By Col Mukesh Pokhriyal (Retd)
Dehradun town, once famous for its green hedges adorning the city and grey heads building intellectual capacity, is no more the same in many ways. Uttarakhand’s, more specifically Dehradun’s, perestroika commenced ever since the year 2000. The move rejuvenated the hopes of Doonites of having a master planned Dehradun. In retrospect, one realises that there was neither a master nor a plan right from the beginning. Political and bureaucratic corruption cum opportunism prevailed, thereby failing the glasnost. The end result, what we experience today, is chaotic Dehradun city gasping hard for basic infrastructure. Given the symbiotic relationship between the Political and the Bureaucratic class, the hope for a better Dehradun at best may be wishful thinking. Therefore, it is for the educated and principled citizens of Dehradun to rise and shine. The lost grandeur needs to be salvaged. The change has to be brought about, it will never happen on its own – especially if it is to change for the good. To bring this change, citizens of Doon have to take the lead. Remember the Gandhian philosophy – “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Civilisations are built and nurtured by human beings. How good or how bad is the outcome of the actions of the inhabitants. Doonites may be instruments of change by following basic ethics and norms. It is just about introspection and bringing little self-discipline in one’s day to day life. It is about inculcating basic civic sense and applying it in routine. For instance, traffic sense dictates that one must follow lane driving. Likewise, every Doonite may act as a tool in ensuring that Dehradun remains clean and green. Plant as many saplings in and around your area of influence and nurture them till transformed into trees. Follow the basic etiquette of garbage disposal, be it in private or public places. The nuisance of littering may be checked by following the code of ‘roko and took’. The elders, for the sake of society have to step in to inject a moral dose. Heads of academic institutions and well-meaning organisations must encourage pupils in their respective institutions to be part of progressive change, inculcate the habit of shramdaan by making it part of the curriculum. Educated prominent citizens in respective areas must act to counter any wrongdoings by vested interests. Any project coming up in respective localities must be checked for mandatory compliances – like rainwater harvesting, green belt and open space, adequate parking, road width, right of way, encroachments, proper drainage system, STPs, garbage disposal mechanism, fire- fighting provisions, security apparatus, electric load vs transformer capacity. Non-compliant projects must not be allowed to take off in the area or locality. Eminent Doon lawyers or advocates practicing in Nainital High Court or Supreme Court may contribute to this, besides NGOs. The coterie, cartel and nexus shall be rendered null and void eventually, provided the public awakens and decides to challenge the illegal doings. The bottom line for Doonites is that it requires much more than just cribs and cocktail discussions.
The second phase is that of demanding accountability from elected representatives. This is probably the right time for a Doon Magna Carta. Elections are truly the hour of triumph for India’s democratic traditions. And the citizens of the state shall soon get to elect their representatives, for the local self-government. Here is an opportunity to define the blueprint that you want for your Doon! Make sure you brainstorm and grill all the vying future corporators and mayor candidates, once they throng at your doorsteps seeking your vote. Question the current corporators and mayor, put them under rigorous scrutiny. It is time to apply yourselves and not get carried away by rhetoric, photo ops, social media influencers or the respective IT cells. Look beyond party lines, even if one is a follower of a particular party, for this is neither a parliamentary election nor an assembly election. It is all about the city called Dehradun. Educated, knowledgeable, socially conscious men/women of integrity driven by merit need to be elected and sent as representatives to the Dehradun municipal corporation. The future Mayor must have the will to bulldoze the past impediments and weed out deadwood from the corporation. The acumen needed to face the challenges of much needed reforms in the corporation will be put to test. Look for men /women of that calibre. The all-pervasive culture of authority and power without responsibility and accountability needs to stop. While the political process has to be free from populism, at the administrative level, the attitude of contempt towards citizens and the rules penchant has to be replaced by integration of community and process driven tangible outcomes and results. Demand a quarterly based quantifiable agenda of five years from the mayor candidates. Does the mayor candidate possess the gumption to speak up for citizen’s cause or is he/she a mere pawn in the scheme of things? Does he /she exude confidence and knowledge befitting a mayor, in order to get the agendas implemented on the ground through the municipal commissioner? For sure, Doonites do not want a symbolic mannequin as a mayor. The Dehradun mayor has to be a livewire, who can take on the responsibility of enhancing the quality of life by addressing issues of social infrastructure, engineering infrastructure, public health and sanitation, garbage collection-segregation-disposal-processing, maintenance of green belts, lakes, ponds and streams. A mayor who can take on the white elephant named MDDA and get it subsumed in the Dehradun municipal corporation. Corruption which has acquired the status of low risk and high reward activity needs to be dealt with an iron hand. No wonder, in twenty-five years’ time, the rajdhani could not establish even one effective fully functional garbage processing plant! And to achieve all this, Doonites must vote.
Finally, how to deal with the dilemma of inadequate choice of candidates or options? The hopelessness and disillusionment with the political system and its human capital is nothing new for Uttarakhandis. In a situation where one finds none of the candidates suitable enough either for the post of corporator or mayor, do not just sit at home cursing the system. The state election commission had introduced NOTA option in the ballot paper in the year 2018, for local urban body elections. One must exercise one’s franchise and register one’s dissent. Stamp NOTA. The objective is to keep all options open for the citizens. At the same time seek remedial measures within the realms of a democratic set up through supreme court. By stamping NOTA, a database gets created, wherein citizens’ disillusionment with the choice of candidates fielded is on record. This data shall come in handy when the Supreme Court is approached through PILs for further electoral reforms, for, on many occasions the court asks for relevant data. To salvage the lost grandeur of Dehradun, citizens must be battle ready on all fronts. Until then, just cope up with rajdhani Dehradun, that has been turned into glorified Chandini Chowk.
