Why Indian Cities Suck (But No One Cares)

Summary

The video script satirically reviews Ghazipur Landfill in Delhi, highlighting India's civic issues such as air pollution, waste management, and inadequate public infrastructure. It emphasizes the need for political will, public accountability, and decentralization to address the challenges of housing, cleanliness, and traffic congestion in major cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. The speaker calls for a cultural shift and systemic changes to improve living conditions and public health.

Takeaways

• 😷 The script uses sarcastic reviews to highlight the irony of Ghazipur Landfill in Delhi being called a 'beautiful landmark', pointing out the severe air and waste pollution issues in India.
• 💨 The life expectancy of an Indian citizen is reduced by 5 years due to air pollution, with New Delhi residents facing an even higher reduction of 12 years.
• 🗑️ Ghazipur Landfill's waste management problems are emblematic of India's broader issues with pollution and public health.
• 🏙️ Housing affordability is a significant issue in Indian cities like Mumbai, with high population density and limited land leading to slums and illegal housing.
• 📊 The Floor Space Index (FSI) in Mumbai is restrictive, contributing to the housing crisis and the prevalence of slums like Dharavi.
• 🏢 The inefficiency of government bodies and legal issues have resulted in delays and stagnation in housing projects, exacerbating the housing shortage.
• 🏘️ There is a paradox of vacant houses in Mumbai while people live in slums, due to the property market being used for investment rather than for living.
• 🚫 The Mumbai Rent Control Act has unintended consequences, leading to poor maintenance of buildings and disincentivizing renting out properties.
• 🌿 The script criticizes the lack of attention to civic issues in politics, suggesting that vote bank politics and short-term projects take precedence over long-term solutions like waste management and pollution control.
• 🚦 Traffic congestion and poor public infrastructure are significant problems in cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai, with governance issues and lack of coordination between different government bodies contributing to the problem.
• 🌳 The script calls for more decentralization and local accountability in governance, suggesting that local bodies should have more autonomy and resources to address civic issues effectively.

Q & A

What is the sarcastic reference to the Ghazipur Landfill in the reviews?

The reviews sarcastically praise the Ghazipur Landfill as a beautiful landmark with pleasant floral smells, which is ironic because it is actually a waste dumping site in New Delhi known for creating foul odors and toxic chemical emissions.

How does air pollution in India impact the average citizen's lifespan?

Air pollution in India is so severe that it is said to reduce an Indian citizen's life expectancy by 5 years, with the number being even higher at minus 12 for residents of New Delhi.

What role did the Danish ambassador play in addressing the garbage issue in India?

The Danish ambassador made a video about the garbage issue in India, which led to the cleanup of the waste, highlighting the need for such international attention to prompt action on civic issues.

Why is the housing situation in Mumbai so dire according to the script?

The housing situation in Mumbai is dire due to high costs, limited land availability, and a low Floor Space Index (FSI) which restricts the height and size of buildings, making it difficult for people to find affordable housing.

What is the Floor Space Index and how does it affect housing in Mumbai?

The Floor Space Index (FSI) is a regulation that dictates how much area can be built on a given plot of land. In Mumbai, the low FSI limits the amount of housing that can be constructed, contributing to the city's housing crisis.

What is the Dharavi Redevelopment Project and why was it stalled?

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project is an initiative to redevelop Asia's largest slum, Dharavi, in Mumbai. It was stalled due to disputes over land ownership and leasing issues between the Railway Land Development Authority and the housing societies involved in the project.

How does the Maharashtra Rent Control Act affect the availability of rental housing in Mumbai?

The Maharashtra Rent Control Act has resulted in many property owners being unwilling to rent out their homes at controlled rates, leading to a shortage of rental housing and contributing to the prevalence of slum living.

What is the significance of the Ghazipur Landfill's comparison to the Qutub Minar?

The comparison highlights the alarming size and environmental impact of the Ghazipur Landfill, which is as tall as a famous historical monument, indicating the scale of India's waste management problem.

What are the two theories mentioned in the script that explain people's attitudes towards cleanliness and pollution?

The two theories are the 'no-broken-window theory' and 'the tragedy of the commons.' The former suggests that people are more likely to contribute to pollution if they see signs of existing pollution. The latter implies that when many people share responsibility for something, no one takes responsibility, leading to neglect.

