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- VIEW: Don't shoot the messenger
This story is from May 15, 2008
VIEW: Don't shoot the messenger
That the IGI terminal is a disaster pretending to be an international airport is evident to anybody who steps into it.
The truth hurts. And did it hurt our civil aviation minister! Stung by Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia's criticism of the mess at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in the capital, Praful Patel dashed off a sarcastic letter to the former.
Sample this: "I am sure in your many visits across Delhi and the country, your attention would have been drawn to the various problems of roads, electricity, water, sanitation, sewerage systems, public transport etc and as always you will effectively address these problems in a time-bound manner".
That the IGI terminal is a disaster pretending to be an international airport is evident to anybody who steps into it.
The situation has worsened since the project to expand and upgrade it has been undertaken. Of course, this is not news.
He is a high-ranking public servant and his intervention is welcome. More of his ilk must make similar visits, unaccompanied by their retinue of cars and security personnel, to other project sites to get an idea of how unpleasant it is for ordinary citizens in this country to negotiate daily life.
Such trips will perhaps draw their attention to the fact that the problem lies not so much in the planning as in the process.
Often, our mega infrastructure projects ��� airports, roadways etc ��� put the cart before the horse. For instance, Hyderabad has a swanky new airport but is poorly connected to the main city.
The less said about the bus corridor in south Delhi, the better. If we want to ensure that our great power ambitions are not aborted, we should jolly well get our act together.
To that end, our ministers should take criticism on the chin and get cracking to correct things instead of sulking and indulging in petty turf wars.
COUNTER VIEW: Stick to your turf
Sample this: "I am sure in your many visits across Delhi and the country, your attention would have been drawn to the various problems of roads, electricity, water, sanitation, sewerage systems, public transport etc and as always you will effectively address these problems in a time-bound manner".
That the IGI terminal is a disaster pretending to be an international airport is evident to anybody who steps into it.
The situation has worsened since the project to expand and upgrade it has been undertaken. Of course, this is not news.
But it made the headlines when Ahluwalia went there with a guest and sampled the mess first hand. Promptly, he took the Delhi International Airport Limited officials to task. What he did might not strictly be within his jurisdiction but that is not the issue.
He is a high-ranking public servant and his intervention is welcome. More of his ilk must make similar visits, unaccompanied by their retinue of cars and security personnel, to other project sites to get an idea of how unpleasant it is for ordinary citizens in this country to negotiate daily life.
Such trips will perhaps draw their attention to the fact that the problem lies not so much in the planning as in the process.
Often, our mega infrastructure projects ��� airports, roadways etc ��� put the cart before the horse. For instance, Hyderabad has a swanky new airport but is poorly connected to the main city.
The less said about the bus corridor in south Delhi, the better. If we want to ensure that our great power ambitions are not aborted, we should jolly well get our act together.
To that end, our ministers should take criticism on the chin and get cracking to correct things instead of sulking and indulging in petty turf wars.
COUNTER VIEW: Stick to your turf
End of Article
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