Patricia Mukhim
The big jolt of January 4, managed to shake us out of our New Year reverie. I am sure those who were headed for a picnic on that day would not have enjoyed the outing as much as they would have had minus the quake. These natural phenomena are reminders of the ephemeral nature of human existence – an existence we take so seriously that we spend all our waking hours running after material wealth as if we would live forever. But humans that we are, the quake is soon sent to the backburner of our sub-conscious to ferment there and take shape in the form of bad dreams that manage to rob us of our sleep. Three days after the quake and people are still discussing it avidly. A doctor friend narrated the story of a staff member who had sealed the doors so securely against robbers that when the quake happened and they wanted to get out of the house they could not get out in a hurry. That the lights went off and no torch was at hand did not help the cause. Another person was hit by the refrigerator that nearly landed on his feet on account of the violent shake-up. Fortunately he was quick enough to react and push the fridge up before it could land on his feet like a ton of bricks. I am sure there are many such stories doing the rounds.
Some Facebook friends have put up pictures of how we should keep ourselves ready for the next jolt. They suggest wearing a helmet while sleeping and tying up heavy pillows around the body so that the impact of anything falling will not be fatal. Imagine having to go to sleep night after night in this gear. But jokes aside, while we speak of the BIG ONE predicted by seismologists no one expected it to come quite so soon. And I am unsure if what we experienced was indeed the Big One. In our minds we keep postponing this Big Date. As if we have any control over nature. The truth is we don’t. If that January 4th quake had lasted for a few more seconds the casualties would have been more than just cracked government buildings. Friends from Imphal writing to me said that the only structures with deep cracks were mostly government buildings. This actually shows up the quality of work done by government engineers and contractors and the corruption that prevents anything of quality ever emerging out of the government system.
This brings me to the point of the building bye-laws of the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) which hitherto were applicable only within areas under the Shillong Municipality and left out the Greater Shillong areas and the rest of the State ( as if big landmark structures come up onlu in urban areas). This is almost like saying that only the public residing within the municipality deserve to remain safe and the number of floors they can construct are restricted to G+3 or G+4 with proper engineering strategies. All these years the areas beyond the municipality did what they wanted. There is no one to check their housing plans. Building permissions were okayed by the Dorbar Shnong and endorsed by the Syiem of Mylliem. Both authorities only look at the aspect of non-encroachment into the neighbours’ properties. The two authorities are incapable of giving any technical specifications since they have no technical human resource for the same.
And then suddenly the Khasi Hills District Council has come up with the diktat that it would issue building permissions within scheduled areas and not MUDA. While referring to the Meghalaya Town and Country Planning Act 1973, Latiplang Kharkongor the EM in charge trade had pointed out that it was clearly specified that the provisions of the Act shall extend to the whole of Meghalaya excluding the Autonomous Districts. That the State Government has sat on this Act for so long and failed to recognise that deciding specifications for buildings for the entire State fall within its remit for the simple reason that it has the both financial and technical human resources, just shows that this state is sleepwalking most of the time and only wakes up when things reach a critical point. None of the District Councils have the financial or technical resources to get into the business of making building bye laws and to technically inspect a building to certify that it can withstand seismic action of the kind that hit us on Jan 4 this year or a more severe one in the future. True, some of the MUDA engineers and officials are avaricious crooks and are likely to sign on the dotted lines of a home plan if their palms are greased. I wish more people would blow the whistle and that these jokers are named, shamed and sacked for dereliction of duty. But because of some bad eggs we cannot discredit the entire system – which is that of adhering to a set of building bye-laws.
While passing though a few localities of Shillong I was appalled to see very tall buildings standing not even a few feet away from the next house which is a single storied building. During the recent earthquake these buildings literally swayed. It was God’s mercy that saved us. Perhaps this quick jolt is a lesson for all of us to be more responsible in the way we construct our homes. Granted that the culture of Shillong today, for anyone with money, is to invest in a multi-storied housing project purely for the purpose of renting those out to families, but should safety not be a concern? It is also true that the house owners don’t live in those homes (flats) and therefore could not be bothered about the safety of the buildings. But should the tenants/buyers grab such houses merely because they are hard up for accommodation?
The purpose of having a government is that people don’t indulge in laissez faire activities; that there is a check and balance somewhere; that the rich don’t get past all the laws and pose dangers to their less fortunate neighbours who are likely to be buried under the debris if a major earthquake revisits us. This Government was elected by popular mandate to deliver certain goods and services. It is the duty of the elected representative who is supervising the Urban Affairs Department to see that the babus don’t just sit on their haunches and deliver next to nothing at the end of the day. The minister is duty bound to pull up those who have bent the rules and allowed building owners to overshoot their specifications. But only ministers with an integrity quotient that matches word and deed would be able to control their departments. If the minister himself/herself has doubtful credentials and is known to compromise on principles then take it from me that the babus will also have a field day. Elected representatives themselves cannot override decisions given by the babus (not all are greedy and corrupt) after due diligence for they would be compromising the lives of citizens. If a minister indulges in such activities to make a quick buck then we have to blame the electorate for reposing their faith on a person who least deserves such trust.
Most of us realize that the pursuit of material wealth blinds our spiritual vision. However, reversing the process seems well nigh impossible. Fortunately there is also a growing realization amongst government circles that spiritual re-engineering is the need of the hour. This re-engineering of our intrinsic value systems is what can lead to better governance. In fact the call of the hour is for reinventing government to make it more responsive and responsible. But if the value systems of individuals in government remain glued to creature comforts only then government will fail the efficiency measurement test – which in fact it has for the past many decades.
I refer to what Toki Blah commented on the aftermath of the earthquake which is the squabbling between the State Government and the District Council about the building bye-laws. Why is the District Council which has failed the basic test of safeguarding forests, mineral wealth and water, now suddenly so keen to become the custodian of the safety of our buildings and therefore our lives? Does it even have the wherewithal to do so? Why should the state government and the district councils play football over our lives? We need immediate answers to these puzzling questions. Stop playing politics with people’s lives and safety.