How does the script suggest improving the state of civic issues in India?

The script suggests decentralizing power and increasing the budget for local bodies to handle their own affairs, including the collection of revenue through various means such as taxes and fees. It also calls for a cultural change in attitudes towards cleanliness and civic responsibility.

What impact does traffic congestion have on the economy and health of a city like Bengaluru?

Traffic congestion in Bengaluru results in an annual loss of Rs. 20,000 crore to the city's economy and costs each commuter Rs. 50,000 per year. It also increases stress levels and contributes to noise pollution, affecting mental and physical health.

Outlines

00:00

😔 Sarcasm in Reviews: The Reality of Ghazipur Landfill

This paragraph discusses the ironic Google reviews of Ghazipur Landfill in New Delhi, which is sarcastically praised for its beauty and pleasant smell, despite being a waste dumping site that emits foul odors and toxic chemicals. It highlights the broader issue of air pollution in India, which is said to reduce the lifespan of its citizens by 5 years, with New Delhi being particularly affected. The script criticizes the lack of attention to civic issues in elections and the ineffectiveness of current measures to address the problem, using the example of the Danish ambassador's video that led to a temporary cleanup. It also emphasizes the need to focus on civic issues such as housing, cleanliness, and public infrastructure, using the tragic story of a family killed in a hoarding collapse to illustrate the urgency of these concerns.

05:02

🏢 Housing Crisis in Mumbai: Slums and Skyscrapers

The second paragraph delves into the housing crisis in Mumbai, where the high cost of living and lack of affordable housing have led to the proliferation of slums like Dharavi. It explains the role of the Floor Space Index (FSI) in controlling building heights and how the government's attempts to control population growth through FSI have failed, with Mumbai's population far exceeding initial projections. The script also touches on the challenges of increasing FSI due to the need for infrastructure upgrades, the inefficiencies of government projects, and the issue of vacant houses in Mumbai, which are often held as investments rather than being used to alleviate the housing shortage.

10:11

🚫 Mumbai Rent Control Act: Unintended Consequences

This paragraph examines the impact of the Mumbai Rent Control Act, which was intended to protect tenants by freezing rent prices but has resulted in numerous unintended consequences. The law has discouraged landlords from renting out their properties at controlled rates, leading to a lack of rental housing and a reluctance to maintain properties. The script also discusses the poor condition of many buildings covered by the act and how this contributes to the prevalence of slums in Mumbai, despite the availability of vacant housing units.

15:13

🗑️ Waste Management and Air Pollution: A National Crisis

The fourth paragraph addresses the issue of waste management in India, where 80-90% of garbage is untreated, leading to environmental and health hazards. It describes the Ghazipur landfill's impact on the surrounding area, including toxic gas emissions and the risk of landslides. The script also highlights the broader issue of air pollution, which is responsible for a significant number of deaths in India, and criticizes the lack of political will to address this crisis, pointing out that many of the world's most polluted cities are in India.

20:18

🌿 Cultural and Systemic Solutions to Pollution

This paragraph explores the cultural and systemic factors contributing to pollution in Indian cities and potential solutions. It introduces the 'no-broken-window theory' and the 'tragedy of the commons' to explain attitudes towards cleanliness and responsibility. The script discusses the importance of cultural change and cites examples from Japan and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar to illustrate how a collective sense of responsibility can lead to cleaner environments. It also criticizes the Indian government's lack of incentive to solve public problems due to vote bank politics and the preference for short-term projects that benefit their electoral prospects.

25:20

🌆 Decentralization and Local Governance: Keys to Urban Revival

The final paragraph argues for greater decentralization and local governance as solutions to the problems of urban decay in India. It points out the inefficiencies of centralization and the lack of accountability at the local level, suggesting that local bodies should be given more autonomy and resources to manage their own affairs. The script also calls for a cultural shift in the way citizens engage with local issues and vote, emphasizing the need for voters to demand decentralization and hold local officials accountable for their performance.

