This piece of analysis was written after a visit to Singapore during my IAS Professional Training Phase-II. Views are my personal.
The Foreign Study Tour to Singapore, for me, was a week into
an imaginative world, which stretches one’s imagination for a perfect city
beyond the limits of imagination itself. It was a feeling of coming-to-life of
the all features of a popular computer game that simulates cities, with
man-made-wonders and excellence in almost every dimension of public utility
services. It can not be said that this is an expected reaction from anyone who
travels from a third world country like India to a developed city-state as
Singapore, as I have seen much of Europe and its urban areas where one sees what
one expects out of a developed state with a long history of gradual economic
development boosted by its plenty resources and developed civic intellect over
generations. But Singapore surpasses even the best of European cities,
especially if one accounts for the fact that it got independence from colonial
powers as late as 1965 and it rose from an economic status not very different
to ours.
It is very hard to think of many interventions that can be
made in India based on the Singaporean model of development for the basic
reason that the political systems of the two countries are poles apart. While
India has a multiparty democratic setup where almost every interest group
matters, be it caste based, religion based, language based, or
economic-interests based; Singapore on the other hand is a Single Party
Parliamentary Republic tending towards autocracy. What they could think, plan
and execute in 50 years may take at least another 50 years in India to come to
a political consensus that it is what we desire in India, and that too is
unlikely. But I will not put up a pessimist face, because the learnings from
Singapore were innumerous, at least in terms of their systems, which can be
replicated here in pieces if not in entirety. I will be trying to pen down those
observations and learnings and will try to ponder upon how can they be
reproduced in India.
1. Road and Public Transport
As soon as one plunges out of the Changi Airport, which is
not as impressive as our Indira Gandhi International Airport (that reassures us
with the idea that even ‘We can do it’), one thing that immediately gets noticed
is their transport system. It is both a common observation as well as empirically
proven fact that the biggest issue that is marring our cities today is poor
public transport. Singapore is a small city with huge population, of both
natives and immigrants, and a population density of around 8000 per square km,
which is more than most Indian cities. Yet travelling in Singapore is a
pleasant experience owing to a number of strict but effective government
policies. Owing a private car in Singapore costs as much as 20 times of what it
costs in India. Singapore government has strongly regulated the sale of
vehicles by increased duties and very high costs of Certificate of Entitlement
(COE). Getting a COE in Singapore costs as much a Porsche in India. This has
translated to only 1 car per 3 families in Singapore, which means one almost
never sees traffic in Singapore. We cannot have such strict policies in India.
But what is important to note is the supporting infrastructure that has ensured
that people in Singapore use public transport to its maximum capacity.
Singapore has a network of Integrated Multimodal Public Transport System. They
have metros, monorails and buses that provide high quality services and
last-mile connectivity to almost every corner of the city. All these are
integrated with a common MRT (Mass-Rapid-Card) card and are seamlessly run by
two private operators. The focus is on user experience that ensures that every
journey is comfortable and hence acceptable to all classes of people. The whole
system is self-sustaining because of scientific pricing. I can proudly say that
our Delhi Metro is as good if not better than their metro system and metro is
now coming up in so many cities like Bangalore, Jaipur, Indore and Lucknow etc.
on similar lines. But what really makes the difference is their last-mile
connectivity through high-quality bus transit facility, which is run on very
professional lines. Obviously from our Delhi experience we know that bus
transit fails because of heavy congestion on our roads, and it is very
difficult politically to make stricter policies to reduce vehicular congestion,
but no pains, no gains! Singapore has also worked a lot, in a planned fashion,
to lay a large network of wide and parallel roads. The roads are laid out in a
scientific fashion with proper traffic lighting, road-signage, junction improvements
and well-laid lanes and pedestrian walkways. The roads are also maintained
regularly so that travelling by roads is a butter-smooth experience. Singapore
has implemented a very innovative method of checking congestions on roads with
its electronic road pricing or ERP. ERP basically means that vehicles pay for
the use of the road according to the congestion they cause. This is implemented
through an automatic electronic system compulsorily fitted in all vehicles that
deducts the tax from user’s account every time a vehicle passes through that
road. The traffic updates are posted on electronic displays put up at various
locations across the city so that people can plan their route accordingly.
