also brings out how we are becoming a “trigger happy” society quick to drop our “civil conduct” at the slightest provocation. Why just this incident? On the roads, it is appalling to see when people instantly start calling names when another car even has a slight brush with their car. A healthy outcome of the incident would have been to build public opinion on certain acceptable norms and code of conduct to minimise the cultural and civil divide that exist in the society today. One might argue that India is a land of many cultures and ideologies. It is indeed impossible to bring all on a common ground, especially for a topic as sensitive as this. But with more and more discussion at homes, formal and informal communities, forums, workshops, at least some prejudices and biases can be identified and resolved. A common myth surrounding sexual harassment is that women provoke sexual harassment by the way they look, dress and behave, and that there is no smoke without fire. However, studies on sexual harassment have found that victims of sexual harassment vary in physical appearance, dress-type, age and behaviour. How else do you explain girl children getting molested or raped? Another myth is that those women who face such harassment lack self-confidence and therefore self-defence training is important. The reality is that even so-called confident women can be taken for a ride and self-defence trainings are not the “be-all, end-all” for preventing such crimes. We need to go beyond these myths and biases to do a deeper root-cause analysis of the problem that plagues our society. Many real answers will emerge and, surprisingly, a lot will be to do with women themselves. One key point will be what mothers tell their boys about the rights of women and what it means to respect them. What women think of other women especially from different age groups and economic status will also throw up many surprises. As a civil nation that is progressing and evolving, we will have to draw the lines, somewhat, on what is appropriate and inappropriate. Otherwise, ugly events such as these will continue to expose the underbelly of our divergent society.

When I heard the news that the Rapid Metro is facing an uncertain future due to financial losses, a lot of mixed thoughts crossed my mind: That the project was ill-conceived, that it didn’t cater well to the city’s real traffic needs, that there were vested interests involved, etc. But one overriding thought was: Will the urban planners learn a simple lesson that one needs to think twice before building any new infrastructure in the city? When planned, the Rapid Metro was to be the pride of Gurugram, the crowning glory of its majestic Golf Course Road. Investments were first made to build it and then to sustain and promote it. However, it could never get enough ridership to make itself sustainable. The Golf Course Road itself today is neither here nor there. On one hand, it has no room for the movement of pedestrians or cyclists. On the other, it does not assure of hassle-free driving experience to car owners given the frequent traffic congestion at its tail-end. There are other examples of ill-thought infrastructure decisions. We don’t think twice before chopping off the green belts on both sides of the road for the sake of widening the road. The moment you widen roads, more cars occupy and choke up the road, making a mockery of the exercise. The traffic situation becomes the same in no time. The real loss is of green vegetation that is so very crucial for the city. Besides, we need to fix the real problem (of restricting private traffic on roads) head-on, and not please ourselves with quick-fix solutions in the interim. As experts say, road widening is akin to loosening our belts to accommodate our larger waist size! Attack the root cause, the flab. Do not resize the belt. Another bad decision has been to build foot overbridges on city junctions where they were not needed. Some of these high structures remain unused and are poorly maintained. In fact, it is not a rare spectacle to see motorcyclists and cyclists using them as a short cut rather than pedestrians. People on foot (especially elderly) find climbing up and down the stairs too cumbersome. In the evenings, another issue is that these structures become desolate places and therefore unsafe. Pedestrian subways too remain unused for the same reason. Underpasses that get waterlogged and flooded in rains due to lack of proper drainage are another nuisance. They need to be well-lit, well-maintained and have proper signage. Initially, due to lack of information, people even use unidirectional underpasses for moving from the other side. This can have disastrous consequences. Speed-breakers too need to put at the right places. Besides, infrastructure, such as multilevel parking has failed in some cities like Chandigarh. So, one needs to undertake a complete feasibility study before constructing such massive structures. The basic problem with our city’s planning is that more and more capital infrastructure is being planned, allocated and invested for cars, and continuously less and less for public transport, cyclists and pedestrians. We need to reverse this trend. After all, we have to move people not cars and the majority of people on our roads are not car-owners but those who use public or non-motorised modes. Also, each time the solution does not necessarily lie in creating “hard” infrastructure. Sometimes innovative “soft” solutions such as geometric improvement of road intersections, improved design, reducing encroachments, improving markings on roads, traffic and road signage can help achieve greater all-round mobility and safety of all users. Besides using policy interventions such as de-incentivising car use, innovative parking policies, congestion pricing, creating low carbon emission zones and introducing vehicle quota can also work wonders. Other “soft” solutions include operational improvements such as better traffic management. Still, others include bringing behavioural changes in citizens. Let’s not forget that a city does not become modern by fast-lane road networks or massive zig-zag flyovers. It becomes modern when its infrastructure caters to all. Next time, when we think of building new infrastructure in the city, let’s think twice. Do we really need that capital investment? Can we not divert a small part of that investment in making pavements across the city? It’s high time we focus on simple solutions that cater to all citizens.

