The launch of different phases of Metro service in the city has been repeatedly delayed, and that is a well-chronicled story. But of late, we are seeing something which is an extreme even by these standards -- even very close to the launch of a phase, we are unable to judge when it will take place -- we seem to be unable to spot the finish line even when we think we are close to it. Why is that?
For an answer, ask yourself what happens when one piece of your car or motorcycle alone is missing. Let’s say the carburettor is gone, or the brake is missing. Or something even smaller -- you’ve lost the key. In such a situation, you can’t imagine that what is missing is only a part of the input, and the car should be able to ‘adjust maadi’ without this. Sometimes, when even 1 per cent of the input is not available, 100 per cent of the utility is lost.
Metro construction has been a little like that. For want of a depot on the south side, we have not been able to run trains on tracks that have stood for three years. For want of a completed tunnel, long stretches have remained idle. And so on.
But these are the major delays. Should we not be able to tell, just weeks before a launch, whether it will happen at all?
Yes and no. It really depends on what the missing small percentages are. If it’s a safety certificate, it’s a show-stopper. If it’s one station that’s not ready, perhaps that can be managed. If it’s a new dedicated power line, its autonomy from the rest of the grid has to be established before we can start the trains running -- what if they stop en route with no juice to power them?
The only way to crack all these dependencies together is to run much stronger administrative systems on coherent timelines. It’s not impossible, but it’s also not common in a lot of places in government. We are good at practising delays.
(The writer is a social technologist-turned-urban expert from Bengaluru.)