There is also a large fleet of taxis plying for users who may want to take a
car, which are highly regulated in terms of their pricing and passenger safety.
These changes are not difficult to bring about in India, if there is sufficient
will.
3. Cleanliness and Waste Management
The next major challenge that our Municipal Corporations
face is Solid Waste Management. Singapore has an amazing model that one can try
to emulate. While we often talk about solid waste management in India, the fact
is that we have failed utterly in this aspect. The best that our municipal
bodies do is to transport the garbage from the city and dump it in city
outskirts where it rots and seeps into our water aquifers. Even this role is
not played efficiently and garbage dumps and littered waste is a common sight
in our cities. We often cover-up by saying that what can government do till
people don’t learn. We definitely need some lessons from Singapore in this
regard. As they say, Singapore is not the most clean city, but it is the most
cleaned city. There is a huge team of highly trained and well-equipped cleaners
that are employed by the government to make sure that there is no garbage
anywhere in the city. There is a door to door collection system in place by
which household garbage is collected and sorted right at its generation point,
not by the people, but by the government. Hence around 60 % of the waste is
sent for recycling right away. The recycling industry is charged for the
garbage. The remaining garbage is then incinerated in a scientific manner to produce
least pollution. Apart from the power generated from the incineration, the ash
produced is also used at a landfill site to create another island amidst the
sea, getting ready for use by this country limited by its small land resource.
What a marvel! A perfect symphony of the three magic words: Reduce, Recycle,
Reuse.
Now we complain of civic sense of Indians. I wonder how the
same Indians learn all the sense when they travel abroad. If we have systems in
place in our cities, I am sure it won’t be hard to regulate people. But it is
unfortunate that we have not put up a serious thought in this segment yet. The
costs of such humongous system can definitely be an impediment. But if we look
at the returns, both tangible such as electricity produced, and intangible such
as improvement in public health, I think this system is worth a try. We can
also experiment with innovative economic principles such as PPP and
user-charges to fill the financial gaps. It is reassuring that Government has
now started the Swachh Bharat Mission with similar objectives, but outcomes are
yet to be seen.
On the fourth day of our visit, we chanced to have lunch
with Deputy High Commissioner of Singapore, who was a fine lady and had been in
Singapore for around two years. By then, we as a group had already covered most
of the tourist attractions of Singapore and had also discussed them with each
other. While till now all of us were in awe of this man-made wonder that
Singapore was, the following comments of Deputy High Commissioner came to me as
a hard fact. She said, ‘What is there in
Singapore? The only place worth spending time and money on is the Sentosa
Island, which has some good rides and the Universal Studios, which is a
different experience altogether. Apart from that there are just high-rise fancy
buildings and malls. There is no culture of Singapore and no tradition to
cherish. Just that Singaporeans have very smartly packaged themselves and are
selling to the world.’ This may appear to be a piece of cynicism at first,
but is also mostly truth. Singapore truly is an amazing country with huge and
flourishing economy. Its land constraint forces it to build very high
buildings. Its strategic location makes it a trading hub and hence gives it a
multinational character. But there is nothing which is so unique in Singapore,
that one should come all the way across seas to see, except that they have
packaged it all together. It’s only them who have advertised themselves so well
that people even get ready to pay SGD 30 to just climb up a 56 floor building
or to sit on a Ferris wheel. Look at India; we have way more ancient and mystic
heritage and culture, beautiful monuments of artistic value, abundant natural
scenic beauty of beaches, mountains, valleys, rivers, deserts and lakes. It
would take me a book to write all the natural and man-made wonders that we have
in India, but we have failed to preserve them and then showcase them to the
world. We need to learn that art from Singapore. To a lay-man, before he
seriously thinks of visiting Singapore, the country is all about a half-lion
half mermaid statue gushing out water from its mouth. Singapore has made this
mediocre structure as its national tourism icon, which alone is sufficient to
fetch tourism. We on the other had have Sarnath lion capital, which not only
has artistic value but also a great history associated it with. Yet so many
people who visit Varanasi do not even go to have a look at this timeless
monument. Of course we have lacked somewhere in capitalizing on our tourism
potential in India and we must learn this art from Singapore.
