Delhi needs to be clean. The way it used to be few decades ago, I mean the clean and tidy roads are hard to see these days. At one point of time, I remember friends from Mumbai admiring and envying the greenness of the city. Now it’s in a constant dug-up state.
On a similar note, we also need a Delhi that is calmer. We all respond in relation to something. Similarly, human behaviour is not independent; it is linked to the surroundings. I say this because I think the whole environment has became so restless and aggressive that it is degrading the city. If your surroundings are clean, neat and organised then maybe it will help people’s behaviour.
Central Delhi can work as a sample. If the NDMC can keep their designated area clean and green, so can the other parts of the city. It is just the will to change that is required. Surely, it is the responsibility of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to take care of this, but the government cannot just shrug it off with that excuse. The solution is centralised monitoring. After all, Delhi is a city in totality and the government can’t deride because certain civic body is not headed by it.
There is no maintenance of the roads. Dirty, muddy and unkept roads are pure shame after all the taxes we pay. I hope there is accountability set by the Delhi government in case of cleanliness, irrespective of the body. I would like to say that it is a sad situation that we are in and hope that the capital of the country gets its shine back.
The writer is the Director of Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi