IE Application 2015 MRCB

1. Question: Do you think that the lifestyle of the inhabitants of your town or city
reflects behaviour that is in line with the concept of sustainable development?
In your opinion, what should be improved?
Ajay Kumar
Applicant for the MRCB Course
IE University Spain

2. Sustainable Development - a brief introduction
The Brundtland Commission, in 1987, coined the term ‘Sustainable Development’
and defined it as:
”Development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Since the coining of the term, it has been generally accepted by everyone involved,
that meeting the needs of the future depends on how well we balance the Social,
Economic and Environmental needs while making present day decisions.
A closer look at the definition of Sustainable Development invariably throws a lot of
conflict that society as a whole will face on a day to day basis, that most often than
not, people struggle to overcome.

3. Sustainable Development - a brief introduction
To further explain the term, I would like to illustrate with a simple example. Lets
assume that a region is in a dire need of water which is its current and most
pressing issue. To resolve it, the people of the region decide to build a dam at a
close-by water source to ensure there is a reserve to fall back on. Though this
resolves their current and near future need, they probably don't realise the long
term problems this would create in the environment - issues ranging from
sediments being held back, that would have naturally replenished downstream
ecosystems to soil erosion and reducing oxygen levels denying an ecosystem
to flourish.
For a region or a city to maintain the concept of sustainable development, there
would arise a need of a trade off, and this needs to be made keeping in mind
the long term future of society as a whole.

4. City in the spotlight : Bangalore

5. Bangalore an overview
• Capital of the state, Karnataka.
• Known as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’ as its the nation’s leading Information
Technology exporter and the birth place of some of India’s top IT and e-commerce
companies.
• GDP - $83 Billion.
• Population : 10 million (a staggering 45% increase in the last decade)
• City Area : 741 km sq.
• Population Density : 13000 per sq. km.
• 3rd largest metropolitan city in India.

6. Bangalore an overview
Since Social, Environmental and Economic needs are the corner stones for Sustainable
Development, I will attempt to touch on these issues and their probable solutions for the city of
Bangalore.
I believe that for a prosperous society, it is important to have a marriage of government bodies (in
setting guidelines, carrying required actions and being open to changes) and a socially and culturally
responsible audience, in this case its citizens, as in the end, a person always needs to be proud from
where he or she comes from and the onus of upholding that city’s standards falls upon them.

7. Issues related to Social Sustainability
Social Identity
Women’s Safety
Positive
Discrimination
Haphazard Growth

8. Issues related to Social Sustainability
• Major Service Gaps while expanding the city : Bangalore’s ‘fame’ as the Silicon Valley of India happened
largely due to a host of Government SOPS, tax breaks and a large talent pool of workers that were cheap to hire,
along with the city’s metropolitan outlook . Infrastructure-wise, the city was never prepared for the load, under
which it is currently wilting. There were hastily drawn plans to increase the area that came under the local city
authorities (in this case BBMP, the body set in place for Bangalore’s civic and infrastructural concerns), without
taking stock if the city could provide basic sanitation, garbage disposal, fire & water supply to these new areas.
Recognised Hospitals, Schools and Entertainment centres were still concentrated around the erstwhile Central
Business Districts of the city. Public transportation, though one of the best in the country, was found wanting as most
of the bus terminals required people to use their private vehicles to travel to these terminals (busses are currently the
only means of a mass transit system in Bangalore).

9. Issues related to Social Sustainability
• Failure of Positive Discrimination: A largely discussed issue in the city and the country is the
disparity between the haves and the have-nots and India’s still persisting caste system. As per official
records, nearly 1/6th of the citizens are that of the marginalised population.
Though it was great foresight to have a system which ensures that society’s backward classes are not
being ignored, in the current scenario, the practice of positive discrimination by the government partly
fails, since the boundaries within the caste system have been blurred during the past few years. In the
current set-up, there are many from the ‘marginalised population’ that are wealthier and more educated
than the so called ‘forward castes’ but still benefiting from positive discrimination.

10. Issues related to Social Sustainability
• A middle class without a sense of a Social Identity: Bangalore was one of the first cities to reap the
benefits of the IT revolution in the country, one of them being a high disposable income. Students as
young as 17 years and still in college started earning high salaries by working in one of the many call
centres in the city.
In a majority of middle class families in India, the parents control to a large extent how their children
interact with their personal finances, right until their early 20’s. Since most of the spending is monitored
and rationed, the youngsters eventually realise the value of money and the social dogmas that come
along with it.
In this case, the IT revolution gave a sense of financial freedom to most of the teenagers at a very
early stage. This led to uneven and unwarranted spending patterns, typified by drug use, heavy drinking
and no interest in taking part or recognising social norms, activities and values.

11. Issues related to Social Sustainability
• Lack of women’s security and a skewed workforce: Though this is an issue which is currently
plaguing the whole of India, I find it necessary that being a leading metropolitan city and a major
contributor to the country’s GDP, Bangalore should be an example of how to integrate a safe and
healthy society that respects women.
In a recently conducted poll in India, though the literacy and mobility rate for women had increased in
Bangalore, the number of women actually joining the workforce had decreased. As of present, only
20.4% of Bangalore’s workforce is made up of women. This is largely due to an outdated social and
cultural outlook from families that maintain that women should only be homemakers.
This, coupled with the chauvinistic outlook of society and the complete lack of respect for women,
makes it very difficult for women to feel safe in public spaces and makes it doubly difficult for them to
make a positive impact on society and the economy.

