[muralisk]

Originally Posted by sujaylahiri

The only other option is to start a war and as a result kickstart a war economy along with it, something which the Americans have successfully done in the last 100 years or so.

It's no longer a viable and feasible option. Probably, it was in the past. Looks what's happening to the US now, they are running two wars and still their economy is down in pits.

It is a fact that very few in India actually pay taxes, but this can improve if there is a strong will from all political parties and the governments in power - both at state and center.

While India has very recently joined the trillion dollar club, but the unaccounted business in India is at least 10 - 15 times bigger and that's where, government losses majority of their tax income. Hence, they try to suck more from the working class, who have no other option as the tax is deducted at source.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

1. Will I pay road toll? Probably yes.

2. Even if my vehicle pays road tax? Probably yes.

3. Even if there is an "infrastructure levy" on fuel? Probably yes.

4. Even if the government is obliged to provide free roads because this is a free country*? Probably yes.

5. And you do not mind your income tax payment doing down the drain? Probably no.

8. Make up your mind. Why are your responses qualified with a "probably"? Will the tolled roads free of curves and bends introduced because somebody wanted to avoid his land being acquired? Will the roads reallly by pass the small villages^? And will they please prevent vehicles coming down the wrong lane to avoid driving a couple of KM and take a u turn?


(*) That is what they taught me in college, in political science classes. The government has certain basic, non-delegatable duties, like providing what we now call infrastructure.

(^) People breg, bribe or sue (mostly successfully) to avoid their lands being acquired. Look at the fate of NH17 parur - Edappally sector. Or the proposal for Angamaly by pass, which was dropped due to pressure from the trader community there - byepassing the town meant vehicles would not stop there, leading to less sales for them. Make goods roads the priority, rather than saving somebody's lands. Then I will happy to pay taxes and tolls.

[nickatnite]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Can they do something about the morons coming down the wrong side on 4 lane, 6 lane highways?

Built world class infrastructure and then a bullock cart/tractor comes up the wrong side. Whats the use?

My sentiments too!. I remember the incredulous look on the face of a minivan driver , when i asked him why he had the hi-beam on(he was trailing me )when he pulled up alongside at the next traffic light. He had no clue that it was against the rules!. . Kamal Nath is daydreaming if he thinks he can overcome the Indian "road mafia".

[mithun]

Buy the new Infrastructure Mutual funds launched by fund houses & help in Infrastructure development although I cannot guarantee the ROI !

[LandCruiser]

In sweden the taxes are quite huge (from 30% to 58%). But the roads are excellent. But one must think that for a country of just 9 million people and one culture/language this achievement is lot easier.

For our country it is a big ask. With some many people who dont understand the larger benefits in comparison with their smaller short term benefits. Govt must fight all the odds and come up with good infrastructure. The long term strategy is more important and we can learn from what other countries have done to provide quality infrastructure and safety. We should support the govt in its efforts and govt must be more transparent and govern these projects effectively to get good results for the tax payers and other citizens.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

(^) People breg, bribe or sue (mostly successfully) to avoid their lands being acquired. Look at the fate of NH17 parur - Edappally sector. Or the proposal for Angamaly by pass, which was dropped due to pressure from the trader community there - byepassing the town meant vehicles would not stop there, leading to less sales for them. Make goods roads the priority, rather than saving somebody's lands. Then I will happy to pay taxes and tolls.

@BackseatDriver :
Its not all about saving somebody's land. When it comes upon us, we realize why people dont give up their lands. The price of land will appreciate day by day. But government will give the current rate only. This is IMHO unfair. If I put my foot in the shoe of a human who's land is going to be a part of highway, I am sure I will not sell my land. I will give it on lease, but not sell.
If I am selling, the cost will have to be decided by me. I had similar with dad a few days ago. Dad told me you will quote the price so high that its unfair. If the person who's land is being bought is allowed to quote the price, the price will be high because he does not want to sell. Its Anarchy. I told my dad, then what the government is doing is Dictatorship. I gave example that what if somebody wants our large house for Rs. 1 lakh. He did not reply.

My point is that we are still democracy and government has no right to decide a land's cost and " buy " that land for road building only to make it a toll road.
All these things are a joke for sure.

Originally Posted by LandCruiser

For our country it is a big ask. With some many people who dont understand the larger benefits in comparison with their smaller short term benefits. Govt must fight all the odds and come up with good infrastructure. The long term strategy is more important and we can learn from what other countries have done to provide quality infrastructure and safety. We should support the govt in its efforts and govt must be more transparent and govern these projects effectively to get good results for the tax payers and other citizens.

