Advisory committees, a key to effective planning

CHENNAI: Tired of your potholed street? Or overflowing sewage? Fed up with mosquitoes? Soon, you may not have to wait for authorities sitting in the Ripon Buildings to address your woes -- if at all they choose to. Instead, you can be part of the solution, thanks to the advisory committees that will be set up in all the 155 wards of the Chennai Corporation.
Each committee, consisting of 10 members, will be led by the local councillor and include members of the public. "The 74th Constitutional amendment as well as JNNURM reform guidelines call for establishment of grassroot-level democratic, decentralised institutions. What remains to be seen is whether these committees will be be able to deliver," said M G Devasahayam, a former civil servant and managing trustee of SUSTAIN.
The primary constraint of the present system is the highly fragmented responsibilities among the corporation and state-owned undertakings, which invariably leads to delays and lack of accountability in the delivery of project. As of now there are too many departments and too many overlaps between their roles, that makes passing of the buck easy.
If the urban planning is done by CMDA, regulation of land-use and construction of buildings is the responsibility of the CMDA as well as the corporation, roads and bridges are in the hands of the corporation and the highways department, water supply is with Metrowater, public health, sanitation, conservancy and solid waste management, public amenities, urban poverty alleviation, burials, regulation of slaughter houses is the responsibility of the corporation, while slum improvement and upgradation is taking care of by slum clearance baord.
"Since advisory committees will be getting representations from the public, the government and other services agencies will be accountable," said G Dattatiri, a former chief urban planner and social activist.
A detailed city development plan prepared recently for the Centre's JNNURM funding suggested the absence of a multi-sectoral integration in transport planning, often resulting in ill-conceived, capital-intensive projects that do little to improve mobility for the majority, while inflicting significant damage on the urban fabric, environment and general quality of life. Elevated flyovers and infrastructure developed along critical waterways, coastal zones and other cultural heritage assets fail to integrate the full range of social, economic, cultural and environmental realities.
"There is no use approaching the higher officials or elected members for problems. If the minutes of the advisory committees are well documented and adhered to by the government, problems will certainly be solved," said C Ramakrishnan of Federation of Adyar Welfare Associations. As per the projections in the second master plan of the CMDA, the population of the city will touch 1.25 crore in 2026.