Patna is considered to be one of the fastest- growing cities in the country. Proof of that is in its metamorphosis of sorts manifested in the large number of mega projects coming up.
The state government has launched an ambitious ` 3,150 crore riverfront expressway project on the 21- km stretch along the Ganga.
Work is also in full swing to build a modern, state- of- the- art international museum in the heart of the city. A huge convention centre having a capacity of 5,000 people is being constructed near the Gandhi Maidan. Besides, a detailed project report is being prepared to bring the Metro rail service to Bihar in the near future.
As a matter of fact, the face of the city has already changed as new shopping malls have sprung up, parks have been spruced up and posh residential colonies have come up. What has, however, not changed over the years is the bleak civic scenario here.
Patna remains one of the dirtiest cities in the country despite the tall claims of the Patna Municipal Corporation ( PMC). The civic behemoth, which has the primary responsibility of keeping the state capital clean, has miserably failed to live up to its task. Stinking mounds of garbage are a common sight, except in a few VIP zones.
The PMC had outsourced the task of door- to- door garbage removal to a private agency a couple of years ago. But their agreement fell through because payments were not being made on time. As a result, Patna presents the perennial look and feel of a city that needs a very good scrub.
The Patna High Court has asked the PMC to ensure cleanliness in the city by October 8. This may well be a Herculean task for the civic authorities. The court had admonished them on a number of occasions in the past for doing precious little to keep the city spic and span.
The PMC, for its part, has often cited the frequent strikes by its personnel to be the main reasons behind the mess. Its officials have just as promised to improve the situation — without result.
The reason behind this is their failure to implement a proper mechanism to ensure removal of garbage on a regular basis.
Keeping the city clean is not the only job the PMC has failed to perform.
It has allowed wanton mushrooming of apartments, both commercial and residential, in every nook and corner. In the past 20 years, apartments have come up just about everywhere, mostly in gross violation of the norms exposing a flawed approach to town planning. Consider this: the PMC had approved proposals from builders to construct high- rise apartments along the Ganga.
By the time questions were raised about their safety, several apartment blocks had already lined up precariously close to the Ganga. In fact, gushing water of the swollen river had entered the premises of many under- construction buildings recently alarming those who had invested in them.
The Uttarakhand catastrophe has galvanised the Bihar government into action now. It has begun an exercise to identify dangerous structures along the river and those built in violation of the building by- laws. It plans to demolish all illegal buildings. But that is easier said than done. Many of them have been built with prior approval from the PMC.
There are many other areas where the PMC has failed to live up to its task. Its officials continue to offer lame excuses for the sorry state of civic affairs. But they cannot afford to shirk their responsibility any longer. One way for Patna to get a facelift would be for the PMC to pull up its socks and crack the whip on illegal construction.
