Times of India: 5th Nov, 2010
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Absolutely with this.
In fact personally, MMRDA, and indeed, GOM, is going about this the wrong way.
If MMRDA wants to 'develop the region', then it should totally concentrate on the region, and not Mumbai at all.
The first most important infrastructure element is adequate water supply to the inner and remote areas of MMR, and in fact the more drought prone.
People don't just enter Mumbai because of job prospects, etc., they are mostly distress migration, or, as should be adequately clear, due to the contractors bringing in huge numbers of cheap labour from neighbouring states, not even rest of Maharashtra, to work on these flyovers, skywalks, metro, monorail, etc.
They then are abandoned by the contractors once the projects are over, because they will get new and cheaper labour for the next hundred crores project, etc.
These are the poor fellows who then have to stay in hutments on footpaths, etc., since they can neither go back, nor are employed on projects because they are costlier than the next lot.
If the rural areas are given adequate water supply, most problems of farmers will be solved.
The more investment to try and apparently solve such problems is only bringing more population and congestion to Mumbai in a never ending situation, cycle of slow destruction.
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Thanqx.
Jagdeep Desai
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