12. Social Sustainability : Solutions to the issues
• Increase the number of zones under the BBMP: Currently, the civic body is decentralised and
broken into 8 zones for better governance. While this is a good start, it is insufficient to deal with the
rapid increase in the city’s growth (area wise) and its population. The government needs to certainly
focus on this issue as the city’s primary concern is the lack of infrastructure and basic amenities for its
citizens.
• The last time anyone made significant contributions to the Positive Discrimination Bill was when the
country’s forefathers were drafting the Constitution in 1949. It is well documented that this needs to be
revisited and amended, keeping current scenarios in mind.
• It is important to include more citizen forums to have open discussions with the government bodies
for a more informed and a wider based approach to resolving issues such as women’s safety and the
over all betterment of society. Most of the issues mentioned in the previous slides are more of a
grassroots level issue - be it women’s development and security, the development of a social identity
for the youngsters or infrastructure issues. Constant dialog must take place between industry leaders,
citizen forums and the civic authorities to over come issues.

13. Issues related to Environmental Sustainability
Water Issues Urbanisation
Garbage Disposal

14. Issues related to Environmental Sustainability
• Water issues: Bangalore is a land locked city, and heavily depends on the monsoons for
its supply of drinking water. The city gets water from three sources, the major source
among them is the Kaveri River, situated about 120 kms away from the city. Everyday
around 810 MLD (Million Litres per Day) of this water is channeled to Bangalore. This
journey of water alone costs nearly $10 billion . The other two sources for water are from a
man made Tank and Underground Water Resources. Around 120 MLD from the Tank and
50 MLD from underground water resource is used up by Bangalore everyday. According to
a study, the demand supply gap is met by groundwater exploitation. It is estimated that 40
per cent of the population of Bangalore is dependent on groundwater - a resource which is
fast depleting due to unregulated use of groundwater and the boom in real estate in the
city.

15. Issues related to Environmental Sustainability
• Air pollution and unscientific waste disposal: Bangalore generates about 3000 tons of solid waste
but only one third is collected and brought to composting units. The rest is dumped in open spaces, on
roadsides or even in stormwater drains. This practice naturally leads to flooding, generally during the
monsoon season. Besides, a fully functional sewage system is yet to be provided by the city
authorities.
It is estimated that there are more than 50 lakh (5 million) automobiles and two wheelers in the city,
making Bangalore the 4th highest city with vehicular density to area ratio in India. The amount of
suspended particle matter, nitrous oxide and other poisonous gasses emitted due to this is one of the
highest in the country.

16. Issues related to Environmental Sustainability
• Urbanisation: Bangalore was a self sustaining city in the 1950-60’s, especially when it came to issues
with water. The city once boasted of more than 900 lakes, but now that number has dwindled to
around 180. Many of the lakes in the city have 'disappeared' along with their water-spreads due to
rapid and unbridled urbanisation. A study, published by city-based Institute for Social and Economic
Change (ISEC), points out that reclamation of lakes for various developmental activities has resulted
in the loss of inter-connectivity in Bangalore district, leading to higher instances of floods even during
normal rainfall.
Many lakes were encroached for illegal buildings (54%). Field surveys (during July-August 2007) show
that nearly 66% of lakes were sewage fed, 14% surrounded by slums and 72% showed loss of
catchment area. Lake catchments were used as dumping yards for either municipal solid waste or
building debris.

17. Environmental Sustainability : Solutions to the issues
• Rain water harvesting should be made compulsory for all buildings in the city (this has recently been
implemented after multiple rounds of discussions with civic authorities) and monitoring/rationing the use of
groundwater in areas should be done. Illegal private water tankers that get water from areas that have a better
groundwater level for distribution around the city is a common sight - this should be monitored and be brought
under a civic body, instead of letting a few individuals decide on the fate of a precious natural resource.
• While carpooling could be an effective arrangement, there is a dire need for an effective mass transit system in
Bangalore. Unlike the other metropolitan cities in India, Bangalore is the only city that has such a high population
and no metro rail service. Introduction of a fully functional intra-city rail service would certainly reduce the
pollution and congestion levels in the city.
• Introduction of effective and modern methods of waste disposal such as energy recovery (generating heat and
electricity from non recyclable waste materials) and biological reprocessing (composting) would help resolve this
city’s garbage issue, while also providing clean energy for future use. Citizens should also be made aware of
waste management and segregation to help the authorities in speeding the process

18. Economic Sustainability
Improved Standard of Living Encouraging start ups

19. Economic Sustainability
• To be economically sustainable, a unit, or in this case a city should ensure that its population
is above the poverty threshold. The percentage of people living below the poverty threshold
in the state is 23.8% (this percentage is significantly lower when compared to the national
percentage), a 9% decrease in the past 5 years. At 19%, Bangalore’s percentage is even
lower and seems to be getting better. (a rate below 5% is seen as acceptable).
A solution to reducing the rate of unemployment and increasing the standard of living would
be to create more jobs. A tried and tested method in Bangalore would be by encouraging start-ups
and entrepreneurs. Bangalore provides the right environment for such opportunities as
showcased by a host of successful companies in various industries - the big guns being
Infosys, Wipro, Flipkart, Myntra and Biocon who are all home grown and industry leaders in
the India.

20. Conclusion
In conclusion, Sustainable Development for any country is tough, and infinitely so for a
country that is still developing as there would be a lot of trade off’s that it should be
willing to achieve. There are bound to be moral and ethical dilemma’s along with a lot of
tough stands that the governments and its people should be willing to take. In the long
run, given that we get enough help from the developed nations, I do believe that we
should be able to achieve Sustainable Development.

21. Thank You