By Rudi Warjri
Indian Institute of Management(IIM) , Shillong had held a series of Symposia October 14 – 26 , 2022 on Improving Mobility in Shillong. The Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court had also participated in one of them. Earlier, the High Court had asked the State Government to draw plans to ease the traffic congestion in Shillong.
Why was it necessary for the High Court and the IIM , Shillong to get involved on a subject like traffic congestion? The answer is obvious ! It is because of the apathy of the State Government (both present and past). The present Government in failing to even start addressing the problem and past governments in failing to visualize the worsening of the problem. The indifference of the Government as the executive had already been seen , since the Court had to step in into issues like illegal coal mining , repairing of roads , scams, etc.
In October and December 2018, IIM Shillong had initiated a brainstorm that resulted in a white paper captioned, “ The Burgeoning traffic congestion in Shillong.“ There were presentations by the Traffic Police and other concerned Government departments. A list of recommendations were finally submitted to the Deputy Chief Minister in June 2019, in the absence of the Chief Minister. But nothing happened !
The symposium conducted by IIM was an out of the box exercise. It was not the usual lecture format where one has to listen to soliloquies by one or two persons. Neither was it a town hall kind of meeting with cacophonous outbursts, especially on an exasperating subject like Shillong Traffic. It turned out to be an exercise in brain teasing and testing combined with self introspection. One felt as if one was being reschooled. In the end every participant came away with a feeling of some guilt since every citizen in the city is as responsible for aggravating the traffic jam in Shillong.The professors who spoke were guiding rather than teaching. There was a crisp outline of how and the day would proceed. Also a reminder to the participants that there were already reports galore offering solutions to the Shillong Traffic dilemma. The participants instead were to give their own precise thoughts on rubrics such as infrastructure, governance, socio-economic aspects, administration , community role etc., which explained why the symposia was about mobility rather than just about traffic per se. The participants were then divided into three groups. Each group had to come out with their conclusions on three bullet points namely – Challenges that the group sees; expectations from other stakeholders; what each of one us can offer to improve the situation. The three groups reassembled after which the moderating professor read out what his group saw and felt on the three bullet points.
My memory tells me that the biggest challenge the groups commonly saw was lack of political will. Indeed political will is the fundamental point and the bottom line. Tonnes of research , expert advice , suggestions for solutions , reports etc., mean nothing unless there is a political will to act .
The highlight of the post lunch afternoon session was a talk by Dr P S Pasricha ex Director General of Police, Maharashtra and a PhD in Infrastructural and Logistical Management. He was also the Deputy Commissioner of Mumbai Traffic Police when he introduced several schemes to improve traffic management in Mumbai. He also authored a book on road safety and traffic management. In the session were also senior officials of the State Government representing policy as well as operational officials from the district administration and the police. There were consultants on infrastructure and headmen from some of the localities in Shillong .
The headmen shared very valuable information and inputs which they saw and experienced from day to day . They also offered suggestions specific to their areas as per density of educational institutions, government offices, commercial establishments , banks , markets , roadside vendors and hawkers , etc . A senior State Government official gave a power point presentation on the progress pertaining to several infrastructural road constructions etc .
Dr Pasricha’s talk was a combination of his experience as the super cop on traffic in a metro city like Mumbai and his academic work on the subject of traffic management . The propositions were professional, rational and candid . It was both a learning experience and entertaining as well. Some may have sounded radical but imperative in the context of Shillong Traffic .
Dr Pasricha said Meghalaya is known for tourism and so it should start with infrastructure like good roads. Otherwise, the consequence, is congestion and safety. He urged the authorities to provide buildings with ramps for street parking at the mouth of busy centres and restrict movement of vehicles. Being a hill station land is scarce and roads are narrow. Provision for pedestrians is required. He suggested entry fees into the state which could be introduced to raise funds. Patrolling on small motorcycles and emergency vehicles have to be considered. On highways where traffic volume is generally high, toll ways should be introduced. Contingencies for frequent landslides, lay byes, set backs be provided to allow overtaking, manoeuvring etc. He suggested strong that stone guard railings be constructed and also retro reflective signs be put up. Other traffic control devices such as lighted bollards, cat eyes, delineators etc., are also helpful. Precautions at constructions/repairs sites are also of paramount importance. There should be barricades, solar flash lights and warning signs well in advance. For physical stops vehicles must come to a halt at least 50 metres in advance. He proposed that within the city, concrete roads desirable and the most ideal gradient is 1:20
Dr Pasricha was amused by his experience of speed breakers while entering and driving in Shillong. He said 90% of them have no signs and some of them are more of vehicles breakers.
As far as the Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) are concerned they should insist on driving tests before giving out driving licenses. Traffic police should also ensure strict enforcement especially of dangerous overtaking, overloading with protruding materials, bad parking etc. However while enforcing the law public goodwill should not be forfeited. Hence dignified behaviour is important He stressed the importance of educating trucks and taxi unions and involve sponsors comprising companies , social organizations , Rotary clubs , Lions clubs etc.
Dr Paricha also spoke about the mindset of motorists. My own observation as far as Shillong is concerned is that vehicles with ML O1 registration, especially the maroon buses, taxis and expensive private vehicles behave as if they own the road and stop anywhere at any moment without any signals. This implies that most of them have licenses procured with the help of dalals ( middle-men) As a scholar Dr Pasricha recognized that Meghalaya is largely under the Sixth Schedule where respective institutions play their roles. At the same time the realities of the present and future have to be taken into account. He suggested the need for a single institution to manage Shillong.My own experience in both developed and developing countries is also is in sync with Dr Pasricha. Most well run cities are managed by a Mayor and his office is accountable for everything, be it traffic, infrastructure creation, waste disposal, electricity, law and order and safety and even job creation and employment. The problem with Meghalaya is the existence of multiple agencies leading to proliferation of countless power centres comprising both State and non- state actors. Hence bottlenecks occur not only in traffic management but in the interlocking web of institutions themselves that make it difficult for cohesive action. A single institution to manage Shillong could be a model to other upcoming cities like Tura and Jowai.
A Shillong Governing Authority may be the answer!
(The writer is a retired diplomat)