Fading Shade of Pink

For the past one week, people have been gathering at chaupals, discussing why Jaipur ‘is so ugly today’. A citizen’s charter is being drafted and questions being raised about why the city’s development is lagging.

Going by records, Jaipur is a pampered city. There are five different agencies working to make Jaipur a ‘heritage city’, ‘a technology city’ and a ‘tourist hub’, all rolled into one.

Between them the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA), the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC), the Public Works Department (PWD), the Housing Board and the Rajasthan Urban Infrastructure Development Project (RUIDP), are spending crores on this city of about three million.

Jaipur is an old city, built in the 18th century by Sawai Jai Singh. In the old streets of the walled city, the foresight of the then town planners is still visible.

Fast forward to the 21st century, to a city that is going to have 10 glitzy shopping malls by the end of 2004. With different laws applicable in different parts of the city, all high-rises coming up are completely different from each other. In the JDA jurisdiction the rules are different from those in the JMC jurisdiction and so on.

‘‘As a result, asymmetrical buildings are coming up everywhere,’’ says Dharmendar Kanwar, a travel writer who is working with Gayatri Devi to ‘save the city’. ‘‘Jaipur’s architecture is unique and instead of ensuring that its uniqueness is maintained, builders are choosing to do what they please.’’

The centre of this debate continues to be one of the most controversial buildings built on the Statue circle, one of the cities most beautiful roundabout. As the apartment block is quickly rising from the ground, it is dwarfing the statue of Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of the city. ‘‘The master plan has been changed to accommodate everyone,’’ admits an official.

Urban Development secretary Ashok Sampatram also admits that the city desperately needs a uniform law, which he adds is being drafted. But he is also quick to defend the agencies under him. ‘‘ We can’t shirk our responsibility but the people have to do their bit.’’

Chief executive officer of JMC, K.N. Gupta adds: “Look at how much trouble we have just ensuring that people living in the walled city paint the facades of their buildings pink every year. Each time we bring out the notice, no one responds.’’

And while the older agencies try to keep the city clean and barely manage to regulate its growth, the Asian Development Bank funded RUIDP is working on improving the infrastructure of the city.

‘‘We are just a temporary organisation created to execute big projects and will cease to exist after June 2005,’’ says Manoj Sharma, the man in-charge of the show in Jaipur.

As the citizen’s movement slowly finds its feet, agencies continue to pass the buck, waiting for that uniform law that will bring them together.