The rapidly growing metropolis is facing serious administrative problems. An article discussing these issues and solutions.
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February 12, 2019 आग A fire broke out at a hotel in the Karol Bagh area of Delhi. Seventeen people lost their lives in this terrible fire. Many were seriously injured. While many of the dead were fast asleep in the morning, the fire broke out in the AC pipe and it spread everywhere. Both died as they jumped out of the hotel to escape the fire. The dead included Myanmar nationals who had arrived there as tourists. The usual reason for the increase in deaths in fire incidents is also found here. It is death by suffocation. Due to the negligence of some people, many such victims are being killed nowadays. These and many other man-made crises have brought disrepute to all cities in India today.
The hotel in Delhi was first licensed in October 2005. This license was renewed every year. This license was last renewed on May 25, 2018. This license was official till March 2019. Now, the Delhi government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident to determine who is responsible for it. The fire department and the police are also trying to find out the exact cause of the incident. It is unlikely that any of these will be different from the reasons found in previous cases. After all, no one is clearly responsible for this tragedy.
The nature of governance in Delhi as a whole is such that no single department will take responsibility for the incident on its own, instead it will be shifted from one department to another. As Delhi is the capital of the country, power is exercised at different levels. The power struggle between the Municipal Corporation, the State Government, the Central Government and other autonomous bodies continues forever.
According to prima facie information about the condition of the hotel, the owner of the building has built more floors than he was allowed to build. All the officials who had the authority to inspect the illegal construction were thus turned a blind eye. The top floor is a roof that should be completely empty, with a restaurant built using fiberglass, and the rest of the space was used to store gas cylinders. There was also a bar on the ground floor that was being operated without a license.
The fire alarm system was not working and the alternative exit route was either blocked by smoke or blocked by management. Exit boards were either obscure or in some places not at all. The water hydrant used to extinguish the fire in the hotel was also not installed here. All in all the albel situation existed, the hotelier was behaving as he wished. The goal of the hotel owner is to make maximum profit by following the safety rules.
In expressing his reaction to this, the same practice was followed at all levels of government, holding everyone except you accountable. The fire department lamented that it had too little manpower. The state government was saying that if they had the same rights as other state governments, such an incident would not have happened. The hoteliers' association is also angry at the first sight of them being convicted. In short, taking advantage of this situation, they are struggling to meet the unfulfilled demands of their own minds.
The most important thing to note is that such unfortunate incidents happen frequently. The second incident would have taken place before the investigation of the first incident was completed, followed by the third and then the fourth, one after the other.
On March 31, 2016, a flyover in Calcutta collapsed which was not even completed. More than 50 people died in the accident. More than 80 were seriously injured. Another similar flyover crash in Calcutta happened again in September 2018. At the end of December 2017, a pub located in central Mumbai caught fire. In which 14 people were killed and 16 injured. In September 2017, 22 people were killed and 35 seriously injured in a stampede on a pedestrian bridge on Elphiston Road in Mumbai. Rumors that the bridge would collapse caused people to flee to Saravaira in panic, which led to the unfortunate incident. Regarding the floods in Chennai in 2016, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said, The state's water resources department had ordered the release of unlimited water from the Chembarambakkam dam, which caused the Adyar river to overflow and cause flooding in the city as well as in the city's suburbs. We can recall many unfortunate incidents for which human intervention is the only reason.
No one was convicted in any of these cases, as no one was found guilty. In no case did the government's complicated or simplistic approach lead to any change. Reactions and consequences were the same in every case.
It is difficult to determine the responsibility for such incidents in government work in the city. Because, local self-governing bodies i.e. Municipalities, Corporations are not autonomous. Making these institutions independent, autonomous, bringing transparency in their work and ensuring accountability to them can be an important solution. But, it is a long-term process. Such a division of power in the country could be a problem for those who are currently in power. That is why when there are autonomous bodies for cities in many parts of the world and the committees advising them to do so, no one wants to change the current system.
In such a case, it is necessary to find an alternative in the given situation. This process is not very difficult. It is impossible to exercise power without accountability. If this is the universal principle of government, on the contrary, if there is no accountability, then there will be no power. In the current situation, urban local bodies, state government and police are unable to monitor the developments in the city. Their right to issue and renew licenses should be revoked.
A developer who wants to do something knows exactly what he wants to do. Each city has a development plan and the construction control regulations specify which buildings should be built, where they should be built and how. Firecodes set out the rules for how to protect a building from fire. The Excise and Police Department has rules on where bars should be located. The professional should consult an architect, hire a contractor, consult with a retired person in the excise and firefighters and other service providers. So each department should have a small advisory board. It will be easier to get help from professionals by meeting people on such advisory boards. Honorarium will also be paid to the members of that board as per the wishes of the person. A civic website can be started,
There should be clear rules about who should take responsibility for such accidents. This will be the responsibility of the trader and he should be given a severe punishment until he is proved innocent.
He will be fully responsible for such accidents. This will have many benefits at once. The red tape will disappear completely. The process of starting a business will be much faster as it will save time wasted in getting licenses. Corruption at the office and political level will stop so that the attitude of doing business honestly will increase. In the process, the government will reduce unnecessary construction costs. This type of working method will make it easier for anyone to spot faults than licensing and inspection. Some cities, however, need to be bold in the beginning. It will be an experiment, if it succeeds, it will be easier to implement on a large scale.
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