Vision of Life; by Sanjay: Air Pollution, Government & Real Estate's Neck!

“People crushed by laws have no hope but to evade power. If the laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to the law; and those who have most to hope and nothing to lose will always be dangerous” … Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke was an Anglo-Irish statesman, economist, and philosopher. Born in Dublin, Burke served as a member of Parliament between 1766 and 1794 in the House of Commons of Great Britain with the Whig Party. Well, a philosopher & a statesman (politician), “baat kuchh hajam nahi huai” (read as, illogical) but maybe that’s why the Great Britain (then great) could become great as when the rulers are philosophers too then only, they can make rules which makes sense & in the benefit of people at large. Here rule means laws as well policies or just say the way you rule the people! You may have guessed where this is heading as one more (after a long time though) about policies & that too about the real estate & anarchy (law-lessness) in this industry courtesy everybody associated with it but mainly to the govt i.e., the rulers!

Since the last few days, the media has been repeatedly printing news of air quality deterioration in cities across the country, it started from Delhi & reached to our Pune city & Pimpri-Chinchwad, we will call it as Pune region for reference. Media always needs something which people like to read & instead going for the reason behind it may be Pandemic or Pollution. And as usual govt which is most insensitive to plea (read as suggestions) from the people which really matters, & only reacts immediately to the head-lines of media & as anticipated outcome is, “hang that person whose neck fits in the rope’s noose,” this is how policies related to real estate are framed because real estate’s neck gets fitted in every govt’s noose! Those who don't know this phrase, please do read Panchatantra stories (folk stories about society & life), in one of the stories the Raja hangs a person which has nothing to do with crime but only because his neck matches with the size of the noose of the rope with which the real criminal was supposed to be hanged! Here as usual for the crime named pollution, common man (I won’t dare to write innocent as that itself a crime to call builders innocent) or say industry is real estate & if some local body (read as PMC/PCMC. MMC) has come up with guidelines at ongoing construction sites, then some another local body has asked to stop the construction for a weeks’ time. As usual, many will say what’s big deal, construction sites do cause air & noise pollution, look at the dust they generate all the time & the sound of digging as well their machinery is intolerable, so it’s good. And then it's these builders only who cut the trees for their profits (read as buildings), yes, they need to be stopped forever (sarcasm)!

And then Hon Courts across the country also have come down heavily on the governing local bodies for taking effective steps on curbing or controlling air pollution, so they must make a show at least! I have full respect for the environment (and respect for Hon Courts too) but I won’t allow my emotions to rule the facts, that’s how you make policies or laws whatever you call it! Let me clear at the start, I care for the environment & nature not just around me but around the globe & yet taking emotional actions & by making erratic policies we won’t ever be saving the environment but will end up destroying it more! The construction sites do cause air pollution & sound pollution & so does hundred other activities, take example of firecracker burning as the Hon. Court has also asked police & local bodies to stop or control burning of firecrackers, tell me, how many cases has been filed for the same on a single person in last week which was Diwali week. And if Court accepts fire crackers should not be used then why local bodies allow its sale in the first place rather, they earn money by allotment of the Fataka Stalls & proudly announce the figures of income generated from these auctions! At the same time Court has told time limit for fire crackers burning & to my knowledge it was only for two hours i.e. 8 pm to 10 pm & the scene was, all the day & night Pune’s sky was full of fire crackers & smoke they generated, is our entire govt system blind & deaf not to see or hear any such firecracker burning, then why no actions has been taken & instead its only real estate’ construction sites are being targeted, answer is simple, our ( I have to remind myself, I am yet a builder too) neck fits in every noose & we don’t protest as we know nobody is going to listen to our protest! Pune region has nearly 80 lakh private vehicles out of which even 70% if are on road then imagine the pollution being caused due to emission of CO i.e. carbon monoxide & this is because time & again the govt has failed to provide a proper public transport as well road network, but why we are not banning sell of vehicles or stopping production of conventional fuel using vehicles; why we are not asking Mercedes, Tata, Mahindra & Bajaj to shut down their factories for Diwali week as well ban on sale of all vehicles for Diwali week, is the question I want to ask to authorities! Answer is simple: their neck is far too large for the noose of govt's rope & real estate’s neck is easy as well it's easy too to break, that’s why!

Then let’s take a look at other policies of govt which are directly perpendicular for their cry (read as efforts) to curb pollution, such as increasing density of homes on Metro corridor just to make Metro in profit but this is going to increase constructions all in & around city centre, doesn’t it mean more avenues to air pollution, what about such two-faced behaviour of the govt! At the same time to accommodate these buildings & infra it will need, we will have to cut the existing big tree’s cover in the city which again is the main reason of increased air pollution, who is going to pay (read as get hanged) for this? As well we have weird policies to plant trees as per age of the trees we will be cutting, wow, & we don’t have space to plant new trees as we have to accommodate car parks & two wheelers which again are needed as per govt’s policies,’ but we will hold only real estate responsible for all this pollution, guys to whom you are fooling! As I said, keeping full support for all the authority’s efforts regarding air pollution control, what we should do is take in confidence all concerned experienced (and wise people) & then make a long-lasting effective policy rather than just running around in all directions! As, one fine morning you open a newspaper or WhatsApp chat box & you come to know about new guidelines about your own industry regarding pollution control, this is not right way of governance, is my point! The solution is three-fold, first try to curb air pollution emission at source, second is efforts to clean up polluted air & third is making policies which will be long lasting (read as practical) on pollution front!

Guys, pollution is a complex subject & it’s like a multi-faced demon & its we only as a society which gives faces to that demon, so just by cutting one head of the demon is not going to solve the problem, lets unite by taking each other in confidence & then no enemy is invincible, till then real estate be ready to get the noose tightened around our neck for the crimes which others are making, adios with this note!

Sanjay Deshpande

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

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