Keywords

💡Air Pollution

Air pollution refers to the presence of harmful substances in the air, including toxic chemicals, particulate matter, and biological materials, which can have detrimental effects on human health and the environment. In the video's context, air pollution is a critical issue in Indian cities, particularly in New Delhi, where it is said to reduce the life expectancy of citizens by 5 years. The script mentions that air pollution is a silent killer, with 12 lakh Indians dying from it in 2017 according to a Lancet study, yet it is often overlooked in political discussions and elections.

💡Landfill

A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial, often in a pit or hole in the ground. The Ghazipur Landfill in Delhi is highlighted in the script as a symbol of poor waste management, where the accumulation of waste has led to environmental hazards such as foul smells and toxic chemical releases. The script sarcastically refers to it as a 'landmark' and 'hottest new tourist destination,' emphasizing the irony and severity of the pollution problem.

💡Housing Affordability

Housing affordability refers to the ability of households to obtain housing that is considered reasonably priced in relation to their incomes. The script discusses the issue of housing affordability in Mumbai, where the high cost of living and limited availability of affordable housing have led to the proliferation of slums like Dharavi. It is connected to the video's theme by illustrating the failure of policies and infrastructure to meet the basic needs of the population.

💡Floor Space Index (FSI)

The Floor Space Index (FSI) is a measure of how much floor area can be built on a given piece of land, often used in urban planning to regulate building density. The script explains that Mumbai's FSI limits the height of buildings and thus contributes to the housing crisis, as it restricts the amount of developable area relative to the land size. The FSI is a key factor in understanding the constraints on housing construction and urban development in Indian cities.

💡Slum

A slum is a highly populated urban residential area characterized by substandard housing and squalor. Dharavi in Mumbai is mentioned in the script as Asia's largest slum and a symbol of the affordable housing crisis. The existence of slums is tied to the video's theme of inadequate civic infrastructure and the failure to provide basic living conditions for all citizens.

💡Public Infrastructure

Public infrastructure refers to the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society, such as roads, bridges, and public transport. The script criticizes the poor state of public infrastructure in Indian cities, using the misalignment of the Gokhale Bridge and the Barfiwala flyover in Mumbai as examples of government inefficiency and lack of coordination.

💡Decentralization

Decentralization is the process of distributing or dispersing functions, powers, people, or things away from a central location or authority. The script advocates for more decentralization in India, arguing that local bodies should have more autonomy and resources to address civic issues effectively. The lack of decentralization is presented as a barrier to solving problems like traffic congestion and waste management.

💡Vote Bank Politics

Vote bank politics refers to the practice of political parties giving special attention to a particular group of voters to secure their votes, often at the expense of broader public interests. The script criticizes this practice, stating that it leads politicians to focus on short-term, visible projects rather than long-term solutions to civic problems like air pollution and waste management.

💡Civic Issues

Civic issues encompass the challenges related to the functioning of a community or city, including sanitation, housing, traffic, and public services. The script emphasizes the importance of focusing on civic issues in political discourse and policy-making, arguing that they are often overlooked in favor of more divisive or high-profile topics.

💡Environmental Health

Environmental health is the relationship between people and their environment, focusing on how the environment affects human health. The script discusses how environmental issues like air pollution and poor waste management in Indian cities have severe health implications, including respiratory disorders and reduced life expectancy.

💡Traffic Congestion

Traffic congestion refers to a situation in which an excessive number of vehicles on the road slows down traffic movement and leads to delays. The script uses Bengaluru as an example, where traffic congestion is so severe that it results in significant economic losses and affects the mental health of commuters, illustrating the broader impact of poor urban planning and infrastructure.

Highlights

Sarcastic Google reviews reveal the irony behind Ghazipur Landfill being a 'hot tourist destination'.

Ghazipur Landfill's negative impact on health due to foul smell and toxic chemicals.

The alarming reduction of an Indian citizen's life expectancy by 5 years due to air pollution.

The Danish ambassador's video prompting action on Ghazipur's landfill cleanup.

The lack of focus on civic issues during elections compared to religious and caste politics.

The paradox of better domestic life in India versus the harsh external living conditions.

Prime Minister Modi's statement on cities as economic drivers, contrasted with the reality of pollution and hoarding collapse.

The tragic story of Yash Chansoria's parents who died in a hoarding collapse in Mumbai.

The illegal status of the hoarding and petrol pump where the tragic accident occurred.

The Dharavi slum as an example of the affordable housing crisis in Mumbai.

