This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/05/urban-india-gurgaon-water-electricity
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Gurgaon, the luxury Delhi satellite city at risk of drowning in its own sewage | Gurgaon, the luxury Delhi satellite city at risk of drowning in its own sewage |
| (4 months later) | |
| Gurgaon, one of Delhi's satellite cities, may yet sink in its own sewage. Its air-conditioned shopping centres and residential complexes are a magnet to people fleeing the congested Indian capital, and Gurgaon's population has grown from a few thousand to more than 1.5 million in just 30 years. | Gurgaon, one of Delhi's satellite cities, may yet sink in its own sewage. Its air-conditioned shopping centres and residential complexes are a magnet to people fleeing the congested Indian capital, and Gurgaon's population has grown from a few thousand to more than 1.5 million in just 30 years. |
| But beneath the city a disaster is waiting to happen. With more than 30,000 illegal tube wells rapidly depleting the groundwater, what remains is at risk of contamination by untreated waste. "A city drowning in its excreta," predicted a report published last April by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and the Environment (CSE), which also expressed fear of water-borne diseases such as cholera. | But beneath the city a disaster is waiting to happen. With more than 30,000 illegal tube wells rapidly depleting the groundwater, what remains is at risk of contamination by untreated waste. "A city drowning in its excreta," predicted a report published last April by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and the Environment (CSE), which also expressed fear of water-borne diseases such as cholera. |
| Gurgaon's inhabitants may live in glass towers and luxury residences but they have the same problems as the slum dwellers. The roads are potholed, electricity is intermittent, and there are no pavements or parks, only vast shopping centres surrounded by parking lots. | Gurgaon's inhabitants may live in glass towers and luxury residences but they have the same problems as the slum dwellers. The roads are potholed, electricity is intermittent, and there are no pavements or parks, only vast shopping centres surrounded by parking lots. |
| To believe the advertising, these condominiums with bucolic names ensure instant happiness thanks to their water-supply systems, electricity generators, parks, party venues and markets, all protected by walls. | To believe the advertising, these condominiums with bucolic names ensure instant happiness thanks to their water-supply systems, electricity generators, parks, party venues and markets, all protected by walls. |
| "Gurgaon symbolises the advent of private city management. Many Indians wanted that, to escape public governance, synonymous with corruption and inefficiency," said Sanjay Srivastava, sociologist at the Institute for Economic Growth in New Delhi. | "Gurgaon symbolises the advent of private city management. Many Indians wanted that, to escape public governance, synonymous with corruption and inefficiency," said Sanjay Srivastava, sociologist at the Institute for Economic Growth in New Delhi. |
| Rents in the Aralias condominium start at $7,500 per month, and floor space may exceed 1,200 sq metres. For that, residents get watered lawns, a lingering smell of bleach, football matches retransmitted on giant screens in the private restaurant and everything else that enables them to forget India's chaos. | Rents in the Aralias condominium start at $7,500 per month, and floor space may exceed 1,200 sq metres. For that, residents get watered lawns, a lingering smell of bleach, football matches retransmitted on giant screens in the private restaurant and everything else that enables them to forget India's chaos. |
| What makes this a luxury residence? "All the apartments look on to a golf course," replied the property developer. The Maharajas once had private hunting grounds; now executives have golf courses. Except that it rains less in Gurgaon than in Britain, so water is pumped out of the water table while games are played at night, under floodlights. | What makes this a luxury residence? "All the apartments look on to a golf course," replied the property developer. The Maharajas once had private hunting grounds; now executives have golf courses. Except that it rains less in Gurgaon than in Britain, so water is pumped out of the water table while games are played at night, under floodlights. |
| Just a few metres away lies the village of Chakarpur, which has been spared by the property developers because cheap labour has to be found somewhere to provide the residential complexes with drivers and cleaners. | Just a few metres away lies the village of Chakarpur, which has been spared by the property developers because cheap labour has to be found somewhere to provide the residential complexes with drivers and cleaners. |
| Prosanjit Saha, 22, prefers this life. "I earn [$300] per month as a cook, double what I could earn in my village in West Bengal." So he plays down the water and electricity problem. He shares a 10 sq metre room with three others and they have hung a notice on the door which reads, "Save water, drink beer!" | Prosanjit Saha, 22, prefers this life. "I earn [$300] per month as a cook, double what I could earn in my village in West Bengal." So he plays down the water and electricity problem. He shares a 10 sq metre room with three others and they have hung a notice on the door which reads, "Save water, drink beer!" |
