Ownership and Responsibility in India


After reading "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga (which I recommend- perhaps not the best writing in the world, and it could turn out to be far too simplistic a reading on the 'relationships' between the rich and poor in India- but as an introductory expose I thought it rather good), talking recently with my Indian boss and walking through some of the public places in Delhi, I have been thinking about a common thread that runs through all three. Perhaps my boss put it best when he said that in India, and Indian society, there is a lack of ownership or responsibility for doing something.


The most obvious case is public works (that's where the parks come in). Most parks in Delhi were once carefully designed, and have had a fair bit of money invested in them- in structures, in plants, in sidewalks, ponds, lakes, etc. Yet on the weekends (even on the designated weekend 'day'- Sunday) they are all but deserted. Go into these parks and you'll figure out that they're not quite empty- every bench, for example is occupied- normally by one guy, who's lying down on it sleeping. The other creatures that can be found by carefully scrutinising dense foliage and hidden corners will be the couples, who are canoodling somewhere away from the prying eyes of the neighbours who wouldn't be in the park anyway (To give you an idea of the notorious reputation that parks have, one young male aspirant told me that his girlfriend was not even allowed to tell her parents that she would be going to Lodhi Gardens- alone or accompanied- because of the reputation it has). Parks are also distinguished by any lake being completely drained, or having stinking water sitting in the bottom, grass being un-mown or bare, and of course rubbish thrown into any of the above places that are in relatively good natural condition.


I ask myself the natural question here- in a city such as Delhi, hot as it is with concrete and high-rise everywhere (although it is self-touted as "one of the greenest cities in the world"), are these beautiful parks, so lovingly created, left to decay to such a state? Maintaining a park in India must be one of the easiest things to do- you have no shortage of labour, at the very least to pick up the rubbish- but also to do the simple task of gardening, pruning, preparing soil for flowers, maintaining areas of grass, etc.


Too expensive? In almost every neighbourhood surrounding these parks in Delhi, small households pay a helper who is normally available 12 hours a day to clean for them, cook, wash their clothes, water their plants, do the shopping, etc. The average wage (at least in Vasant Kunj) is Rs 2000.- per month. (that's about $40). And *every* household has one, so it's not as if these people are earning on the bottom of the pile. In fact, other workers around the complex who iron clothes or wash cars aspire to these positions. So can't the city afford to pay some gardners Rs 2000 a month? Of course they can, and they probably already do. Here's where the ownership comes in.


Now this is a little bit of second-hand information, but here's how the system apparently works. Someone government employee (probably quite high up) has the job of maintaining Delhi's parks. He receives a certain amount per month to do so (for equipment, wages, etc.). He reports every month that the amount has been spent as per budgeted- this equipment bought, these guys paid, this much rubbish collected, etc. If anyone doubts this, they can ask the independent assessor who checks the park every week, to make sure that people are working, and that the park is clean. He verifies that all is as reported. Of course, all that really takes place is the bare minimum of work, and money changing hands to make sure everything is reported as completed correctly. The employee gets to keep all the money that he hasn't spent keeping the verifying officials and any other loud-mouths quiet. And none of the people in the chain feel as if they are doing anything wrong- why actually do the work and put your neck on the line? You only risk pissing some more people off? It's much more work for me to actually DO something than to simply stay with the status quo- plus I don't get paid any more... In fact I'm more likely to be rewarded for not kicking up a fuss and keeping the whole system intact. It's an inherently perfect system (as long as you don't worry about what the system outputs actually are).


What would be really interesting to see would be someone who was prepared to take on the system- and in this particular case it would be so easy. Just put one guy in charge of Delhi's signature parks, give him a reasonable budget, and let him try and really recreate the glory that they were once built with. Give him some room for improving them, if you want- I don't know why people in Delhi go to parks, but there must be a reason I see more people in Vasant Vatika than Lodhi Gardens (Vasant Vatika is a strip of grass near the suburban blocks where I live, and Lodhi or Lodi Gardens is probably the most famous park in Delhi).

Vasant Vatika

Lodhi Gardens

The idea that changing the current state would/should be so simple got me thinking about the whole idea of lack of ownership of these situations in India (as I said it's a theme that reoccurs in the business environment here as well, and not just with fellow employees, but also in things as crucial to a sense of ownership as customer service in India). How do you change a system where the lack of ownership ultimately results in there being such a huge level of corruption, and huge barriers to doing anything with a true sense of responsibility? It must start from the top- someone has to take some responsibility for actually doing what they agreed to do in the first place (I would say what they wanted to do, but that might take some major restructuring in India ;-). But if you agree to do something, you agree to take responsibility for that thing, right? At least the logic seems to follow for me. So the person responsible, instils that same sense of ownership in all those who work under them. They has the power, and they should have the qualities to do that. If it comes from them, then there is a chance that even if those below are not immediately open to the idea, people can be found that will be. Once the system starts to get that sense of ownership passing down through it, then perhaps things at least might start changing.


And I'll be able to sit in a nice clean, shady, green area of a park in Delhi and enjoy it with the rest of an India that feels like they own a little part of having created it.