Incredibly simple solutions

Why? Groan. Why? When are we going to see that India would not need selling if we could deal with our more serious problems, of which poverty and the appalling state of our cities are among the most grim? What makes our failure to solve these problems especially depressing is that the solutions are simple.

The Clinton Global Initiative is showing the way. All we have to do is follow. What I have learned from lurking about the fringes of this initiative for the past two years is that Bill Clinton’s many years of administrative experience have taught him that often the reason why initiatives to eliminate poverty and deprivation fail is because delivery systems are cumbersome and bureaucratic. Simplifying these systems brings success.

This is where the cycle rickshaws come in. On Fifth Avenue in the evenings these days you see cycle rickshaws tooling around looking for customers. The rickshaws seem easier to operate but otherwise they are much the same. Unlike in our country where rickshaws are symbols of poverty, they are seen here as symbols of the future — an environment-friendly means of transport. We need to change our attitude to them, because in India they are a vital means of employment for the poorest of our citizens.

And, they could be cheaper and less polluting public transport in congested areas of our big cities if municipalities would stop treating them as a nuisance. The number of cars in our cities is not restricted but cycle rickshaws are. Does this make sense?

... contd.