The Floor Space Index (FSI) and its role in limiting building heights and affecting housing affordability.

The ineffectiveness of FSI in controlling Mumbai's population growth.

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project's challenges, including land acquisition and bureaucratic hurdles.

The issue of vacant houses in Mumbai juxtaposed with the lack of affordable housing.

The Mumbai Rent Control Act's unintended consequences on the rental market and property maintenance.

India's poor waste management with 80-90% of garbage being untreated.

The comparison of Indian cities' cleanliness with poorer nations and the role of attitude and governance.

The theory of the 'no-broken-window' and 'tragedy of the commons' explaining public behavior towards cleanliness.

The lack of political incentive to address public cleanliness due to vote bank politics.

The centralization of power in India and its impact on local governance and public infrastructure.

The example of Seoul's transformation as a case study for potential change in Indian cities.

The call for more decentralization, local accountability, and public demand for better governance.

Transcripts

These are Google reviews about a place.

Read them carefully.

German, British and Italian architecture can't beat this beauty.

The smell here is very pleasant and floral.

Absolute beauty.

I have never seen such a landmark in my life.

Hottest new tourist destination in New Delhi area.

Best place to enjoy fresh air.

Which landmark are these reviews referring to?

Ghazipur Landfill

-- Delhi's waste dumping site.

All these comments are sarcastic because Ghazipur's landfill

creates a foul smell and toxic chemicals,

which affects people's health.

I'm talking about Delhi, the capital of the world's 4th largest economy.

If you think that you don't live in Gazipur and therefore you're safe,

you should reconsider.

Due to air pollution, an Indian citizen's life is reduced by 5 years.

Yes, 5 years.

So when a child is born in India, his age starts from minus 5, not 0.

This number is minus 12 for New Delhi.

But how many people talk about air pollution for elections?

The situation is so bad that to get the garbage cleaned,

the Danish ambassador had to make a video

after which the garbage was cleaned.

We keep talking about Hindu-Muslim, Mangal Sutra, and Caste Survey.

How many people have talked about civic issues?

Issues that are important to us.

That's why it's said that compared to foreign countries,

India's domestic life is better.

But life outside the home is hell.

Because the condition of Indian cities is so bad outside the home,

yet people don't want to do anything about it.

On 17th November 2021,

Prime Minister Modi said that our cities are the driving force of our economy.

This driving force is littered with garbage, and air pollution,

and here people die due to hoarding collapse.

On 13th May, a 250-ton hoarding collapsed in the Ghatkopar area of Mumbai.

13,000 km away, a young man, Yash Chansoria,

was trying to talk to his parents from the US.

But their phones were not reachable.

So with the help of his friend, he filed a missing report in Mumbai.

His parents had come to Mumbai from Jabalpur

to complete visa formalities for the US.

So that they could meet Yash in the US.

While completing the formalities, they stopped at a petrol pump

to fill up their fuel tank.

But they didn't know that this would be their last stop.

Manoj Chansoria and his wife, Anita Chansoria,

were among the 17 people who died from hoarding collapse.

But let me tell you something that will make you flinch.

The hoarding was illegal, and so was the petrol pump.

But how many of us are making these civic issues an election issue?

The news channels keep talking about Hindu-Muslim.

And this is what I want to change.

I want to tell you about the state of our civic issues.

In this video, I'll focus on just 3 things.

When you come to a new city, what do you need?

A cheap house, a clean area, and good public infrastructure.

That's why I'll focus on 3 problems.

1. Housing 2. Cleanliness

and 3. Public Infrastructure

I'll explain these problems with the example of the biggest cities in the country.

Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

I'll also talk about solutions

so that you can keep your public leaders accountable.

Let's start with housing.

This is Dharavi,

Asia's largest slum, and one of the world's most densely populated areas.

About 8.5 lakh people live here in 55,000 homes.

Why? Because it's almost impossible to find a cheap house in Mumbai.

Today, about 32,000 people live in every square kilometre of Mumbai.

To estimate how many people live here,

compare it with other cities.

Houses in Mumbai are so expensive that a 2014 study showed that

80% of families can't even afford the subsidized flats

of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority.

You might say this study is 10 years old.

Let's take a look at the latest research.

