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    Sudhir P Badami

    B.Tech. (Civil Engg. – IIT Bombay)
    M.Tech. (Structural Engg. – IIT Bombay
    Badami Innovations & Engineering Consultants
    Gilbert Buildings, 1 Babulnath 2nd Cross Lane, MUMBAI 400 007 India
    Date 25 June 2006
    To
    Empowered Committee on Transforming Mumbai into a World Class City

    Government Representatives
    M/s Dr D K Sankaran, O P Gahrotra, V K Agrawal, Ramanand Tiwari, N B Patil, N Ramarao, B G Patil, Johny Joseph, CP Mumbai A N Roy, Dr T Chandrashekhar, Ramanath Jha, V K Jairath, V B Borge, D G Marathe, Dr T Chandrashekhar, G S Gill, Sanjay G Ubale by email

    Subhash Sonavane CEO MHADA by fax:2659 02058

    Citizen's Action Group Representatives:
    Deepak S Parekh, Anand Mahindra, Narinder Nayar, Ranjit Pandit, V S Palekar, Noel Tata and Jamshed Godrej by email
     
     

     
    Subject: A Note to the Empowered Committee on Transforming Mumbai into a World Class City

    Kind Attention of: All the members of the Empowered Committee

    Dear Sirs,
     
    Nearly two months back, on 28 April 2006, I has emailed to you all a note concerning development of Mumbai. I reproduce the same with some modifications to some of the figures mentioned therein. Four events have taken place since the emailing of that note. (i) the Mumbai Metro Line 1 award has been finalised after the BOOT operators - ADAG having reduced the requirement of viability gap funding, (ii) decision to go for Standard Gauge, (iii) to go underground from originally planned elevated 8 km stretch from Mahalaxmi to Mahim and (iv) the actual length of Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar reduced to 11.5 km as against 15 km of the original Metro Plan.

    I am also attaching four articles I wrote recently which emphasise that we must expeditiously complete Transportation projects, at affordable costs. This is possible if we adopt scheme comprising of 200 km of BRTS and 80 km of Skybus - a scheme that would cost about Rs 6,000 Cr and take five years - as against Mumbai Metro Project's Rs 60,000 Cr at current Line 1 prices. The MMP would be taking 16 years.

    The articles are titled:

    1. The Metro Rail for Mumbai – the realistic cost estimates
    2. Skybus BRTS Combine for Mumbai
    3. Case for Skybus BRTS
    4. Expeditious Political Decision Needed 
    Now, I reproduce the content of my 28 April 2006 note with appropriate changes, so highlighted.
    "There is only one thing in life that is constant and it is Change". We cannot escape it. To fulfill individual needs and aspirations, forces of change cause pulls and pushes within the society. In a democratic society, the government and the wise persons advising it are expected to be keen observers of these needs and aspirations and hence the forces of change. They are expected to initiate measures that would mitigate the strife that generates within the society because of some pulls and pushes are stronger than the others, causing an imbalance in the stability of the society. Stability, it must be understood, is not same as stagnation. Stability of society simply means changes taking place in an equitable and just manner, causing very little pain to any given section of the society, although it may or may not meet everyone's aspirations, but surely addresses the needs.

    This committee to whom I am writting this note is empowered to expedite the process of "transforming Mumbai into a World Class City". The Vision Mumbai Document prepared by McKinsey and Bombay First in 2003 spells out the parameters that need to be improved to get on the road to meet this goal.

    Fundamentally, a city is made up of people and it is manufacturing, commerce and trade activities that sustains it. Services of all kinds have become part of the society. People need services so that they may continue with wealth creating activities they have become proficient in. All these economic activities serve in increasing the incomes of working individuals and collective wealth of society. Very simply stated, practically everyone contributes to this wealth creating economic activity in one form or the other and hence has every right to exist in a dignified, if not luxurious manner.

    The Vision Mumbai Document identifies two important areas which are crucial to transforming Mumbai into a world class city. It is housing and transportation. Although there are other areas too needing attention, the bottleneck to the rapid transformation are essentially these two. Both need vast sums of money to upgrade and hence it is important that solutions are sought with focus on affordability, sustainability, durability and rapidity of implementation.

    With this as background, I would like to place before this Empowered Committee that as far as transportation infrastructure is concerned, we do have solution that would cost as little as Rs 6,000 Cr., create significantly excess public transport capacity, that too within five years time. This system will be world class. In comparison, the proposed Mumbai Metro will cost Rs 40,000 Cr. Rs 60,000 Cr.  (although the DMRC estimate shows Rs 19,525 Cr. and MMRDA sticking to it despite reality being different) and take 16 to 20 years. At such low capital costs, the project will ensure low fare structure and commuting becomes comfortable, safe and affordable with very low or even without subsidy. There are several other technical points which could be put forth in favour of the Rs 6000 Cr. concept but I shall leave it to another occasion. (attached documents put forth these)

    I would like to touch upon housing, by which I would mean habitat. First of all, the 7 storey slum rehabilitation concept is flawed because of cost of construction and there after maintenance cost being beyond the means of the slum dwellers. The seven storey building needing lifts is one part and rapid structural deterioration of the RCC frame work is the other. I do understand that to accommodate people from slums into premises which are 225 sft for every household means in the same existing slums location, with developer getting space for commercially exploitable buildings, the slum rehabilitation has to be in a high rise. Unfortunately what is being provided is a very highly congested premises which turn out to be worse than the slums themselves. Are we enhancing the quality of life of the slum dwellers by providing 7 storey building?

    However, if we do provide G+1 structures, fully masonry and durable roofing system in areas spread out in the MMR in blocks, combine it with blend of LIG/MIG/HIG housing and basic amenities including play grounds and open public spaces, and equally important, provide efficient and safe transport system connecting the Mumbai Island City to these areas, and utilise the surplus part-time man/woman power for cultivation, horticulture and forestry, we would have converted problem into opportunity.

    Key to this transformation lies in putting in a public transportation system that follows the principle of 5Es - Elegant, Economical, Efficient, Eco-friendly and Emergency-Enabled.

    I would like the Empowered Committee to ponder over the thoughts mentioned above. I would be glad to take this further.

    Please excuse me to have intruded on you and thank you for the time taken to read this note.

    I would like to inform you that the articles as well as this letter will be on public domain accessible at my websitehttp://personal.vsnl.com/aspirations under transportation issues.
     
    Regards
     
     
     

    Sudhir Badami
     

     
    Badami Innovations & Engineering Consultants
    Gilbert Buildings, 1 Babulnath 2nd Cross Lane, MUMBAI 400 007 India

     

    --
    Regards
    Sudhir Badami
    +91 98216 85072
    Email ID: badami@vsnl.com, badami@iitbombay.org, sudhirbadami@gmail.com
    My Website http://personal.vsnl.com/aspirations
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