[ಕನ್ನಡ ಅನುವಾದ ಶೀಘ್ರದಲ್ಲೇ ಬರಲಿದೆ — Kannada translation coming soon]
Faster All-round Development in Mysore Region (jan 5 2004) Thanks to farsighted kings and visionary Dewans, Mysoreans inherited, at the time of independence, a beautiful city with palaces and imposing buildings. Mysore had magnificent man-made lakes such as Doddakere, Kukkarahallikere and Karanjikere and splendid parks like Cubbon park and Cheluvamba park. It had spacious and well laid out markets such as Devaraja market, Vanivilasa market and Mandi Market. It had nationally famous institutions such as K.R. Hospital, Mysore University, etc. It was surrounded by enchanting areas like Srirangapatna, Chamundi Hills, Brindavan gardens and innumerable lakes. However during the last fifty six years we have managed to not only spoil the charming beauty of Mysore but also ruin the institutions that brought name to our city. Many of the water tanks that dotted the landscape are gone and the remaining ones are gasping for their last breath. The entire city has become a garbage dump with pigs, cattle and stray dogs roaming all over. Our education system from the primary school to the university has collapsed. Our once-famous public hospitals are more a final resting place than a place for curing ailing patients. Despite having Krishnaraja Sagar dam close by, the drinking water crisis is getting worse every year. Many large and small companies, once wealth generators, have been now closed down. New industries like IT and ITES have failed to take off despite having many advantages. This downslide should shock every Mysorean. But does it? It is not that nothing is being done. Many non-governmental and social organizations are trying to help. Unfortunately they are providing only band-aid type of assistance and have failed to bring about systemic changes. Our engineering institutions, medical colleges, management institutions and other professional colleges are concentrating on producing graduates and not paying enough attention to solving Mysore’s problems. There are some good political leaders who want to solve the problems, but they are very few in number. The existing system does not support them. Citizens informed and uninformed, literate and illiterate, uniformly blame politicians for all our ills by pointing out factors like corruption, caste, religion, reservation, nepotism, fundamentalism, etc. If we study the problems of the public institutions of Mysore such as Mysore City Corporation (MCC), Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), Vani Vilasa Water
Works, K.R. Hospital, etc., in an analytical manner, we can find the real reasons. During the last ten years, we have had 16 Commissioners at City Corporation. The removal of an incumbent seems to have little to do with his performance on the job. With such short tenures one can not even determine if the Commissioner is good or bad. In the case of MUDA also we have an equally fast revolving door for the Commissioners. No organization where leaders are changed so often can function effectively. On paper, elected bodies and mayor are supposed to have a lot of power. But in practice, the power is concentrated in the hands of the Commissioner. If by luck, we get very able Commissioners, even they cannot function effectively with a short tenure. The system seems designed to avoid accountability. The root cause for all of our problems is the absence of a good management system and the lack of involvement on the part of citizens to hold the officers accountable for their failure to do their work properly. Corruption is not the real reason. If the management system functions properly and fixes responsibility on each officer or employee, corruption can be controlled and progress speeded up. Since the top managers in our institutions are never held accountable, they have no desire to fight the system and take tough decisions. When the Corporation Commissioner publicly states that Corporation officials are responsible for thousands of illegal buildings and yet he pleads his inability to control the corrupt officials, why are political leaders and the public quiet? The Commissioner has all the legal power to take action against the guilty parties. In fact, he is expected to take remedial steps. If the chairman of a private company pleads his inability to control his errant employees, will he be allowed to continue in his chair? Such a company will go bankrupt if he is not removed. Is it a surprise that our corporation is bankrupt today? As mentioned above, many organizations are contributing in their own ways to solve some of the problems. When some government schools do not have toilets, or benches for children, providing such facilities is of some help. But do they solve the fundamental problem? More than a third of children attending government schools are unable to read and write even after six years of schooling. Holding health camps in slums will give temporary help to the needy patients, but they do not address the root cause, which is, the lack of proper health care to poor patients at government hospitals. Numerous private and public interest cases have been filed against illegal buildings and encroachments and many have succeeded, but that has not prevented MCC and MUDA from giving permits to construct other illegal buildings or from allowing more footpath encroachments. But these efforts have to be appreciated because they prove that there are concerned and unselfish people who will try hard to improve the conditions around them despite limited success in their efforts. When more and more people make such efforts, there will be a cascading effect and we will begin to see improvement in the system itself. As mentioned above, one of the fundamental problems is the failure on the part of Mysoreans to hold their elected leaders and government officers accountable. In a democracy, the responsibility of the citizens does not end with the casting of their votes. They need to be ever vigilant. Unless the sleeping voters of Mysore wake up and realize their democratic responsibility, it is just not possible to have faster development of Mysore. On the other hand, life in Mysore will continue to deteriorate even faster in the years to come. In a democratic set up, all the voters have a grave responsibility. Today we blame politicians for all our problems as though they come from a different planet. If we are literate, we blame the illiterate and poor for voting those politicians based only on money, liquor, caste etc. We never bother to look at what our duty is and what we should do. Are we justified in keeping quiet? Have we taken time to meet those illiterates and find solution to their problems, to
