Bengaluru is another Gurgaon: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw slams civic apathy in India's richest cities

Responding to Suhel Seth's critique of Gurugram's infrastructure, she highlights issues like waterlogging and unregulated construction in Bengaluru.

Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has drawn sharp parallels between India’s tech capital Bengaluru and Gurugram, calling out governments for failing to provide basic civic amenities in the country’s wealthiest cities.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

Responding to a fiery critique of Gurugram by columnist and businessman Suhel Seth, Mazumdar-Shaw said in a post on X , “This is the fate of every rich city. Bengaluru is another Gurugram. The state plunders and kills the golden goose with no responsibility to provide basic infrastructure and civic amenities. Building rules are flouted to make money, etc.”

Her post came in the wake of Seth’s remarks at a recent Indian Express event in Delhi, where he described Gurugram as “a shame on this country.” Slamming the state’s urban planning, Seth accused civic authorities of turning the city into an administrative disaster, despite its close proximity to the national capital.

“We create a Venice every year without government help, streets flooded, garbage piling up. It’s the egalitarian spirit of Gurugram,” Seth said with sarcasm. “There are more liquor vends than traffic signals, more bars than schools. You can’t have smart cities with unsmart leaders,” he said, directly targeting Haryana’s leadership and local officials.

Echoing his frustration, Shaw’s comment hit a nerve among many urban residents online. Social media users quickly chimed in, drawing attention to Bengaluru’s own failing infrastructure, ranging from waterlogging to traffic congestion and unregulated construction.

“Completely agree with you. The government had a chance to build a new Bengaluru with lakes, green cover and proper planning. Instead, it’s become a concrete jungle with transport and garbage woes,” one user posted.

Another wrote: “Urban planning is a dead department. There are no proper norms on housing density or open spaces. Bengaluru roads have turned into parking lots on both sides.”

A third user added bitterly: “We’ve been hearing about smart cities for 15-20 years. Forget smart, we don’t even have basic infrastructure in place.”

Shaw’s blunt assessment has reignited the conversation around the collapse of civic planning in India’s richest urban centers, cities that continue to fuel the national economy while suffering from chronic administrative neglect.