Friday, August 23, 2013

Which module is more effective for Indian cities ??Autonomy or strengthening of local bodies..

I came across an article where, one of the best planner(Bimal Patel) of the country is advocating for autonomy of local bodies in India. The aura of knowledge and work experience of author is high, and there are a number of national and international successful project delivered by him.
             http://forbesindia.com/article/independence-special-2013/bimal-patel-we-have-to-free-our-cities-from-the-states-clutches/35885/0?fb_action_ids=212335945592368&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%22212335945592368%22%3A497846580306835%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22212335945592368%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Whether he is trying to say, Because autonomy model of local bodies is successful for western nation so it may work here in India as well? I strongly feel that such kind of arguments for development of cities are going to be unsuccessful as, we are very different from western countries in terms of culture, economic status , habit, and social status etc.   

1 comment:

Unknown said...

A lot of times, local bodies abroad take the initiative of collecting funds for a community project on themselves. We don't really see anything like that is India. Rather than local bodies, the ideal situation would be where communities handle finances of their areas to build infrastructure as and when needed. A model similar to what we see in gated communities would work well, if we are able to extend it to a rural situation in India. However, as you pointed out, there are a number of economic, political and cultural issues that stand in the way of this.