educate them on their responsibilities to choose the right leaders? When the top civil servants are changed at the drop of a hat, have we objected? Have we taken interest in elections, political parties or political leaders? While enjoying democracy, we need to take some time to take up these responsibilities. Only when Mysoreans decide to take up their democratic duties seriously in large numbers can we ensure proper and faster development of Mysore. The path to faster all-round development of Mysore is not filled with roses. At the individual level, we should stop finding fault with others, especially politicians. Borrowing Kennedy’s words, let us not ask what Mysore can do for us, but ask what we together can do for Mysore. At the institutional level, we need to get involved in solving Mysore’s problems using our knowledge, talents and resources, keeping aside caste, religion and other such narrow considerations. Above all we should encourage and support persons of honesty, talent and ability to become leaders. For Mysore Grahakara Parishat, MY 20/20 VISION FOR MYSORE. (Feb 1 2004) Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy (convener of MGP) We increasingly hear such metaphorical phrases like “India Shining” and “Feel good Factor” to project rapid progress India has achieved in recent years. We also hear about 20/20 vision of our President Dr. A. P. J. Kalam for India through print, radio and TV media to become a developed country. It is useful to have such a “global perspective”. But real changes take place only locally and also by local people. Is Mysore Shining? Is there a feel good factor in Mysore? What should be Mysore’s 20/20 vision? There was indeed such a 20/20 vision plan developed to create MATF. For about 5% of rich, some high level bureaucrats, and politically connected, Mysore is indeed shining. Power failure does not bother them since they have their own generators. Lack of water supply is not a problem since they have their own borewells. They have access to the high tech super specialty hospitals. When some of them violate building bye-laws (this is also done by middle class and poor), Corporation and MUDA is very understanding of their compulsions. Corporation even collects garbage with some frequency and when sewage overflows, it is attended to where they live. Unfortunately for 50 to 60% of those who below poverty line in slums and slum like situation in Mysore and 45 to 35 % of the middle class, they do not have the luxury to worry about if Mysore is shining or there is indeed a feel good factor. To make Mysore into a model city by 2010, a city which becomes a pensioner’s paradise as well as provide ample job opportunities, a city where environment is protected and a city which attracts visitors from all over the world, we need to work on four critical areas on war footing. They are governance, 24 hour water supplies, providing outstanding primary and secondary education to all and improving health delivery system to poor. Governance
It is not by some chance, that we had 16 corporation commissioners during the last ten years. It is also not by chance we managed to get only the incompetent ones. The same is true for Mysore Urban Development Authority. Because of such frequent transfers, we cannot hold the officers accountable for their lack of performance. Why did Mysore flourish under some maharajas? There was accountability and the rule of law. But the most critical factor was that the overall responsibility of the city was placed under one authority. If we demand for an able and senior IAS official to be in charge of the corporation who should not to be transferred till the end of his term, we can make a beginning to achieve most of them. There should be transparency in his selection. Above all he should be held accountable for his performance. Mere appointment of an able IAS officer is not enough. Citizens should also be mindful of their duties of living in a democracy. They should monitor his performance. Education Pratham’s recent research has shown that 36% of our children living in poor neighborhoods of Mysore between the age group of 7 to 14 cannot read properly. When this result was published there was not even a murmur. How will the reader of this article react if his son or daughter who has been in school of four years is unable to read? Our entire education system from kindergarten to University is not just dysfunctional but it has collapsed. Lord Macaulay’s ghost is still presiding over the educational system. It is not that the government is not spending enough money on education. There is too much centralization and very little accountability. We need to bring the educational responsibility to our city. We should decide what we teach, how we teach, whom do we appoint as teachers, how we hold them accountable, how we conduct examinations etc. There will be a strong lobby of varied interests to fight tooth and nail against any decentralization. 24 hours water supplies. Getting 24 hours water supply may sound like a dream to Mysoreans who are accustomed to getting water for one hour a day or during crisis one hour a week. This need not remain a dream. As in education, we need to get back the over all responsibility of supplying water to Mysore from Bangalore. Today there is no single authority which is in charge of supplying water to Mysore. As a result water crisis has been worsening every year. But for the very poor, Mysoreans have no appreciation for the value of water. There should be a complete restructuring of water supply department. For Mysore we should demand a separate autonomous government company which is charged with supplying water at the lowest possible cost on 24 hours basis. Every consumer should pay for water they consume (today at best 25% of people getting water pay for their supplies). Those who are very poor and cannot pay, they should be subsidized by the corporation just like the government is doing today in the case of power. There should be no free water. Any thing given free will be wasted. Health delivery K. R. Hospital was one of the outstanding institutions of old Mysore treating thousands of rich and poor patients. Today it will not be an exaggeration if it is referred to as a final resting place.
