On a wintry day in Mumbai last week, as I walked briskly down Marine Drive, marveling at a full moon that was still out at dawn, my serene morning ruminations were interrupted by a cellphone-toting official from the newly-formed municipal dog-shit squad.

Good sometimes comes from bad and this encounter with municipal authority was beneficial because it made me realise yet again the urgent need for our cities to have elected governments accountable to the citizens and not some chief minister or prime minister.

Until this happens India’s towns and cities will continue to be polluted, festering slums. No amount of glittering new malls and five star hotels changes this ugly reality and no amount of well-meaning Central Government urban renewal missions will make a difference unless cities like Mumbai and Delhi have powerful elected mayors of the kind London and New York have.

What does dog shit have to do with municipal governance? Read on.

When I am in Mumbai, I live on Marine Drive, and my dog, Julie, is accustomed to taking her daily constitutional and performing her morning ablutions on this promenade. Of late this has become a problem because the Municipal Commissioner, Johnny Joseph, whimsically ordained that dog owners must clean up after their dogs or pay a penalty of Rs 500.

So, last Thursday, Julie had just finished doing her business when the official crept up on me and said, “Clean it now or pay.”

I told him that had the street been spotlessly clean I may have obliged but as it was a mess of paan spit, urine, pariah dog shit and rotting garbage I saw no need to.

... contd.