In 2023, an Affordability Index was released which showed

how much you have to pay in India's cities for a house loan EMI.

Unsurprisingly, Mumbai was in the worst situation.

So can't you find a decent house in the city of dreams? No.

There are several reasons behind this.

Let me explain in detail.

The first reason is that there's not much land in Mumbai.

This is a map of Mumbai.

If you notice, Mumbai is in a peninsula.

It's surrounded by water from 3 sides.

This means that Mumbai is a port city.

But it's difficult to expand in any direction for the city.

If the city can't expand in any direction,

then the solution is to expand vertically.

That is, to build tall buildings.

But there's a problem here.

It's called the Floor Space Index.

In Mumbai, the height of a building is controlled by the Floor Area Ratio

or the Floor Space Index.

The Floor Space Index decides how much area you can build on any land.

For example, if FSI is 1, and suppose your plot is 4000 sq. ft.,

then you can build a building on that plot of 4000 sq. of floor space.

This means that either you can build a one-story building of 4000 sq.

or you can build a two-story building of 2000 sq. ft. each.

FSI was introduced in Mumbai in the 1960s

because they wanted to control the population.

To be specific, they wanted to have a population of 34 lakhs by 1980.

Was FSI successful?

No.

Because today, Mumbai's population is 2 crore.

Forget 34 lakhs.

During the 1980s, many people came to Mumbai from rural areas.

They built their homes in Dharavi,

which made it the biggest slum in the country.

Now, some of you might be thinking that

to solve the affordable housing problem in Mumbai,

the city should increase its FSI.

This will lead to taller buildings and people will get houses.

But this is complicated.

FSI is 3 to 5 in different areas of Mumbai.

The government has increased FSI many times.

But if you compare it with other cities,

FSI is relatively low.

In Manhattan, New York, FSI is between 3 to 12.

In Tokyo, it's more than 20.

In Singapore, it's more than 25.

So why doesn't the government of Mumbai increase FSI?

Because before that, the city's infrastructure needs to be upgraded.

FSI will increase and houses will be built.

But what about the city's infrastructure?

Roads, gutters, cleaning services and sewer lines will need to be upgraded.

But for Mumbai's infrastructure,

I don't need to tell you much.

This is the same city where the Gokhale Bridge

and the Burfi Flyover were not even aligned.

They tried to build infrastructure

but didn't check whether the flyover and bridge would be aligned or not.

People come to Mumbai to look for a house

but it's difficult to afford it because of the low FSI,

and the FSI is lower because the government didn't build the infrastructure.

That's why people live in slum areas or illegal places.

But if by chance a Hollywood film makes a film about these slum areas,

we get offended.

But we're not offended by the poor condition of the people living there.

We're offended by the way our country has been portrayed.

This situation is even worse

because our government authorities are so incompetent.

Under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project,

the Adani Group and the Maharashtra government decided

to redevelop the Dharavi slum area.

For this redevelopment, they needed 47.5 acres of land

owned by the Railway Land Development Authority.

The state government signed a 99-year lease agreement with the Indian Railways.

This land will be given to the government and then

the government can lease the land back to housing societies for 30 years.

But the Railway Land Development Authority

refused to give the land to the housing societies for a lease.

And the project was stalled.

Maharashtra Minister Atul Save said that the government

wants to build 20 lakh houses for the 40 lakh people

who live in the slum area.

But they've only managed to build 2-2.5 lakh houses.

He said that 219 construction projects have been delayed due to legal issues

and 22 are being heard in the courts.

So our government can't negotiate with the different government authorities

which is why such projects are stalled.

The net result is that Mumbai doesn't have enough house supply.

And do you know what's interesting?

The 2018 economic survey showed that

there are 5 lakh houses in Mumbai which are empty.

There are 5 lakh empty houses in a city

where people live in slums because they don't have affordable houses.

Why?

Because for many people,

Mumbai's property market is an investment market.

So many people have bought a house in Mumbai,

neither to live there nor to rent it out.

Just for investment purposes.

There is another major problem behind this vacancy

-- Mumbai Rent Control Act.

In 1947, a rent control law was passed in Bombay

which said that housing rent would freeze at the price of 1940.

In 1999, a new law was passed, the Maharashtra Rent Control Act,

which also said the same.

