Shanghai nightmares

For a society that has always felt elevated in modelling its neighbourhoods and cities along the lines of more sophisticated foreign counter...

For a society that has always felt elevated in modelling its neighbourhoods and cities along the lines of more sophisticated foreign counterparts, the idea of making a Shanghai out of Mumbai does not come as a surprise. Quite understandably, only politicians and businessmen could have crafted such an idea 8212; for political self-aggrandisement and business leverage respectively 8212; while having little to do in an entire city8217;s makeover.

Often when blueprints for the facelift of cities are drawn, its lay citizenry finds no significant role for itself, except for financial contribution by way of taxes, which seldom qualifies for recognition and almost never entails accountability. Romantic though the vision of Shanghai in Mumbai may sound, it is sweepingly naive and poor in detail.

It8217;s more of a smart slogan, which pays scant attention to the ground realities of the great Chinese powerhouse. Given Shanghai8217;s pompous political traditions, ill-regulated and chaotic property markets, relatively weak financial structures, arbitrary legal system, Mumbai is akin, if not worse. A senior western diplomat in Shanghai once lamented that foreigners 8216;8216;are seduced by the skyline, and tend to switch off important bits of their brain when making business decisions.8217;8217; Thankfully, Mumbai manages to do sizeable business despite its queasy mix of riches and squalor.

With its overstrained urban services, Shanghai is a classic case of environmental hazards bartered for accelerated and outward-oriented development, exacerbated by inadequate environmental service infrastructure. Set in a country whose cities already suffer acutely from planning blunders precipitated by political myopia, commercial opportunism and public apathy, Mumbai needs to make a choice. What of Shanghai is it ready for, apart from its much vaunted and occasionally superficial modernity and dynamism?

It might be a little shortsighted to sweep Shanghai8217;s evident waste of public money under the carpet, much like its notoriety for graft and spiralling labour costs. Cities like Shanghai may well be an ode to a pride founded on gleaming high-rises, subways, highways and adventurous public buildings. But it is also an important lesson in the unnervingly extortionate costs of impressing foreign investors.

Swanky monuments to state incentives and tax breaks, glossing over multiple layers of corruption 8212; are the last things Mumbai needs. It already has a high share of these. Any obsession with cash-rich newcomers a la Shanghai would only worsen the inequities that define Mumbai today.

If anything, Mumbai needs to guard against becoming a victim of its own ferocity, something Shanghai has lately woken up to. In which case, wouldn8217;t it make better sense to let Mumbai be and grow as Mumbai? For, if the most flaunted model has gaping imperfections, all Mumbai needs to do is focus on and build upon its innate strengths.