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Looking London, Talking Mumbai... With 12 government agencies — that’s right, 12 — trying to manage Mumbai’s makeover, it’s no wonder it’s taking forever. A truly empowered mayor, as in London or Johannesburg, is vital.

~How they did it... Vilasrao Deshmukh,Chief Minister, Maharashtra. It’s been four years since the Vision Mumbai project was inaugurated. The makeover seems to be faltering now due to delays, largely a result of bad governance and lack of coordination among agencies.~How they did it... Mayor Shubha Raul handing over the 'Clean-up' flag to the Clean-up Marshal outside the BMC.~London Mayor Ken Livingstone looks at progress of the Bandra-Worli Sea link project.~Who will bell the cat? There is no political will to change the system. For the state government, a directly elected mayor would mean handing over the reigns of the financial hub to a parallel power centre.~The tangles of red tape... The ambitious World Bank-aided Rs 4,500 crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project is only half done. The 2008 deadline has been pushed to December 2009 as many projects like the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road and the purchase of new rakes are pending. Projects like station improvements have not even started.~The tangles of red tape... The second phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project hopes to reduce congestion on nine-car trains from 3,000 to 2,500 per train and improve suburban rail travel. The Railways and the state government are squabbling over the state’s contribution to the project, which is currently Rs 650 crore. The Railways is also not keen to borrow money from agencies like the World Bank as suggested by the state. Announced in February, it still hasn’t taken off.
~The tangles of red tape... The quick-win Marine Drive beautification project is stuck between residents’ groups, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the municipal corporation.~The tangles of red tape... The Rs 1,400-crore Mithi River Development Project also saw a revised deadline from 2008 to 2010. The new deadline seems unrealistic since work now is at a standstill. The civic body is waiting for MMRDA to resettle the encroachments along the river banks. The MMRDA is waiting for the Collector’s office to identify the ‘legal’ project-affected persons. The Centre also has refused to give it funds under the urban renewal mission because “it is a river” and not a drain.~