This law applies to 23 lakh buildings in Mumbai.

The main purpose of this law was to protect the people who live on rent.

This would prevent the landlords from increasing the rent.

So the intention of this law was to protect tenants.

But what was the outcome?

Many people don't want to rent their homes.

Because they know that because of this law,

they won't get rent at the market rate.

Apart from this, many buildings on which this law applies

are in a very bad condition because the landlords don't want to maintain them.

They don't see any reason to invest money.

If they don't get proper rent, they'll keep their buildings in bad condition.

And because of all these problems,

people don't have a house to live in Mumbai.

So they live in slums.

Where there's so much garbage,

which is something that the people of Delhi will understand very well.

The landfill in Ghazipur is as tall as the Qutub Minar.

There are landslides on many mountains.

And the same thing happens in the Ghazipur landfill.

In 2017, two people died due to a trash slide.

Trash slides are very rare.

But every day, toxic gases are released from the landfill.

Many people in the Ghazipur area are suffering from breathing disorders.

But Ghazipur is just a small example

of our country's poor waste management.

About 80-90% of the country's garbage is untreated.

Usually, garbage is treated to remove harmful chemicals from it.

But the waste in India is completely untreated.

It's either dumped in a landfill like the Ghazipur landfill

or thrown on the streets.

And even the Indian government agrees to this.

In 2017, the Minister of Environment, Prakash Javadekar,

said that 40% of India's plastic waste is not treated

but is directly thrown on Indian roads.

This is why many people are shocked to see how dirty our cities are.

But many Indians will be offended by the fact

that foreigners are talking about our garbage.

They won't be offended by the garbage.

They'll argue that your cities are dirty as well.

Talk about that.

At least we can see the garbage.

Air pollution is something that many people can't even see.

A study by Lancet showed that in 2017, 12 lakh Indians died from air pollution.

But there can be no vote bank politics about air pollution.

You can't blame any community for it as well.

That's why no political leader wants to talk about it.

Out of the top 10 most polluted cities in the world, 9 are Indian cities.

I repeat.

Out of the top 10 most polluted cities, 9 are Indian.

But who cares?

Many of you will say that it's because our country is poor.

But there are many poor countries whose cities are cleaner

than Indian cities.

Take Nairobi in Kenya.

Or Grenada in Nicaragua.

The budget of these cities is much less than that of Delhi

and Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

But still, these cities are much cleaner.

Many vloggers have shown that in a country like Syria,

where violence has been going on for years,

the cities there are cleaner than Indian cities.

So if money is not a problem, then what is?

One problem is our attitude.

Look at this photo.

Guess where this photo is from.

Delhi? Mumbai? Bengaluru?

No, this photo is from Singapore.

Singapore is considered the cleanest city in the world.

But this is Singapore's Little India.

So Indians have started polluting cities like Singapore.

So is it just us?

Many of you will say that it's not right to generalize.

Because when Indians go to New Zealand or other countries,

they maintain cleanliness.

But the reality is that both can be right.

We have an attitude problem.

But if we go to a system where there are rules and punishments,

then we clean up.

This is what Anamik Nagrik had talked about.

He is a clean-up expert in Indian cities.

He talked about two theories.

The first theory is the no-broken-window theory.

He says that if there are broken windows on a road,

then we don't hesitate to spread more pollution.

So when we see a little bit of garbage on a road in Indian cities,

we throw our own garbage there.

Because we feel that it's not just our problem.

Others are doing the same.

But when you give a clean road to these people,

they will definitely feel guilty about throwing garbage there.

Anamik did an experiment in Bengaluru.

He saw that when they cleaned a wall properly,

people stopped spitting paan there.

"We painted the wall. We painted a red band at the bottom."

"We put some flower pots and incredibly there were no paan stains on that wall."

And why?

"Because the person spitting paan is trying his best to be clean."

The second theory comes from environmental science,

which is called the tragedy of the commons.

According to this theory, when many people

are equally responsible for one thing,

no one wants to take responsibility for it.

So if there's a road and 10 houses,

every house believes that it's not their responsibility to keep it clean.

It's the responsibility of other people.

Whether they're municipal workers or NGO workers.

This attitude is still prevalent among many people

where they believe that it's not their responsibility to maintain cleanliness.

