Unsustainable Development

The rains came. And the roads made by mankind were washed away. The roads in Gurgaon caved in – and I do mean caved right in, at least by 8-10 feet, right behind where I stay. These are roads that have just been developed (and are reminiscent of a number of others that are laid all over again at least twice a year in this growing township) to broad splendour, to allow at least 3 cars a side to travel abreast.

Gurgaon is touted as the Millennium City with a breathtaking skyline (though one must admit that this is only so if one is cruising past at a height over the flyovers at NH-8 – the view does change completely at the ground level), the corporate hubs and high-rise apartments. Enormous volumes of resources are being sunk into its expansion and the luxuries on offer (I also refuse to get tempted to get into the whole discussion of resource exploitation and the concretisation of green field and agricultural land to make this Millennium City a reality at this point).

The costs of this development are being borne through the various taxes and charges that are paid by someone, if not all. While I remain a relatively new entrant to the world of bona fide employment and tax paying I have grown up to and continue to be engulfed by the annual March crisis, and scrabbling for change at the toll booth (to and fro) is a daily reality.

I have also spent the last few months steeped in information and interactions around the new nemesis of climate change – and have it on authority that construction and transport remain among the top five human activities that cause global warming (also given that it is primarily human activity that has led us to the current crisis) which in turn will ensure more erratic climatic behaviour as the unseasonal rains that have laid the ground for this tale.

I remain unconvinced by the reality of engaging multiple times in the same development activity that increases the cost of money itself and launches further assaults on our lives and surroundings, on account of insincere commitments of the various stakeholders and bad or downright dishonest workmanship that compromises quality. I also refuse to believe that it is technological or resource incapacities at play with reference to India and her people, with advances across the board that we like to be proud of. In any case I feel like I have God's own task in making my way to work each day.