Monumental lapses in city’s traffic planning

Maxwell Pereira moved to Gurgaon in 2005, a year after retiring as joint police commissioner in Delhi. He hasn’t lost his passion for the force he once served with such dedication, and continues to tell it as it is, but laments the passing of old-fashioned humanity.
How far back does your Gurgaon connection go?
Right back to the early 70s, when I joined Delhi Police as a probationer attached for my field training to Delhi’s south district, which borders Haryana’s Gurgaon district.More accurately, to the time when I became the boss of south district as DCP. In those days, Gurgaon had not developed, with only a single-lane (and very secluded) jungle road, on which there was scarcely any traffic, connecting Gurgaon Sadar to Qutub Minar in Mehrauli.
Why is Gurgaon permanently plagued by traffic chaos, and what are the solutions that can help rid the city of this almost daily menace?
Most of current-day Gurgaon has been developed by private real-estate corporates, who have paid scant attention to integrated urban planning. And as the state’s coordinating agency, Huda has failed to plan proper integration of roads, having utterly failed in their assessment of future traffic flows. The monumental lapses in traffic-flow planning centre along and round NH-8, which cuts through Gurgaon district. The basic flaw emanates from the fact that we do not plan for the future but concentrate on the present, while statistics collected during planning remain outdated by the time projects are implemented.
Troubled intersections on the NH-8 need cloverleaf accesses and exits, and underpasses and pedestrian facilities, on a scale which no government can afford. And Gurgaon’s supposedly know-all traffic managers need to be subjected to intensive training in traffic management, one of the cardinal tenets of which is to innovate and find solutions for convenient traffic circulation on the existing road infrastructure, and not by lengthy circulatory diversions that involve the use of more fuel than necessary.
Gurgaon gets a lot of bad rap. Any one thing about the city you’d stick up for?
I shifted here for fresh air and convenience, something that every retiree dreams of. The authorities have failed on both counts. The apathy and callous attitude of local government have made Gurgaon a living hell for pensioners and the common people. It is unimaginable that fruits and vegetables cost more in Gurgaon compared to Delhi, that basic civic amenities like electricity and water should prove to be a problem, etc. Even the cost of medical services here has skyrocketed. The only good thing is that there still are people in one’s neighbourhood who jump to assist and help.
What do you believe is the biggest challenge confronting policing in India?
Lack of integrity and spineless leadership, not only today but through the decades when I served in the force. Each leader is so afraid of losing his seat they are prepared to compromise on the interests of a fearless and unbiased police department. Manpower is important but flabby manpower without initiative or involvement is only a drain on the system. Political and administrative controls perpetuated since Independence have destroyed initiative for correct and proper policing. And rulers at the centre and the states have defied police reforms ordered by the Supreme Court.
What keeps you happy in retirement?
I find happiness today in the Lord’s blessings and small mercies, in the love and affection of my children and grandchildren, and in my travels and recording of experiences, especially of chronicling family lore for posterity.
What does Gurgaon mean to you?
Gurgaon has been home to me for 11 years now – even if it is so between my considerable travels! It is a city my biographers may call my home town since perhaps in terms of individual period of stay, it surpasses all other cities of my childhood and adult life, with the exception of Delhi.