Some people even say that it's against their dignity.

They feel humiliated when they're asked to clean things.

"Is this garbage going to be cleaned by the party?"

You're calling this garbage?

"Look at this."

"Look at this too."

"Wait a second."

"If you have a wedding or a party at your house,

and you throw flowers at your house, does that make it dirty?"

This attitude can be changed with cultural change.

Take Japan for example.

Many people believe that it's their responsibility to maintain cleanliness.

They don't think that this is a bad thing.

Even after the FIFA World Cup match in Qatar,

many Japanese fans were seen cleaning the stadium.

It's our responsibility to develop this attitude.

But it's also the responsibility of the government.

Unfortunately, the government doesn't want to take responsibility.

I'm currently reading a book by Karthik Muralidharan.

I strongly recommend it.

It's a very thick book.

It basically explains why the governance in our country is so bad.

In this book, Karthik Muralidharan says that

the politicians in our country don't have any incentive

to solve the problems of the public.

Because to win a seat, a politician has to win the highest votes.

This means that he spends a lot of time in vote bank politics.

And because of this, he doesn't have any incentive

to solve all the problems of the public, which will benefit everyone.

Like cleaning garbage.

Karthik Muralidharan says that because of vote bank politics,

many politicians prefer to give their resources to specific vote banks

instead of solving problems that benefit everyone.

Like removing garbage and improving public infrastructure.

But when it comes to work, Karthik Muralidharan says that

politicians choose projects that are short-term

and which will benefit them in the elections.

But cleaning a city is not short-term.

It takes time and a lot of resources.

So there's no guarantee that if they try to clean a city,

they'll get benefits in the elections or not.

Take Delhi for example.

The AAP government comes up with odd schemes to reduce pollution.

Or launches anti-smog guns.

These are things that show the voters

that the government is trying to do something.

But in the long term, it won't affect the problem.

In 2020, they launched an anti-pollution campaign

to increase the forest cover of the city.

But the State of Forest Report 2021 states that

for the first time in 10 years, forest cover has decreased in Delhi.

So the AAP knows that solving air pollution won't benefit them in the elections.

And the voters don't vote on the basis of air pollution.

So why should they worry?

Another problem in our politics is the lack of decentralization of power.

Like removing waste or improving public infrastructure.

India is one of the most centralized countries in the world.

Where more than 50% of China's budget is spent on local levels

only 3% of India's budget is spent at the local government level.

Many Indians say that China is so centralized,

but they forget that in terms of budget,

China is 17 times more decentralized than India.

India is so centralized because when our country got freedom,

our leaders feared that this country would not survive.

So it was important to build a strong centre.

But after 75 years, it is not necessary to do this.

We should be more decentralized.

Now, the issue of cleanliness would be best solved at the local level.

But in our country, state and central government have political power.

Local level officials have no power at all.

There are around 2 crore government employees.

Out of these 2 crore, only 20 lakh people work at the local level.

While this number is much higher in China and the United States.

In China, more than 50% of government employees are local employees.

But this is not the case in our country.

Most political power is at the state and central level.

And they have no accountability in the city.

Our fault is that we don't think about local civic issues before voting.

Does this mean that Indian cities will always be dirty?

No, it is possible to be clean.

Take a look at these photos.

These are the photos of Seoul, the capital of Korea, from the 1960s.

But after a few years, the city's image has changed.

Seoul is a big deal.

If you look at the Indore photo, you'll see that such issues can be solved.

But accountability is needed at the local level

with the support of civil society.

But voters don't have time to think about all these issues.

They are busy in traffic.

Or they are being pushed around in the Mumbai locals.

After which they are told that Mumbai's spirit is so good.

Bengaluru is even worse.

On 27th September, 2023, comedian Trevor Noah

was going to perform in Bengaluru.

The comedy show was cancelled due to technical glitches.

But many fans couldn't reach the venue due to traffic.

Many people started selling their tickets on Twitter.

They knew that they wouldn't be able to reach due to traffic.

The traffic was so bad that many people started ordering pizza in a jam.

In 2023, Bengaluru won the award for the 6th most congested city in the world.

An average Bengaluru commuter spends 250 hours a year in traffic.

This is the same situation in Mumbai.

