The Mumbai metro is an exemplar of improper planning

While the authorities are good in starting various projects, there is not much effort which goes into the final details

- MADAN SABNAVIS

Today the drive to the financial capital via the western express highway best explains everything about the growth model. Motorists tend to use the service road to enter this financial hub. It is lined with little houses with asbestos roofs and unauthorized constructions at the first-floor level. They have withstood the tough monsoons and absence of care over decades. The authorities had erected curtains along the almost 2 kilometre stretch when the G20 was on to ensure that foreign dignitaries did not get to see what lay behind these covers.

The drive through the inner roads reveals that it is the lower middle class which resides and these settlements have only common toilets. The drive along the bumpy lane leads to a high class IB-school which has chauffeurs waiting outside in their BMWs, Audis and Mercedes cars. One would pass the little used metro station which has strays taking shelter before reaching a high-end housing complex named after a European city. Further down before one reaches a five-star hospital, there is open defecation as the hamlet does not have running water and there are myriads of slums. The entry to the financial capital takes a turn for the grandiose as almost every financial institution is located here. Chaotic traffic and several Michelin restaurants dot the way as one can get lost in this unreal world. How do we plan our cities, as this could be the story anywhere in the country?