Infra projects are standalone, ad hoc planning won't work: Priya Dutt

Mumbai North Central parliamentary constituency has its own extremes, from the plush middle- and upper middle-class western suburbs of Bandra, Santa Cruz and Vile Parle, aligned with densely populated relatively poorer Kurla. Fighting against the incumbent Poonam Mahajan, daughter of slain BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, is long-time Congressman Sunil Dutt’s daughter, Priya Dutt. While Dutt is campaigning hard to gain back the seat which she lost in the din of a wave election in 2014, Mahajan has Modi’s public rally on her side. In a telephonic conversation with Abhishek Waghmare, Dutt speaks about Mumbai’s development, its saturation as an urban area, and job losses due to Jet Airways shutdown.

As you fight to win back the seat, there is a murmur among voters that you were absent from the constituency in the last five years.
 

As I was not an elected member, I agree that I did not visit the constituency as a political leader as much as I should have in the last five years. But my social work has been continuously on, and the office of Nargis Dutt Foundation was always open for those who needed help.

What promises are you offering the electorate ahead of the polls?

More than making specific promises, I believe in sincere efforts. Promises are an easy way out. Rather, I have a studied approach to my constituency and Mumbai in general, and have larger questions, such as slum rehabilitation and making use of central government land on my mind.

The gaothan areas (villages inside the city) must be protected, and systematic slum redevelopment across the city must be started at the soonest. These are my priorities.

Do you think Mumbai has become too crowded? What is your vision for Mumbai?

Yes, it definitely has. There needs to be some rethinking on the pace of development after a certain point. Mumbai has reached that stage. The city needs extensive urban planning.

The government is doing many projects such as the trans-harbour link, Metro projects are in full swing, the coastal road is proposed…
 

Current infrastructure projects are standalone, and the planning is ad hoc in nature. This will not work for Mumbai. There should be uniform rules of infrastructure expansion across the city.

What are the crisis areas in Mumbai, and your constituency, according to you?

Various projects have been shut down, slums are not getting re-developed. Most importantly, the real estate sector is in doldrums here. Builders are facing bankruptcy, and their coordination with Slum Rehabilitation Authority and slum dwellers is virtually absent. Slum development must be taken over and implemented by the government by itself. Agencies such as MHADA and MMRDA should implement them, with independent audits from NGOs and community participation.

Coming to a hot topic, a private airline shut itself down a week ago. Mumbai was the closest witness to this. Why isn’t the fall of Jet Airways a prominent election agenda, especially from the barracks of the Congress?

Personally speaking, I think that the fall of a private airline cannot be a talking point in a political campaign against the government, which is a publicly elected body. If the airline is approaching for help, the government should certainly step up. But job losses must be looked into by the government very seriously, which is not visible. The government failed to put safeguards in place, in that respect. The impact on more than 20,000 families is unimaginable.