It was probably with exasperation that a bench of the Bombay high court observed that, “Only in India this can happen. I have travelled all over the world and realised that only in our country authorities throw caution to the winds without any care for passenger safety norms”. The remark was made in context with a case filed to retain a sugar factory chimney which was in line with the Solapur airport runway. The chimney was beyond the permitted height and the owner of the factory had sought a stay on the collector’s order to demolish it. Even though the high court upheld the order of the collector the question is, how did the owner of the factory build beyond the permissible limit? This wanton disregard of building rules and safety norms is commonplace in the India. Illegal constructions proliferate and the procedure for demolishing them is cumbersome. Secondly, those violating the law are usually hand in glove with elected representatives and government officials who look the other way until a public spirited person files a complaint and follows it up. It is precisely this kind of an atmosphere that results in unplanned development and messy cities and towns. The need of the hour is stricter laws and quicker retribution for violators. Only then can we dream of becoming a superpower.
