Caught in an Orwellian setup

You might have already begun to wonder if I8217;m cynical, jealous, have a meanness towards the rich or if I suffer from a grapes-are-sour attitude. Not really. I have made certain observations and found that it is never the rich or the influential, but the poor who are constantly told to play fair, to observe the law to the last detail, to take it upon themselves to be utterly honest, and to bow and instantaneously obey the orders. Otherwise? Well, they are blown off like a speck of dust.

Take the instances of encroachments or unauthorised constructions. Rewind your memory to recent times. The poor vendors, handcarters and roadside stall owners who are swept away, when the relevant administrator decides it is time to show that he has taken action against irregularities and illegalities and earns the image of an 8220;efficient and upright officer8221;.

This does not imply that the poor should be given concessions 8211; rich or poor, everyone must abide by the law. No doubt. There should be no encroachments on the public roads, footpaths and the road8217;s shoulders 8211; that adversely affects the traffic management system of a city. But then there should be equal justice and the needle of action should not point only at the most convenient class the poor who can be easily knocked off. The rich should be equally questioned and action taken.

Instance No.1: The small time stall owners at Venna Lake, in Mahabaleshwar. Hell broke loose for the citizens of Mahabaleshwar and promoters and developers who had a stake in this picturesque hill station, when the Bombay Environmental Action Group BEAG filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court in April 1997. Building bye-laws were being unscrupulously violated and basements were being shamelessly used as restaurants. The petitioners also appealed that something constructive must be done, regarding the ugly and environment-unfriendly stalls at scenic points of Mahabaleshwar, particularly the Venna Lake.

In its final order in November 1998, the High Court directed, among others, in no uncertain terms, that the banks of the lake must be completely cleared off the stalls and rehabilitated elsewhere as they were sources of pollution. The forest department in consultation with the Mahabaleshwar Hill Station Municipality was asked to earmark a new area. The High Court also asked a monitoring committee comprising officials and citizen-activists to ensure that the orders of the High Court were being implemented, be it the stalls or basement misuse.

First, the monitoring committee snored for some time and so did the Mahabaleshwar municipality. The forest department too. And then, one fine day, in fact a couple of days before the municipality was supposed to submit its action-taken report to the high court, it suddenly dislodged the small fry like handcarts and tiny kiosks that sold humble bhuttas and other nitty-gritties on the border of the lake. And surprise of surprises, the more well-off stall owners who have perched themselves at a higher point across the lake8230; who actually disturb the tranquillity, with their blaring loudspeakers, sprawling video game stalls and noisy giant wheels, remained untouched.

I think, fourteen were dislodged for the sake of the record in the action-taken report. But they led an existence of utter poverty. All they did was feebly represent themselves in a group, but by then the damage had been done and it was advantage, Mahabaleshwar municipality.

As for the 28 stalls that have become a permanent fixture across the lake and which belong to the comparatively wealthy, the municipality as well as the forest department coolly looked the other way, saying there was no alternative place to relocate them. The monitoring committee too, which anyway wakes up feebly between snores, also pardoned their existence, thus violating at least the spirit of the High Court order.

Not only these better-off stall owners, but even the rich hoteliers and promoters and developers have been smiling wryly, as they continue to make a mockery of law and the order.

Instance No.2: The 80-odd vegetable vendors of the Shivaji Market of the Pune Cantonment Board were evicted on August 14. The PCB swooped down on these handcarters, alleging that they caused a major traffic hindrance on the narrow stretch. Agreed, technically 100 out of 100 to Brig. Madan Gopal, president of the PCB. But now, see for yourself the discrepancy in treatment. See for yourself the triviality of his action.

The narrow road, outside Shivaji Market, is not even an arterial road. It is one of the negligible by-lanes, wherein traffic is sparse. Only shoppers to this market and some neighbouring denizens use this road regularly. But the PCB found it such a serious issue, that it not only swooped down upon these poor entrepreneurs but has also followed it up with much efficiency. It is another issue that the hawkers are back again. On August 25, it has issued a strict warning to the offenders once again.

We only wish PCB would not be blind to the chaotic traffic conditions on arterial roads of the cantonment like the M.G Road, East Street, Centre Street and their offshoots, thanks to brazen encroachments and building bye-law violations by the rich 8211; builders and developers and their commercial clients. Here, basements are happily being used as commercial establishments and monstrous concrete structures which still coming up have not kept enough parking space, aggravating therefore congestion on roads.

The PCB is absolutely mum on this matter. So much so, that it did not hesitate, a few weeks back, to actually shunt out disabled soldiers who have been provided paan kiosks, without any consideration of rehabilitation, when the board had given decent alternative site even to hawkers on M G Road who had no business doing business on the pavement in the first place.

Instance No.3: Eviction of vendors from the Mahatma Phule Mandai. While, unarguably, municipal commissioner, Ratnakar Gaikwad, is sincerely and relentlessly working towards the betterment of the city, yet again one finds the encroachers of the lower income group, as the most convenient flogging point.

The PMC ordered the eviction of hawkers from the surroundings of the Mahatma Phule Mandai, on the grounds of hogging up space meant for parking.

While the action is fully justified, one wishes the employees of the municipal corporation in building permission and anti-encroachment departments follow the example of the commissioner and are equally prompt in identifying violations of building bye-laws for off-street parking which congest the roads and demolish any unauthorised structure coming up in margin space.

The commissioner did initiate some action on Jangli Maharaj and Fergusson College roads but not all encroachments have been removed yet and not the entire margin space legally earmarked for off-street parking is actually being used for parking. The action has remained confined only to these two roads when the commissioner should have directed his staff to extend it to all major roads in the city. While this is awaited, perhaps till infinity, all the limelight is hogged by the civic action against some poor squatters near Mandai.

These are the days, my dear friend8230; of the overpowering influence of money!