Morbi tragedy – on issues associated with urban governance

Source– The post is based on the article “Don’t just move on” published in The Times of India and Double engine failure” in The Indian Express on 1st november 2022.

Syllabus: GS3-  Disaster management. GS1- Urbanisation and their problems

Relevance– Issue with management of disasters in urban areas

News- The article explains the reasons for the Morbi incident. It also explains the negligence on part of the state that caused the incident.

What is negligence on part of the state government?

The negligence by the local administration was responsible for the tragedy. Yet, no FIR has been registered against local administration.

Proceedings against the private contractors who repaired the bridge is not enough.

The Morbi incident is a symptom of the crisis that lies at the heart of urban governance in India.

What is the crisis of urban governance in India?

Urban institutions that oversee governance are in poor state.

There is a dispute over the size of the urban population. It influences the flow of resources and political importance given urban areas. The World Bank agglomeration index in 2010 estimated that 55% of India’s population lives in areas with “urban-like features”. This estimate far exceeds GoI’s estimate for urban population.

The 74th constitutional amendment was enacted three decades ago. But state governments are reluctant to give control over infrastructure to these bodies. It leads to multiple chains of command, lack of accountability and corruption.

Municipal revenue is not proportional to the size of urban economies. Municipal revenue remained stuck at 1% of GDP between 2007-08 and 2017-18. Municipal revenues in South Africa and Brazil are around 6% and 7% respectively.

Why is the state government responsible for the incident?

Under the constitutional framework, the state government should protect the life of every citizen. It is the duty of the state government to prevent incidents like Morbi. Governance is an important element in the constitutional framework. Without accountability, governance is merely a paper exercise.

Bridges and public ways are state property. State must keep them in perfect condition.

There were more people than capacity on the bridge. The administration did not provide enough manpower to prevent the incident.

There is centralisation of power. Gujarat is remotely controlled by the central government in Delhi. There is more than one point of supervision and control in the administration. Appointments of civil and police  in the state are opaque and have political overtones. State machinery is busy in making arrangements for VVIPs visits.

What is the way forward?

Accountability needs to be fixed for the loss of more than 150 lives.

We need to take inspiration from leaders like Lal Bahadur Shastri who resigned because of a train accident.

Compensation and commission of inquiry is not enough. There is a need for good governance on part of the state government.