I find the theme for this year’s international women’s day on March 8—”Each for Equal”—quite compelling. This theme is steeped in the values of equality, dignity and fairness to all, and that’s precisely what all women movements should eventually be about. An equal world is a fair, just and inclusive world. It is a world that respects diverse talents and perspectives. It is a world that believes in sustainability and shared prosperity. In a landmark judgement recently, the Supreme Court of India paved the way for women equality in the Indian Army. Women officers will now have parity on getting command postings, promotions, ranks, benefits and pensions. In doing this, the court categorically stated that the discrimination was based on stereotypes and socially ascribed roles of gender, and emphasised the need to remove restrictions and bring about true equality in the army. This is a historic step. Hopefully, some other hitherto male-dominated professions will also see gender-equitable policy changes. “Equal” means that there are equal work and growth opportunities as well as equal pay. Women are paid less as it is believed that they are likely to put in less working hours, and are less competitive, less efficient (the incorrect example of daily wagers in the construction sector is often given) and also because they are likely to have more career breaks. But things are changing for the better. There is a growing awareness of pay parity in corporates. In sports too, prestigious events like the Australian Open and Wimbledon have started offering equal prize money to both women and men winners; though some popular sports like cricket and football still have to catch up. In the Hindi cinema world (Bollywood) too, conversations about fee parity between men and women actors are being heard. But the world is nowhere close to achieving gender equality. As per the Global Gender Gap Report 2020 released by the World Economic Forum last December that benchmarks 153 countries, global gender parity stands at 68.6%. This indicates an average gender gap of 31.4%, which the study says will take 99.5 years to close if the current gap continues. Among the four parameters used to analyse the gender gap—political empowerment, health and survival, educational attainment and economic participation—the largest disparities exist in political empowerment, followed by economic participation. In fact, the economic gap has widened more than before, with a wage gap of 40% and an income gap of 50%. Regionally, the gender gap in western Europe is the smallest, and Iceland has been deemed the most gender-equal country in the world for the eleventh time in a row. As for India, the report has nothing much to celebrate. The country’s ranking has dipped from 98 in 2006—the first year of the study—to 112 in 2020, indicating that other countries are doing much more to fix the gender gap than India. Worryingly, India continues to score low on health (this rank has dipped from 103 to 150, indicating it is among the last four) and economic participation (this rank has dipped from 110 to 149, indicating it is among last five). This is appalling. We simply cannot afford to let one-half of our population languish and be deprived of economic wealth and well-being. To ensure inclusive growth, many aspects need to be set right. Women need to take leadership roles in politics, get elected in Lok Sabha and take up ministerial positions. At the village and block level, they must be encouraged to get panch and sarpanch positions and head various local committees. They need to be in senior corporate leadership roles and sit on their company’s boards. They need to contribute equally to the labour workforce. They must have a presence in all professions, be it technical education, sports, defence services, as well as upcoming fields. The role of government and workplaces in creating facilitating policies and environment cannot be understated. Needless to say, for all of this to happen, violence against women and the girl child must stop. Women must feel safe to pursue their livelihoods and move about freely. It will also require women to overcome stereotypes, fight biases, change narratives and broaden their perspectives. What will certainly work is creating an inspired sense of sisterhood towards each other through robust women networks, mentoring platforms and support groups. That means women bosses must encourage their women subordinates to come up, and that mothers should stand up for their daughters’ equal right to education and right to inheritance. In sync with this year’s theme, let all women aspire to be “one among equals”. It is also important that we celebrate our roles, our identity, our accomplishments and the distance thus travelled in bridging the gender gap. Several events are being organised in the city to mark the occasion. The one I have signed up for is the all-women marathon at Cyber Hub by the Gurugram administration. See you women at the start line!