4. Public Housing
This is another area where Singapore has done remarkably
well. Housing is a concern for every family. It is ironical that despite of
such large tracts of land available to India as compared to Singapore, we have
more than 50% of our urban population who doesn’t own a house. On the other
hand, almost 90% of Singapore’s population owns a house with almost 80% having
benefitted from Public Housing. Singapore also faced challenges of affordable
housing at time of its independence. But under the leadership of Lim Kim San,
the first head of Housing Development Board of Singapore, the face of public
housing changed. It was a planned strategy by which government decided to build
low-cost housing units and shift squatter settlers to these houses. It built
large number of such houses in high-rise buildings and convinced people to
shift to these houses. It also shifted its policy from renting out to selling
out. The success owed to keys such as large amount of government funds in
building the houses, lease system for the lifetime of dwellers, pragmatic
approach in housing design ensuring low maintenance over aesthetics and
revolution in construction technology. Slowly government also started making
high-end flats with all community facilities and focus on green development
that made the above project attractive for upper class families also.
Housing and Transport hold a sizeable share in the
expenditure basket of a family in urban areas of India. Providing affordable
housing in clean societies not only ensures that people live with dignity in
healthy environment, but it also helps the government to reach the people with
its services such as health, education, electricity, etc. Singapore’s policy of
ensuring a racial mix in every society through its allotment process also is a
very innovative method to ensure communal harmony and is relevant in Indian
society. While we have so many government schemes such as Pradhanmantri Awas
Yojana Rural and Urban, we have not been able to develop a good economical
model to make them successful. A detailed study of Singaporean approach is
pertinent. Also we need to pour in more funds in this sector and ensure that
corruption doesn’t eat away the fruits of Public Housing.
5. Singapore's approach to governance
Last but not the least, the best learning from Singapore was
its approach to governance. The best part is its focus for development. We were
told that Singapore does everything for a purpose. They think of a target, they
plan for it, prepare for it, chart out a policy, and implement it. They make
sure that the policy succeeds, and if they see that the policy has failed, they
do not shirk away from abandoning it and starting afresh. They respond to the
feedback and change themselves accordingly. As Lee Kuan Yew once said, that he
does not theorize, he instead finds the best approach that can work, and then
lets others to derive theories from that approach. This can be applied in India
both at Government level as well as governance level. We find it very hard to
give up our schemes and tend to stick to our policies, making incremental
changes that not only makes our government a cobweb of inefficiencies, but also
leaves a lot of loopholes for exploitation by few smart people. It was
delighting to know how if Singapore wants to make, say, a water treatment
plant, they would make a team, send that team to various places to learn the
best practices. The same team would then choose what is best for Singapore,
chart out a work plan and execute it. We on the other hand keep on wandering
aimlessly. Out trainings are too generic without specific goals. Our
experiences and learnings often get lost in interdepartmental reports and
literature.
Singapore has promoted multiculturalism and meritocracy.
Four of the 16 Cabinet ministers of Singapore are Indians who are holding four
most important ministries, despite Indians being only 8% of their population.
Can we expect something similar in India? If we can’t let the best lead us, we
cannot rise up to be the best. Singapore also follows a zero-tolerance for
corruption and is one of the least corrupt countries of the world. This has
become possible due to the reduced human interface in various public services,
reduced discretion, independent anti-graft agencies and sufficient
remunerations to government servants.
However, the masterstroke of Singapore I believe has been
its Trampoline approach, as termed by its Indian Deputy PM Tharman
Shanmugratnam. Singaporean government believes that there is no replacement for
individual responsibility of citizens; hence they must adhere to discipline in
their lives. It does not believe in the safety net, or in giving out doles to
the people. It just makes sure that they have the capability to rise up, and
hence acts as a trampoline for those who fall down, enabling them to bounce up
again. This is in contrast to our social welfare policies where we are unable
to change the dependence attitude of people.
While it is easy to copy projects, it is not easy to copy
philosophies and hence shape the attitudes so easily. But who says that success
comes easily. While it is obviously impossible to replicate the Singaporean way
in the socio-political environment of India, we can nevertheless expand our
horizons and look for ways to reach the similar outcomes. Many of above
interventions and policies can also be brought in the daily life approach by
administrators in their offices, sub-divisions, cities and districts in piecemeal
manner and the results shall definitely be quotable.
