Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” (The more things change, the more they remain the same) goes the French proverb. This is what the civil society at large can expect from 2026. I don’t say this in jest nor with my usual loaded sarcasm, but with a sense of frustration reflecting on the past few years. So, what can we possibly look forward to as a society united by our civic infrastructure woes, yet divided by the way forward to urban coexistence, perhaps?
Challenges for GBA
As a city governance model, GBA will start to face the ground realities, specifically in self-sustenance and fiscal prudence, if left without any outside grants. The teething pain of integration of parastatals remains to be tested, the effectiveness of a committee of 75 plus as a governing body at work, and the devolution of powers to local ward-level administration, skilled staffing, etc., will all face major challenges. The notional creation on paper without any planning was easy. Now, execution as they say, is everything. So, a painful transition will persist well beyond 2026. Our patience with poor city governance has run out, or has it?
Civic infra
The void for the last few years in infrastructure execution, thanks to near empty coffers and the civil contractor community that has been starved of long due payments, unwilling to take up new works, has been clearly front and centre.
Ease of mobility
Two major projects — the Business Corridor will be deemed financially viable and the Tunnel Road will be buried in a heap of environmental impact-based legal decisions. A few long-pending flyovers (Ejipura, Hebbal) will finally be completed. Metro delays will be more visible this year because the choke points have not at all been addressed.
For example, rapid manufacturing and roll out of coaches of all issues still remain, skilled labour and other cost escalations will start to tighten the noose on execution as well as BMRCL operations. Last-mile connectivity will remain on paper for the most part.
Waste management
A crisis given multiple standoffs between stakeholders has been brewing for a while despite recent court directions and a power move to declare it a part of ESMA (Essential Services Maintenance Act). Unless resolved, it will rear its ugly head a few times this year. The long-pending tender and rollout of what is a flawed proposal continues to be a key event that might either make things worse or highlight the practical issues in what some in administration thought was the solution, will come to light. Either way, this transition is a heap of garbage, mostly self-made, and might leave a stink on the city streets despite safeguards under ESMA. Implementation of the SWM Rules 2016, a decade later, remains on paper.
Water and air
We are living in a red zone, groundwater levels-wise, and how many headlines do you need to get the authorities to enforce the law and manage this scarce resource for the coming years? Meanwhile, a city drunk on free flowing access to tap water might need to exercise restraint in its water misuse.
A long-delayed Stage V rollout has yet to reach its full potential, while the Stage VI proposal takes shape on paper, with solar power use touted as a sustainability step. It’s not merely supply-side management, the demand side needs enforcement and attention.
Rainwater harvesting and treated water use should receive more attention this year. While we are in Delhi, AQI levels are something to watch for, and air pollution should start to take centre stage as we try to preserve our green cover.
74th amendment at work
Urban local body elections will happen, may not be by choice, but by the hand of law, thanks to the apex court. For our charmed city, across 369 wards, corporators will be chosen, who will be immediately thrown into the fire and tested, inheriting a local mess left by a decade long void in administration.
This event and its machinations to follow will be meeting one of the key objectives of the amendment, to nurture and discover grassroots political leadership. With the devolution of powers comes great responsibility, especially when you have a society starved of local governance. This transition could go either way, depending on the “Class of 2026”.