City, city, bang, bang

India, in case you did not know it already, has 35 cities that have crossed the million-plus barrier. They are spread throughout the country...

India, in case you did not know it already, has 35 cities that have crossed the million-plus barrier. They are spread throughout the country and function as sources of human development and engines of economic growth.

Some among these have already achieved their pinnacle and crossed over into graceless old age, existing like T.S. Eliot’s unreal city under the brown fog. Others have proved more resilient, still doggedly running the race, albeit on bended back and rheumatoid knee. Still others, driven by the optimism that comes with growth, hurtle towards the future.

So how are these various urban conglomerations performing in terms of business? This is question so basic in a country where an estimated 40 per cent of the population is expected to live in cities, it’s a surprise that it has not been asked sooner.

The Confederation of Indian Industry has just had a shot at answering it. In rating the country’s top 36 cities, it uses six categories by which to judge urban performance: Professional Education, Private Finance, Communication, Road Transport, Tourism and Relative Growth. There could be other parameters, too, by which to judge a city’s corporate potential — like, for instance, basic education which can be seen as an important factor for the growth of markets. But never mind. The important thing is that now at least there is something of an index being evolved to rate urban performance. The refinements can come later. It may be useful therefore to view these ratings, not as something etched in stone, but snapshots of emerging trends in a remarkably changeable scenario.

One of these trends is the emergence of Delhi not just as the political, but possibly the corporate capital of the future, edging Mumbai out. How sustainable this is, only time will tell. But it appears that bad governance and mafia rule — not to speak of the riots of 1992-93 followed by the Bombay blasts — have severely debilitated a city that had several decades earlier pushed Calcutta from its position as urbs prima. Although ‘governance’ is not a category by itself, the authors of this report point out that the ‘Relative Growth’ category encompasses governance. Therefore, if you compare the two cities it appears that Mumbai has been let down by its ‘Relative Growth’, and ‘Road Transport’, while Delhi has gained from its ‘Communication’ and ‘Tourism’.

Lack of surface transport facilities have also let cities like Chennai and Bangalore down, even though both have topped in the ‘Professional Education’ category. Conversely, a city like Chandigarh has emerged at the very top of the table precisely because of its transportation infrastructure. There must, surely, be a lesson in this for the ambitious politician and the urban planner.