Azad Bharatam, a new liberal political party, has demanded that all central ministries, departments and constitutional authorities be shifted out of Delhi and relocated to all other states and union territories of the country in order to reduce the capital’s population by 30 lakh so that the toxic air pollution and congestion could be brought within the tolerable limits. It made an exception for the parliament, Rashtrapati Bhawan, the PMO, ministry of external affairs and the constitutional bench of the supreme court of India which could stay in Delhi.
Elaborating on the demand, the party’s founder Rakesh Agarwal, citing various sources, said that every Delhiite dies 10 years sooner due to air pollution which also causes 30,000 deaths per annum – 20 times more than road fatalities. He said that Delhi is the most polluted capital city in the world. Calling it a global shame, Agarwal asked for the air pollution to be declared a national emergency just like the United Kingdom’s parliament has declared a climate emergency in their nation on 01 May.
Addressing a press conference, Agarwal asked, “Can anything be more important than life itself? The day is not far when every school-going child wearing a mask attached to an oxygen tank will become a common sight. Showing commitment to environment and transport in election manifestos is not enough; the political parties must frame and lay their plans to tackle the epidemic of air pollution and traffic jams.”
Naming congestion and resultant vehicular emission as one of the prime causes of air pollution, Agarwal cited a report of the Boston Consulting Group that said that the cost of congestion in Delhi is equal to Delhi’s annual budget.
Rajiv Sharma, another party leader, emphasised that the twin crises of air pollution and congestion can only be tackled by reducing the population of Delhi. And the single biggest bold move the government can make is to move itself out of the capital city and spread itself all over the country.
Such a move would significantly decongest Delhi and give it space to breathe, as vast swathes of land and millions of square feet of office space currently occupied by the government and millions of square feet of residential accommodation used by the government employees would be freed. The party suggested that a new master plan should be drawn up for Delhi and all emptied out buildings and spaces should be used for parks, forests, sports complexes, parking spaces, playgrounds for children, universities, hospitals, institutions of arts and heritage, private enterprises of commercial or not-for-profit nature, shopping areas, commercial hubs, and slum-free in-city accommodation for service class people (maids, dhobis, drivers, sabziwala, doodhwala, peons).
The party leaders claimed that the quality of air, traffic management and public transport will be direct beneficiaries of the move. With clean air and congestion-free environment, Delhiites will live 10 years longer, healthier and happier. Economic loss due to traffic jams will be halved. Incidents of road rage will drop, squabbles over parking will end and Delhi will become calmer.
On the other hand, reasoned Amal Sharma, a party leader, the other states where the government departments relocate will see a lot of economic activity which will help in the creation of new jobs, promotion of entrepreneurship and building of infrastructure for transport, education, health, amenities and recreation. In fact, he stated, shifting the departments will give impetus to the construction sector which will be India’s main economic growth driver in the foreseeable future. Construction related industries alone can absorb crores of the rural workforce.
With people finding employment closer to home, migration towards Delhi will decline drastically. With ample new space becoming available, slums and unauthorised colonies can be redeveloped. Falling population will also benefit health and education infrastructure in Delhi as the gap between demand and supply narrows. There will be no need for reservation for Delhiites in these sectors.
In his concluding remarks, Agarwal stated that if none of the political parties makes an explicit commitment to shift the central government out of Delhi, Azad Bharatam is prepared for the long haul to a day when this task shall be undertaken in all earnestness and accomplished in full.
On being queried about Azad Bharatam, Agarwal said that it is an ideologically liberal political party in the making that will make its electoral debut in Vidhan Sabha elections in 2020. On further probing, he said that the party will raise one pertinent issue every week along with a well thought out solution, and added that “we will bring serious governance into sharp focus while making negative politics irrelevant”.
Rakesh Agarwal is also the founder-secretary of Nyayabhoomi, an NGO that works with the auto drivers of Delhi. In 2013, he left AAP over the working style of and ideological differences with Arvind Kejriwal, AAP’s convenor.
Elaborating on the demand, the party’s founder Rakesh Agarwal, citing various sources, said that every Delhiite dies 10 years sooner due to air pollution which also causes 30,000 deaths per annum – 20 times more than road fatalities. He said that Delhi is the most polluted capital city in the world. Calling it a global shame, Agarwal asked for the air pollution to be declared a national emergency just like the United Kingdom’s parliament has declared a climate emergency in their nation on 01 May.
Addressing a press conference, Agarwal asked, “Can anything be more important than life itself? The day is not far when every school-going child wearing a mask attached to an oxygen tank will become a common sight. Showing commitment to environment and transport in election manifestos is not enough; the political parties must frame and lay their plans to tackle the epidemic of air pollution and traffic jams.”
Naming congestion and resultant vehicular emission as one of the prime causes of air pollution, Agarwal cited a report of the Boston Consulting Group that said that the cost of congestion in Delhi is equal to Delhi’s annual budget.
Rajiv Sharma, another party leader, emphasised that the twin crises of air pollution and congestion can only be tackled by reducing the population of Delhi. And the single biggest bold move the government can make is to move itself out of the capital city and spread itself all over the country.
Such a move would significantly decongest Delhi and give it space to breathe, as vast swathes of land and millions of square feet of office space currently occupied by the government and millions of square feet of residential accommodation used by the government employees would be freed. The party suggested that a new master plan should be drawn up for Delhi and all emptied out buildings and spaces should be used for parks, forests, sports complexes, parking spaces, playgrounds for children, universities, hospitals, institutions of arts and heritage, private enterprises of commercial or not-for-profit nature, shopping areas, commercial hubs, and slum-free in-city accommodation for service class people (maids, dhobis, drivers, sabziwala, doodhwala, peons).
The party leaders claimed that the quality of air, traffic management and public transport will be direct beneficiaries of the move. With clean air and congestion-free environment, Delhiites will live 10 years longer, healthier and happier. Economic loss due to traffic jams will be halved. Incidents of road rage will drop, squabbles over parking will end and Delhi will become calmer.
On the other hand, reasoned Amal Sharma, a party leader, the other states where the government departments relocate will see a lot of economic activity which will help in the creation of new jobs, promotion of entrepreneurship and building of infrastructure for transport, education, health, amenities and recreation. In fact, he stated, shifting the departments will give impetus to the construction sector which will be India’s main economic growth driver in the foreseeable future. Construction related industries alone can absorb crores of the rural workforce.
With people finding employment closer to home, migration towards Delhi will decline drastically. With ample new space becoming available, slums and unauthorised colonies can be redeveloped. Falling population will also benefit health and education infrastructure in Delhi as the gap between demand and supply narrows. There will be no need for reservation for Delhiites in these sectors.
In his concluding remarks, Agarwal stated that if none of the political parties makes an explicit commitment to shift the central government out of Delhi, Azad Bharatam is prepared for the long haul to a day when this task shall be undertaken in all earnestness and accomplished in full.
On being queried about Azad Bharatam, Agarwal said that it is an ideologically liberal political party in the making that will make its electoral debut in Vidhan Sabha elections in 2020. On further probing, he said that the party will raise one pertinent issue every week along with a well thought out solution, and added that “we will bring serious governance into sharp focus while making negative politics irrelevant”.
Rakesh Agarwal is also the founder-secretary of Nyayabhoomi, an NGO that works with the auto drivers of Delhi. In 2013, he left AAP over the working style of and ideological differences with Arvind Kejriwal, AAP’s convenor.
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