Cooperation? What does that mean?

CHENNAI: Much has been said about corruption in recent times. It has been identified as the biggest thing holding India back. However, little attention has been paid to the longer standing problem of co-operation between the various governmental agencies and departments. A double-edged sword when combined with lackadaisical planning practices, this interaction is among the reasons for the prolonged sorry state of the Velachery-Tharamani Road.The construction and maintenance of arterial roads was taken away from the Chennai Corporation a few years back and brought under the Highways Department. The Velachery-Tharamani Road was on that list. Around two years ago, the Highways Department started work on widening the road. Work was well underway when Chennai’s civic bosses decided to connect a lake near Velachery to the Buckingham Canal to prevent flooding during the monsoon season. So, the Highways Department had to disrupt their work on the widening and wait for the other agencies to finish their project.The ‘co-operation’ between the various departments was on show on Monday morning, when this reporter witnessed an interaction between officials of the Highways Department and the Electricity Board at the construction site.TNEB officials and their contractor kept pointing to a dug-up area, telling the Highways Department official that their cables were in the way. The Highways official told them in no uncertain terms that his own work was delayed because the PWD had slowed its construction waiting for a solution from the TNEB.“If we dig even two more feet, we will hit our cables. But then, if we dig the other way, the Metro Water chaps will not keep quiet,” said a person in a TNEB huddle, as others nodded. “If they lay a road on top of it we will not be able to touch those cables again,” observed another, to vigorous nodding. They then wound up their discussion, telling the Highways official they would find a solution.Ironically, the exchange took place at the site of a PWD project, with no PWD official around.“We were supposed to finish our work by the end of this year. But truth be told, it is impossible. We can go no further till the canal is complete. With rains round the corner, it would be conservative to say it could take at least a year,” said a highly placed source in the Highways Department.