Once again, Mumbai finds itself submerged under the relentless monsoon rains, bringing the city to a standstill and halting proceedings even within the hallowed halls of the Legislature. The narrative, as always, is predictable: the State Government and the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai swiftly point fingers at the usual suspects—Mr. Low Lying Terrain and Mr. Climate Change. This rhetoric is eagerly accepted by citizens and the media alike, who bear the brunt of the deluge, accepting the temporary disruption of life as an unavoidable monsoon phenomenon. Social media, in its characteristic fervor, buzzes with memes and humorous anecdotes, finding fleeting amusement in the city’s perennial plight.

The Political Blame Game

Amidst the chaos, political mudslinging becomes a sideshow, with the party in power and the opposition indulging in blame games. The discourse often centers on the cleaning of stormwater drains and natural watercourses, known locally as Nalas. Tragically, the season also brings with it incidents of landslides, building collapses, and people being sucked into open drains, resulting in loss of lives. The focus of the debate, however, remains squarely on the alleged ineptitude of the ruling party in handling preventive measures and accusations of rampant corruption—money, it is said, going quite literally “down the drain.”

A Perennial Cycle of Forgetfulness

This annual spectacle of flooding and finger-pointing has become a cyclic phenomenon. Each monsoon, the citizens endure the hardships, only to forget them as the season passes, until the next year’s rains bring the same story back to life. The collective amnesia is particularly troubling considering the catastrophic floods of 2005, which claimed nearly a thousand lives. Despite the devastating loss, the underlying issues remain unaddressed, and the city continues to suffer.

The Real Culprits

Having served as the Collector of Nashik and Commissioner of the Pune Municipal Corporation, I have observed firsthand the systemic failures that lead to Mumbai’s annual monsoon misery. The true culprits are not Mr. Low Lying Terrain and Mr. Climate Change but rather Mr. Faulty Planning, Mr. Blockade of Natural Watercourses, Mr. Faulty Execution of Plans, and, most notably, Mr. Thick Skinned Senior Bureaucracy. These issues are not complex or beyond the understanding of the average citizen. They are, in fact, straightforward and glaringly obvious.

Natural Watercourses and Urban Planning

Before the establishment of villages, towns, or cities, rainwater followed natural courses along the contours of the land, draining into rivers or the sea. Human activities—such as building houses, roads, and commercial structures—must be executed in harmony with nature, not in opposition to it. When urban development disrupts these natural watercourses, the harmony is lost, leading to disasters. In Mumbai, rainwater that should naturally drain into the sea is obstructed by human constructions, causing unnatural flooding.

A Human-Made Disaster

The flooding in Mumbai is a human-made disaster, resulting from deliberate disregard for natural watercourses and poor urban planning. Instead of preserving these natural pathways and planning development around them, authorities have allowed them to be blocked or built over. Consequently, rainwater, following its natural contour, gets trapped, leading to the flooding we see today. The prime offenders are Mr. Faulty Planning, Mr. Faulty Execution of Plans, and above all, Mr. Thick Skinned Senior Bureaucracy.

Accountability and Historical Wrongs

The historical wrongs are evident and do not require a Commission of Inquiry—they are as clear as daylight. Successive Municipal Commissioners, under whose leadership faulty plans were prepared, and the Secretaries of the Urban Development Department, who blindly endorsed these plans, bear significant responsibility for the annual flooding and the resultant loss of innocent lives.

Towards a Sustainable Solution

Addressing this deeply entrenched problem requires a multifaceted approach. While a permanent solution through retrofitting measures to correct historical wrongdoings may be complex and difficult, immediate steps can be taken to make life more bearable for Mumbai’s citizens. Acknowledging the mistakes of the past is crucial, as is designing ways and means to minimize future damage. However, given the entrenched mentality of the bureaucracy, expecting them to accept responsibility and offer solutions seems overly optimistic.

A Call for Political Unity

The onus thus falls on the political leadership across the spectrum. It is imperative for political leaders to bury their differences and unite in a concerted effort to make Mumbai a more livable city. Collaboration and shared responsibility are essential to overcoming the bureaucratic inertia and implementing effective solutions.

Designing a permanent solution to rectify the historical missteps of the bureaucracy through retrofitting measures is an exceedingly complex and arduous task. However, the lives of Mumbai’s citizens can be rendered more bearable by identifying these wrongs, acknowledging them, and devising strategies to mitigate the damage. Yet, given the entrenched mindset of the bureaucracy, they are unlikely to accept this reality, let alone offer any glimmer of hope for viable solutions. Therefore, it is imperative that political leaders, across the spectrum, set aside their differences and unite in their efforts to transform Mumbai into a more livable city.

A Call to Action

The annual monsoon floods in Mumbai are not an inevitable natural disaster but a preventable human-made one. The blame lies not with Mr. Low Lying Terrain and Mr. Climate Change but with Mr. Faulty Planning, Mr. Blockade of Natural Watercourses, Mr. Faulty Execution of Plans, and Mr. Thick Skinned Senior Bureaucracy. Addressing this issue requires a holistic approach involving comprehensive planning, technological innovation, community involvement, and political collaboration.

Only through a concerted and sustained effort can Mumbai hope to break the cycle of floods and become a more resilient and livable city. The time for rhetoric and blame games is over; what is needed now is decisive action and accountability to ensure a safer, more sustainable future for all of Mumbai’s residents.