Anupam- The Dreamer

If you look around any major construction work like metro, highway, airports, etc., you would notice one thing that the maintenance of these public infrastructures is most of the times shoddy, improper and not up-to-the-mark. It seems that construction of such large projects is easier and there is so much fanfare around the inauguration that people come to believe that now with this new infrastructure all their woes will be gone! Take the example of newly constructed highways and expressways. When they are inaugurated, there is so much decoration and paraphernalia around the event, that it seems to be no less than world class. But, after a few days/months, the reality is for all to see in many of such projects.

Maintenance is not looked after with keen interest, as the construction and inauguration phase! The political class is also concerned with getting the infrastructure constructed and inaugurated, because that can be used for publicity and for garnering votes. But who cares about maintenance? That is a big question! When infact, maintenance of a structure is a much much easier job than the construction!

The construction of say highway, involves a lot of complex processes like land acquisition, giving compensation, bidding process, awarding of contracts, then hiring labour, preparation of site, transportation of huge amount of raw materials, coordinating with a lot of government agencies, actual construction work which can take months and years. After all this hardwork, a highway gets constructed. Now, compare this with maintenance work, which just involves regular inspection, audit, checks, ensuring proper usage and following of safety norms, doing timely repairs. So, in a way, maintenance is a lot easier task than construction. Also, maintenance requires much less funds than construction. But the irony is that maintenance is the most neglected part of a project. While it should be the easiest part, yet unfortunately it becomes the hardest part.

The reasons are multiple. First, as mentioned above, in general, the political class is not really interested in maintenance because once a project is completed and the votes captured, focusing time and energy on maintenance does not garner any extra votes. Instead, they would focus on a brand “new” project which can fetch some new votes and is easy to publicize. Maintenance is a mundane work, which can’t be publicized. Then, some vested interests at play don’t want the construction quality of the projects to be good which includes contractors, because if they make unbreakable roads, then how will they make money in its maintenance or eventually building a complete new road in its place in the future. Then, the apathy of public is also a big reason. The people don’t really bother to use the road or railways, with the care that they should. The rail coaches are used carelessly, the amenities stolen or broken, the toilet use is improper, throwing of trash anywhere is still common. Then, the maintenance agency cares only as much as it is paid. Slowly and steadily, the infrastructure starts degrading.

What we need is equal attention in construction as well as maintenance of any infrastructure project. The quality of construction has to be top notch without any vested interest. Then, the usage by people has to be equally good. And the maintenance should be in competent hands and shouldn’t be ignored. Take the analogy of a car or a bike. When, it is manufactured, it must be of good quality. Then, the driver should be good who doesn’t abuse the car/bike by driving ruthlesslessly. Then, the maintenance of the car/bike should be periodic and done by a good mechanic. When, all these processes are aligned, then it would do wonders to the project.

Take the example of Delhi Metro. It is among the best in class in the whole world. Construction quality of the infrastructure and the coaches is among the best, the public usage is proper unlike the railways, then periodic maintenance and upkeep ensures the smooth operation year round. So, why can’t we have similar build quality, public use, and maintenance in other projects? A culture of excellence needs to be developed like the Delhi Metro in other organizations, which can catapult our nation to a higher growth trajectory where we have the world-class infrastructure all around us.

For a brighter future….