Many comedians have made jokes about its poor infrastructure.

For example, this is the Gokhale Bridge in Mumbai's Andheri.

And this is the Barfiwala flyover.

Both the Gokhale Bridge and the Barfiwala flyover are not new constructions.

The Gokhale Bridge was built in the 1960s.

While the Barfiwala flyover was built in 2008.

In 2018, the 47-year-old Gokhale Bridge collapsed.

5 people were injured.

In 2022, the government decided to demolish the bridge and build a new one.

The construction of this bridge was completed in February 2024.

But what's the problem?

The Gokhale Bridge on one side

and the Barfiwala flyover on the other side don't match.

"After 2.5 years of construction,

they realized that what's coming from this side and the other one doesn't match."

We may not be aware of this,

but traffic has a direct impact on our economy and health.

Traffic expert M.N. Shreehari and his team's research showed that

due to the traffic problem in Bengaluru,

the city faces a loss of Rs. 20,000 crore annually.

On average, every person loses Rs. 50,000 annually due to this traffic.

In addition to economic costs, mental health is also affected by this traffic.

It increases stress levels and noise pollution has a direct health impact.

Public infrastructure is a complex topic

that can be covered in a 25-minute video of its own.

But a major reason for the lack of public infrastructure is governance.

For example, in Bengaluru, BBMP is the municipal corporation,

which is an elected body.

But there are many other non-elected bodies in Bengaluru.

Like BDA, KSDP, BMTC, and BMRCL.

The municipal corporation has no control over these bodies.

These non-elected bodies directly report to the Karnataka government,

not the municipal corporation.

This means that the municipal body and these bodies

constantly fight with each other.

Especially because the responsibilities of these two bodies overlap.

For example, BDA is responsible for the land regulation of Bengaluru.

And KSC is also responsible for slum rehabilitation.

Suppose the Bengaluru municipal corporation wants to rehabilitate a slum,

they can't do it alone.

They'll have to ask for the permission of the non-elected bodies.

So what power does this elected body have?

But the Karnataka state government doesn't want to solve this issue.

Because to solve this issue, they'll have to give their power to the local body.

No chief minister wants to do this.

Now I want to give solutions to both the Indian government and you.

There are two solutions for the Indian government.

The first solution is that our government

should give more money to the local bodies.

We need more decentralization.

Both in terms of money and political power.

Political power means autonomy.

Good organizations have their own way of working.

For example, if there's a good cricket team,

the captain gives the players the freedom to play as they wish.

But everyone will be judged on the basis of the result.

But the Indian government is the opposite.

It micromanages its employees and doesn't even hold them

accountable for the result.

Instead, our government should give the local bodies the freedom

to do whatever they want.

But they'll be judged on the basis of the result.

They say that we should give autonomy to the municipalities of Indian cities

so that they can collect their revenue.

This can be done through road taxes, property taxes,

registration fees, parking fees, and congestion charges.

Bengaluru has made its buses free for women.

Many researchers have said that it's a good step for female empowerment.

I've talked about this in many videos.

I've said that Indian women stay packed in their homes.

At least they're going out of their homes because of this scheme.

But the Bengaluru government didn't increase the revenue of the local bodies

nor did it increase the supply of buses.

This increased the pressure on public transport.

Instead, the state government should tell the city government

to handle their own budget and be responsible for their outcomes.

But if I talk about you, please demand decentralization.

Instead of decentralization, everyone wants a messiah as a PM

to solve all the problems of the country.

But this doesn't work.

Imagine that a company is so centralized that

the CEO has to make all the decisions.

If you want a leave, you'll need the approval of the CEO.

Will this work? No.

If your road is dirty, will you tag the PM on Twitter to get it cleaned?

But if the budget and power are in the hands of the local officials,

you can at least go to their offices and ask them to clean your road.

You can't do this in front of the PM.

So we should demand more decentralization.

Not centralization.

So don't demand a messiah, but demand thousands of leaders.

That will change the country.

Thank you. Now I'm going to vote.

See you in a while.

I just voted in Delhi.

If you have a polling day in Delhi, Bihar or Haryana,

then please go and vote.

Be a good citizen.

And if you liked the video, please subscribe to the channel and share it.

It might help change the situation of the cities.

Thank you. See you next time.