The hospital has become a quintessential example of what is wrong with our society. We talk of helping the poor all the time and do just the opposite. When we are capable of building and operating super specialty hospitals to meet the demands of the very rich, why have we failed to improve the conditions of K. R. Hospital? Does it require rocket science to improve it? We do not need the ABD or World Bank to tell us what needs to be done. Neither are we poor to manage it. But we lack the political will. If the outstanding doctors of Mysore and the managements of various private hospitals come forward to provide modern management, turning around K. R. Hospital and bringing it back to old glory will not be difficult. We do have such civic sense and pride. What we need now is some one to lead. Conclusion I am very confident and optimistic that Mysoreans have the talents, resources and knowledge base to achieve my ambitious 20/20 vision for Mysore by 2010 itself provided each and every resident develops a can-do attitude and is prepared to contribute. Today most of us are apathetic. Less than 0.1% of our population takes interest in civic affairs. For all our problems we blame politicians and bureaucrats. Corruption is often quoted cause for all the lack of development. Not even our management gurus stop to think that corruption is not cause but the result of our failure to develop strong and efficient institutions. When was the last time we have asked ourselves what we have done for Mysore? Or as a resident of Mysore have I done my duty like paying taxes, expressing opinion on government policy, and showing opposition in peaceful ways when government fails to implement the rule of law, joining citizen movement to support good causes? PRESS NOTE ON MATF WATER SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING WITH CORPORATORS ON FEB 17, 2004 When MATF subcommittee on water supply became aware of the impending water crisis, one of the strategies it adapted was to get the involvement of the elected representatives. Since many critical decisions required to solve the crisis are political in nature, it is absolutely essential that we involve them. So far the efforts by the subcommittee have been ineffective. And to the disappointment of the subcommittee which was expressed during the meeting with the District-in-Charge Minister Sri. Vishwanath, Deputy Commissioner was appointed as the chairman of water emergency committee. This is the first attempt made to familiarize the elected representatives with the multi-dimensional aspect of Mysore’s water crisis. Some of the factors which require political input and what is expected from the elected representatives are as follows: 1. It is not possible to conserve water without having the optimum pricing. During the emergency, we need to have a special pricing scheme to avoid the misuse of water by those who can afford it. Even during the normal times, there is a need to have a scientifically arrived pricing scheme which takes into consideration all the cost. Since pricing is a very sensitive issue, there is a need to get political input. There is a need to adopt emergency measures to punish those who misuse water. 2. Today at the most about 25% of VV Water customers have properly working meters. But there is no urgency on the part of the management to solve this problem despite the
pressure by MATF water subcommittee. Without solving this problem, it will be impossible to conserve water. Any good which is available free will be misused. 3. Irrigation department had assured the MATF water subcommittee that farmers will be discouraged from planting new crops in December of last year. However the field inspection by the subcommittee members has showed that the government suggestion has been totally ignored in many places. On Feb 16, water level at KRS was 76.44 feet versus 73.83 feet. Total water available is estimated to be around 3.3 TMC which will meet the requirement of Mysore, Mandya and Srirangapatna if used judiciously. However if there is any pressure on the government to supply water to farmers for irrigation purpose, crisis will be very acute. Who can bring pressure on the government to avoid such an eventuality? Not the bureaucrats, not the NGOs like MGP or MATF, but the elected representatives. 4. Emergency pump work has started at Belagola. But it is unlikely to be completed for this season. If pressure is not kept, it may not be ready even for next year. There are many other repair work need to be carried out on various canals feeding Hongally and Belagaola pumping stations. Unfortunately there is very little interest or concern on the part of any one. However if the elected representatives take interest, it is possible to achieve them. 5. Farmers have started to take law into their own hands by making holes into pipeline or trying to open canal gates to get supply of water. Employees working at these canal gates are under tremendous pressure. Despite the request of MATF subcommittee, no special police squad has been formed. No attempt has been made to look into the real grievances of the farmers who have also equal rights to water like residents of Mysore. This suggestion was made a long time back. 6. It is only because of the intervention of MATF water subcommittee, water was conserved at KRS this year. For example, on Dec 19 the water level in KRS was 78.66 feet versus 92.09 last year. However today water level is higher than what it was last year as shown above. If an NGO can put pressure and conserve water, elected representatives can do even more. It is needed that they form a water committee under the chairmanship of the mayor to solve the water problem both on the short and long term basis by involving NGOs, experts and of course the bureaucrats at the earliest and on a war footing. It is with that hope this presentation was arranged to familiarize the elected representatives with Mysore’s water crisis. Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy and M. Lakshman (MATF Working group on water supply) CABLE TV MONOPOLY IN MYSORE: WHAT CAN CONSUMERS DO? (feb 25, 2004)