Anyone with an iota of common sense would see that Mumbai’s decay, manifest in crumbling infrastructure, is not because its people don’t have the enterprise or drive to better their lot, but due to an inept and corrupt administration. If we don’t have better public transport or well developed bus-stations (that are used for the passengers and not converted to shopping centres) it is because the government will not disband the BEST monopoly and allow modern technology or facilities. The continued harassment of the Goldcab project, flagged off by none other than the Chief Minister, shows that the vested interest of a few union leaders and several hundred taxi owners, comes above that of the vast public and migrant drivers forced to operate rundown black-and-yellow contraptions to eke out a meagre living. People sleeping on the streets is another reflection of administrative failure that favours fancy developers rather than genuine re-development and rehabilitation. As for those who are lured to visit by the “Incredible India” campaign, their first experience is indeed the beggars harassing them for a dole or roadsides that turn into open lavatories every morning.

Big troubles

India’s big accounting firms apparently like to go out of their way to court controversy. Barely had the turmoil at A.F. Ferguson over the Tata Finance issue cooled down, when we saw multiple exits and realignments at another big one — Ernst & Young — that dragged on for a long time. Things have now settled down at E&Y, but trouble has erupted elsewhere. Another of the Big Four accounting firms is not setting an example that anyone would wish to follow. Office politics and factionalism have reached the point where partners have been fired with two hours notice. The firm apparently wanted to ensure that these officials don’t walk away to a rival but have their careers destroyed. The Heads of Audit and Corporate Finance got the axe, as did a couple of directors who were originally poached from a rival. A few lawsuits and the public washing of dirty laundry seems to be in the offing.