NEW DELHI: Over the last couple of days Chennai witnessed major water logging and disruption succeeding the onset of northeast monsoon. The amount of rainfall was not unusual, but the unpreparedness on the side of civic agencies was habitual. Lack of coordination with other agencies is another factor among others due to which the disruption was caused.
A couple of weeks back it was Hyderabad which was flooded. India’s urban centres generate the most of the annual economic output, making them the economic dynamos of the country. Sadly, the state of civic infrastructure and the inter-agency coordination of the states are treated poorly by the respective state governments. Therefore, the disruption damages the economy, including other things degrades the quality of life of urban residents.
It’s high time some legislative changes are made to push the leadership of urban local bodies in the direction of a chief executive model. To make sure this model doesn’t conclude without anyone being held answerable for the failure, the chief executive must be made personally responsible for constituents through an election.