| Gurgaon could just as well have been called DLF, the name of the company that built the city on a site where 30 years ago peasants eked a living out of the rocky land. The millionaire property developer Kushal Pal Singh imagined building a city for the emerging middle class. He bought up the land from the peasants plot by plot until he had a total of 3,000 hectares. | Gurgaon could just as well have been called DLF, the name of the company that built the city on a site where 30 years ago peasants eked a living out of the rocky land. The millionaire property developer Kushal Pal Singh imagined building a city for the emerging middle class. He bought up the land from the peasants plot by plot until he had a total of 3,000 hectares. |
| Singh was no urban planner, however. "He built residential complexes one after the other, with no overall vision. After he built the walls there ceased to be any continuity between public and private space," said the city planner Rwitee Mandal. Some people call the city the "United States of Gurgaon" in reference to the American way of life and the privatisation of urban space. | Singh was no urban planner, however. "He built residential complexes one after the other, with no overall vision. After he built the walls there ceased to be any continuity between public and private space," said the city planner Rwitee Mandal. Some people call the city the "United States of Gurgaon" in reference to the American way of life and the privatisation of urban space. |
| The Gurgaon model symbolises this new urbanisation of India. According to forecasts by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), India will have 68 cities of more than one million inhabitants by 2030, twice as many as in Europe, and will need to invest $1.2 trillion in infrastructure. Per capita public expenditure on cities only represents one-sixth of that devoted to the countryside. | The Gurgaon model symbolises this new urbanisation of India. According to forecasts by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), India will have 68 cities of more than one million inhabitants by 2030, twice as many as in Europe, and will need to invest $1.2 trillion in infrastructure. Per capita public expenditure on cities only represents one-sixth of that devoted to the countryside. |
| Recently Gurgaon held its first municipal elections. Richa Dubey and her husband moved to the Nirvana Country complex two years ago and find it hell. "We feel like strangers in our own country. We're living in a bubble, without any contact with real life," she said. Working with residents' associations she is fighting to get the town to create public spaces (starting with pavements), and install public lighting. | Recently Gurgaon held its first municipal elections. Richa Dubey and her husband moved to the Nirvana Country complex two years ago and find it hell. "We feel like strangers in our own country. We're living in a bubble, without any contact with real life," she said. Working with residents' associations she is fighting to get the town to create public spaces (starting with pavements), and install public lighting. |
| For the time being the generators and water pumps are keeping Gurgaon on life support, but for how long? Sanjay Srivastava is concerned. "Continued poor infrastructure and natural resources management, combined with the ghettoisation of the population, may well trigger social tensions," he said. | For the time being the generators and water pumps are keeping Gurgaon on life support, but for how long? Sanjay Srivastava is concerned. "Continued poor infrastructure and natural resources management, combined with the ghettoisation of the population, may well trigger social tensions," he said. |
| Urbanisation in India | Urbanisation in India |
| One third of India's population of 1.21 billion lives in cities. | One third of India's population of 1.21 billion lives in cities. |
| The urban growth rate in India is 2.4%, compared with a rural growth rate of 0.79%. | The urban growth rate in India is 2.4%, compared with a rural growth rate of 0.79%. |
| 63% of India's wealth is generated by cities. | 63% of India's wealth is generated by cities. |
| 540 million Indians will live in cities by 2025, twice the US population today. | 540 million Indians will live in cities by 2025, twice the US population today. |
| To meet demand, 700-900 million square metres of residential and commercial property will need to be built per year, the equivalent of a city like Chicago. | To meet demand, 700-900 million square metres of residential and commercial property will need to be built per year, the equivalent of a city like Chicago. |
| 58% of the urban population has access to drinking water. | 58% of the urban population has access to drinking water. |
| Sources: UN, McKinsey | Sources: UN, McKinsey |
| This article originally appeared in Le Monde | This article originally appeared in Le Monde |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |