Context:

• The article highlights the deeper socio-psychological and governance failures that underlie urban crises in Indian cities like Gurugram.
• Repeated flooding and poor civic infrastructure in cities like Gurugram reveal not just technical gaps but a deep-rooted neglect of public welfare and inclusive urban planning.
• The article moves beyond blaming privatisation to examine the persistence of caste-based rural mindsets, even in elite urban spaces.

The Visible Crisis - Flooded Dreams of an “International City”:

• Recurring urban flooding: Gurugram, known as the “Millennium City” and host to Fortune 500 companies, faces annual urban flooding, power outages, and infrastructural failure during the monsoons.
• Contradiction in urban aspirations: Despite high real estate prices and expectations of global standards, basic civic amenities fail to keep pace.

Root Cause - Not Infrastructure, but Mental Attitudes:

• Persistence of ruralism in urban spaces: Gurugram’s planning reflects the continuation of village-level caste-centric attitudes where public good is secondary to private benefit.
• Lack of publicness: There's a deep absence of the concept of shared public spaces or responsibilities, leading to rampant individualism, encroachments, and misuse of resources.

Historical Continuity of Privatisation and Exclusion:

• DLF and origins of private urbanism: The first “licence” for private development was issued to the Delhi Land and Finance (DLF) corporation in 1981, under the Haryana Development & Regulation of Urban Areas Act of 1975 in the village of Chakkarpur in Gurgaon district.
• Village attitudes, urban forms: The transition from rural to urban did not change social dynamics; instead, modernity was layered over regressive structures, masking the exclusionary basis of public life.

Planning without Public Welfare:

• Land rationalisation and appropriation: Tools like chakbandi and kilabandi are often misused to consolidate land for private gain, including illegal appropriation of panchayat land.
• Digital technology as a facilitator of misuse: GIS-based mapping and digitisation, meant for transparency, are subverted with the help of officials to benefit private interests.

The Myth of “Smart” Cities:

• Technological fixes vs. civic values: CCTV cameras and command centres cannot replace the missing value of publicness in urban planning.
• False modernity: Gated communities and luxury enclaves thrive at the cost of civic life beyond their walls. These are urban manifestations of rural exclusivity.

Way Forward - Rebuilding the Idea of the Public:

• Public consciousness as the foundation: True urban development demands a mental shift towards collective responsibility, not just new roads or tech solutions.
• Urban citizenship over rural attitudes: The mindset must evolve from “looking after your own” to civic participation and accountability in shared urban life.