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Amdavadis lack civic sense, says Lata Patel

Born in Gujarat, brought up in Uganda, settled in UK, Lata Patel became the first Asian woman to become mayor of the London borough of Brent.

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Born in Gujarat, brought up in Uganda, settled in UK, Lata Patel became the first Asian woman to become mayor of the London borough of Brent.

Patel, who played an important role in the development of Brent as mayor, was recently in the city. After having witnessed the development of cities such as London, New York, Dubai and Beijing, she believes that even Ahmedabad is growing and in the next 10 years, the face of the city is expected to change.

In an interview with DNA, Patel said that even after more than 60 years of independence, Amdavadis still lack civic sense. Also the mayor, who is the first citizen of the city, does not have sufficient powers (in India) to plan and execute the development of the city. Excerpts from the chat:

As mayor of  the London borough of Brent...
On May 15, 1996, I was elected mayor of the London borough of Brent. I became the first Asian and youngest woman to become mayor in the country. My area had problems like breakdown in families, increase in crime and aggravation of social problems such as drug and alcohol abuse. These problems were tackled through improved education, training, employment opportunities and greater support for those in need.

Ahmedabad lacks...
I visit Ahmedabad almost every year, but this year, I was amazed to see the city. The developments, the flyovers, the ring roads, shopping malls and many more. From basic needs of roti, kapda, and makaan to electricity, water and roads to televisions, mobile phones and technologies, Ahmedabad has everything. In the next ten years, I am expecting the city to grow and become like one of the cities of the developed countries in West. But still, people of Ahmedabad have no civic sense. People still spit on roads and buildings, no traffic sense, do not follow lane system and most importantly, people of Ahmedabad are not hygienic.

Your suggestions...
In a city's development, both the government and people of the city are equally responsible. If corporation installs dustbins in every corner of every street, spitting could be controlled. People of city should be educated on maintaining the city like their home. If government wants, they can become strict and follow the law and order, every thing can be controlled.

On mayors in Indian cities...
No, he alone cannot do. In India, a mayor does not have sufficient powers. In case of UK, when I was mayor, I had powers that  chief ministers of states in India have today.

In case of Ahmedabad, the mayor has to listen to his party, then assembly, then chief minister and it goes on. A mayor in India has limited powers and so he cannot make the city grow faster.
Steps that state government, municipal corporations need to take...

Attractions is what we need. England has approximately 40 million tourists per year, France 70 million per year however; India only has five million tourists per year. Less than 10% of that comes to Gujarat and the majority of them are NRGs. There is hardly any non-NRG tourist visiting Gujarat.

Riverside is just a small step towards attracting tourist, we still have a long way to go. Not only do we need to attract non-Indians but also second generation NRGs. Today second and third generation NRGs are well educated and ambitious. However, they need to be encouraged and informed about the benefits of visiting and investing in Gujarat. Hence, state and city must focus on tourism.

On Gujarat as the best investment destination...
I have vaguely heard about the single window clear system, but critically speaking, it still does not exist. At Vibrant Gujarat 2011, $450 billion worth of MoUs were signed but in reality, 95% of the agreements were signed by 50 organisations. If foreign investors start putting money in Gujarat, like what they are doing in China, then we can believe that Gujarat can become the right investment destination. I am sure that in Vibrant Gujarat 2013, there will be more foreign countries and NRGs investing in state.

On what can Gujaratis across the country and world do for the state...
There are 60 million Gujaratis in Gujarat and five million outside India. Gujarat has approximately $105 billion GDP and those five million NRGs have got more than three times of that amount.

Average NRGs are 50 times better off than an average Gujarati in Gujarat. Still there is a missing link between Gujaratis within Gujarat and NRGs. I have vaguely heard about the single window clear system, but critically speaking, it does not exist. If NRGs gets single window clear system for business, than Gujarat can grow and can be compared with developed countries of West.

On women entrepreneurs...
With getting quota even in parliament, it seems, people have started respecting women also. Simultaneously, now I can also see rise in working women in offices in Gujarat.

That's a good and positive sign. In case of entrepreneurship, it runs in the blood of Gujaratis, including that of women. For good business, one needs vision, with 90% hard work and 10% luck.

With the combination of these three, any Gujarati women can become the biggest businesswoman of the world.

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