But a big country, if not poor, has a lot of resources too. We have relatively cheap labor but are we making good use of it ? Long term strategy ? IIRC India was free in 1947, around 60 years ago. Show me one problem that we are able to solve ( this could be even social ). Show me one good thing in India that is not misused.

Its down to mentality of common man. If common man' s mentality is not good, then the government will be bad. And the mentality of common typical Indian is very much apparent from their behavior on the road. TBHP section " Street Experiences " has ample examples of this.


1) What we are not having is one department called " Planning ". We are very very random as a nation. We dont know what is planning. In Surat, MC ( Municipal Corporation ) is mad behind cutting legal structures only to widen the roads for development. What is this ? Was all this not planned ? Even IMHO the recently opened Sea Link in Mumbai is going to face traffic issues within an year or two. Why ?

2) If the cost of things increases and government finds itself in a crunch, they will increase tax, but not look at any single method to reduce its own expenditure. Tax is being collected for our ( tax payers ) benefit. Now there are leakages in the tax being implemented for benefit of tax payers. If we manage to reduce that leakage by even 40% ( passing marks for most universities IIRC ), the tax on us will come down. Why nobody is looking into this ?

3) We need to go to the root cause and start acting on the core/root cause of the problem. These funds, etc. are just short term plans. If we need a strong and efficient future, we must start with a strong base and this can only be created by acting on the root cause of problem, which in our case is our mentality.

4) India must learn to accept truth. If the government has to raise such funds, that means either we are very poor third world country ( means renault was correct in attitude with us ) or we have some very very big and dangerous problem in our system.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Goswamiji, if a person feels that hie is getting a raw deal in land acquisiton, he can approach the court. And what is paid in land acquisition is not just the land value - you get approx 33% extra.

And people who lose residences will get compensatory land too, IIRC. That is what is happening in NH 17 acquisiton, afaiK. But compensatory land for residence is not mandated by law.

And my peeve is not about compensation. It is about people asking courts to reduce width of roads (happened in Kunnamkulam), or change alignments to suit their personal benefits (Ankamaly NH47).

[ad3952n]

Hi all, We all keep traveling on roads in our respective cities day in and day out. In the last decade our cities have seen immense infrastructural growth which is good but while all this is happening we as regular commuters face a lot of hardships while reaching our respective destination.

To avoid the massive traffic jams that take place due to the on-going constructions be it Metro, or connecting fly-overs in construction we all have to leave our homes early to reach on time but seldom it happens that we are able to reach on time.

During the rains or in winter season these constructions pose a major hazard for the drivers and often lead to major mishaps on the roads. Not only this, over here in Delhi the traffic is very ill-managed at several major intersections and roads due to the on-going constructions.

Today, As I was coming back from Delhi Airport I took the route of South Extension to Noida. This stretch is one pathetic route for the commuters all day long. The reason is the in-progress metro link construction.

There are several other stretches in Delhi which consume a lot of time of the driver because of this and further reduces the pleasure of driving and results in stress and fatigue.

I came across many such situations and was planning to pen down this issue over here. The roads are in pathetic condition due to the construction and the summer weather further adds to the irritation levels of the fellow motorists.

Helpless motorists just keep waiting for hours together in traffic jams and can't do anything except switching off their car's engine. I am listing below some of the major roads that are in a terrible mess due to this construction in New Delhi.

1) Mayur Vihar Phase 1: metro construction.

2) Modi Flour Mill flyover to Jamia Nagar: metro construction.

3) Ashram-New Friends Colony-Mathura Road: metro construction.

4) South Extension Part 1 and 2: metro construction.

5) RK Puram crossing: metro construction.

The above listed roads are the worst nightmare for the drivers who travel on them. Be it morning or afternoon or evening these roads remain blocked and the commuters have to make their way out some or the other way.

Here are a few pics to validate my point. The pics are of South Extension, New Delhi.

The Traffic condition at 11:30am today.









The condition of the road due to the construction has turned from bad to worse.



Not just in Delhi, I am sure most of you would have come across such pathetic traffic conditions in your cities too. Please share your experiences here.

Thanks

AD

[ad3952n]

Some more pictures to show how the on-going construction on roads leads to reduction in driving pleasure. Here are the pics of Ashram-Friends Colony-Mathura Road stretch.

The Friends Colony-Ashram Location





The traffic started to accumulate at 04:30pm today.







The driving under the Ashram bridge is even worse. See the pics.





Now, This is another deterrent in a pleasant driving experience. Shankar Road which is close to Rajendra Place is dug up at many places with mud lying and occupying 1 whole driving lane. The road itself is too narrow in width and is a slop so it is very difficult to control the car/ 2 wheeler and this mess leads to hits on vehicles.



Thanks

AD