A drive for perfection

India is changing – that’s a line one hears often. The perception is further strengthened by the reality of the changing skyline. Infrastructure creation and building at a furious pace, to make up for lost time is transforming cities both old and new. One can’t but laud the initiative of governments both State and Central in this massive task – Highways, Bridges, Flyovers, Subways, Metro and Mono Rails and so on.
But on the evidence of a city like Mumbai, what is lacking is the desire for finesse, for perfection. Most things we build seem to be ‘hammer and tong’ jobs, built with sporadic bursts of speed replete with design errors and imperfection of elements. Notice how quickly the gleam of newness disappears and rust and creeping ruin quickly begin to spread it’s tentacles over the structure even a few months after the glitzy inauguration ?
New side walk tiles, as a small example - never set well in the first place, are ripped up, dug into or else simply disappear, leaving gaping holes; inter – locking grids laid on main arterial roads sink and form huge craters; flyovers are inaugurated and within the week provide new nesting grounds for mini slums and impromptu garages for broken down vehicles; rags flutter from railings of new pedestrian bridges; railings themselves simply disappear leaving gaping holes in the perimeter and so on. To a discerning eye the list is endless.
There is a dire need for a ‘review and oversight’ body that would monitor all public works for atleast a year after it’s inauguration to monitor execution, maintenance and repair.
Provision of new public utilities are praiseworthy but the challenge is to execute and maintain them in pristine condition. Or else we may be in danger of replacing old junk with new junk !
After all, ‘Perfection is the soul of enterprise.’