Once Sardar Patel was asked what he thought was the most satisfying task that he performed during his long years in public life. Every body expected him to say: ?Integration of 561 princely states? or ?reorganisation of civil services?. But his reply caused an utter surprise. He said that it was his work in the Ahmedabad Municipal Board that gave him the highest job satisfaction.
Patel reiterated his views while speaking at a civic reception held in his honour by Bombay Municipal Corporation. He said : ?I had unalloyed happiness in the tasks which I performed. After all, to all of us, to serve our own city must give unmitigated pleasure and satisfaction which I cannot get in any other sphere. Further, to cleanse the dirt of the city is quite different from cleansing the dirt of politics. From the former you get a good night'srest while the latter keeps you worried and you lose your sleep.? Compare this attitude with that of present-day city fathers who have, by and large, converted the municipal arena into a beehive of petty and predatory politics.
In view of the critical problems of mal-governance prevailing in our cities, it would be instructive to recall Patel'sconstructive and ground-level approach in tackling the civic problems of Ahmedabad, where he first worked as the chairman of the sanitary committee (1917-22) and then as president of the municipal board (1924-28). He showed how, despite a number of legal, financial and other constraints, new life could be infused in a slothful civic body. He demonstrated in no uncertain terms that ?things are revolutionised, not by creating revolutions on the streets but by causing practical solution of the existing problems?. The message of his contribution is loud and clear: It is the motivation and solid work that matters more than any other factor.
Patel'swork as a functionary of the Ahmedabad Municipal Board commenced in 1917, when bubonic plague appeared in the city in an epidemic form. Schools and courts were closed and people started fleeing to villages. But the Sardar faced the calamity with his characteristic courage and composure. He said: ?I know what it is to be attacked by bubonic plague. I was a victim when I lived in Godhra in 1900. In any case, I prefer to die serving the people than live in safety.?
Patel'sapproach was direct and dynamic. He often combined his morning walks with inspection tours of the city. In the company of G.V. Mavalankar and civic officers, he moved along narrow streets, ascertained the problems from the people and took prompt remedial
measures. Several limitations notwithstanding, he constructed a model which solved many of the acute problems of sanitation, health, water supply, waste disposal and traffic. Sometimes he appeared on the streets leading the sanitary team.
Patel abhorred populism and enforced strict discipline. He did not hesitate to call a spade a spade. He frequently chided people for their lack of civic consciousness. To facilitate expansion of the city, he?despite bitter opposition?got the old wall punctured. He refused to be browbeaten by the charge of being anti-Muslim. When land-owners and speculators on the outskirts of the city dubbed him anti-peasant, he exposed them as ?vultures who keep grabbing peasants? land?.
Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajendra Prasad worked as presidents of the Allahabad Municipal Board and Patna Municipal Board respectively. Both of them were made of softer stuff and left in disgust, finding themselves helpless against the tactics of the bureaucracy. But the Sardar was made of a stronger fibre and remained firm and steadfast in teeth of frequent pinpricking of English officers. His strict and sincere approach ultimately won him admiration even of his adversaries like the mighty ICS commissioners?John Shillidy, Alfred Master, and G.L. Part. Alfred Master, for instance, later on, said : ?I remember Patel as a most efficient chairman of the sanitary committee, who stood aloof from the domestic and political intrigues in which some of his fellow councillors indulged.?
Sardar Patel'sintimate association with Ahmedabad had other dimensions, too. It was here that his administrative skill and organising capacity found deeper expression. It was here that his tenacity of purpose was sharpened. It was here that he became an ?iron man with a melting heart?. It was here, again, that he came in intimate contact with the grim reality of India and learnt the practical lessons of dealing with it. For a perceptive mind, there is no greater teacher than the experience of traversing the lanes and by-lanes of a metropolis, moving into its slums and shacks and coming in touch with its many other facets. The city, in essence, is the ?spiritual workshop of a nation?, a cradle of its civilisation. It is all-pervasive in character. As an economic entity, it is a seat of business and industry; as a social organisation, it is a creator of community and collective actions; as a cultural force, it is repository of old traditions, and also a fountainhead of new ideas, an instrument of intellectual advancement, and a moulder of attitudes and thoughts. The experience of dealing with the city is really an experience of dealing with the larger forces that govern the life of a nation.
It was the Sardar'sprofound experience with many aspects of civic administration that provided him a deep insight into human affairs. This experience later on helped him in reorganising civil services and in integrating 561 states and creating a bloodless revolution that added 86 million people and 800,000 sq. kms. of territory to the Indian Union.
These days, most of our political leaders come to occupy top positions without experiencing the true rub of life at the lower level of governance and without first proving their sincere attachment to the values required for fair and firm governance.
It is, indeed, deplorable that when the urban habitats are ?destined to become the most significant phenomenon of the planet? and when the future of human security, according to the UN Commission for Human Settlements, would lie in them, our cities should be in a mess. Even the wealthiest city of the country, Mumbai, became a cesspool of sewer and muddy water after a day of torrential rains on July 27, 2005, killing 736 persons, besides causing huge loss of property. Bangalore, the technological capital of India, has as many as 1,000 slums and 90,000 street children and rag pickers. According to a study conducted by the World Bank, about 30,000 premature deaths, 17 million respiratory hospital admissions and 1.2 billion ?restricted activity days? are occurring annually in our cities.
While our problems have been increasing, both in magnitude and in complexity, our civic set-up has been deteriorating. Today, it resembles a large octopus?slow, apathetic, ineffectual. Far from acting as an institution for service to the people and a springboard for providing experienced leadership at the state and national levels, it has become a hunting ground for corrupt, callous and communal elements. The 74th amendment to the Constitution has ensured periodic elections to urban local bodies, but it has not changed the character or calibre of representation on them or improved their performance.
It is time that we take a cue from Sardar Patel'sart of governing a civic body and bring the same constructive and dynamic approach, the same honesty and tenacity of purpose, the same capacity and commitment to tackle the vested interests and the same efficiency and thoroughness which he brought to the task during his stewardship of Ahmedabad Municipal Board.
(The writer is a former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and a former Union Minister.)
