Why public infrastructure collapses so frequently
Corruption, lack of upkeep and safety audits all contribute to this dire situation
In the last one year, we have had flyovers collapsing in Maharashtra and Orissa. Last week, it was a dam in Bihar. There have been several monsoon-related cases such as pot-hole deaths and building collapse. The crisis of crumbling infrastructure is so deep and country-wide that even Bollywood came up with a movie, Madari, on the issue. In the film, a father takes revenge for his son’s death in a bridge collapse. To go back to the recent one in Bihar, a part of the Bateshwarsthan Ganga Pump Nahar Priyojna collapsed on September 19, embarrassingly a day before chief minister Nitish Kumar was supposed to inaugurate it. The cost of the project is estimated at ₹389.31 crore. Why is the quality of public infrastructure so bad in India? One of the key reasons is the corrupt nexus among politicians, bureaucrats and contractors, a theme portrayed poignantly in Madari. The strategy of the parasitic politicians, bureaucrats and contractors is simple: Build like there is no tomorrow, and always low-quality structures. The routine breaching of flood embankments in Bihar is a case in point. While there has been several reports of how embankments serve no purpose, no government is ready to scrap them because there is money to be made in maintaining these structures and building new ones.
Second, lack of proper maintenance and safety audits. A report by the CAG found the safety and compliance status of large dams to be poor.
Third, lack of information about structures such as dams. Himanshu Thakkar of SANDRP wrote that there are information gaps in reports on dam safety, cumulative social and environmental impacts. This neglect of public infrastructure is criminal. But most accidents are forgotten after the initial hue and cry because in government responsibility is shared. Politicians, bureaucrats and contractors take advantage of this loophole, and the deadly results are there for all to see.