How to build, how to grow

Public construction, especially of nationally important projects, does not suffer from constraints of land or money. But what do we see happening? Highways and new roads cave in; sewer lines burst, flooding the roads

- P Chidambaram

WATCHING THE CRICKET matches between India and England, I was struck by the tag line of an advertisement by a leading cement company. It read, "As India Builds, India Grows". Absolutely correct. We must build and we must know how to build-public goods such as roads, bridges, railways,airports, buildings for schools, colleges, hospitals and offices, etc. for growth.

Nehru, the great builder

Jawaharlal Nehru was a great builder. The criticism of Nehru-haters is not worth a tuppence. In 1947, the population was 340 million, and growing, and the literacy rate just 12 per cent. Under Nehru's 17year stewardship, he built schools and colleges. He was the main driver of important institutions and projects like IITS, IIMS, steel plants, IOC, ONGC, NLC, HAL, BHEL, ISRO, Bhakra Nangal, Hirakud, Damodar Valley and countless others. The time was the nascent years post-Independence and the context was a country sparse on education, technology and skills. What Nehru built survives to this day because although India was short on many things it was abundant in people with integrity, native intelligence and dedication.

In the second century CE, Karikaalan, the Chola king, built the Kallanai (the Grand Anicut) on the river Kaveri. It is one of the oldest irrigation dams in the world, is built from unhewn interlocking stones without any binding material like mortar, and is in use today for irrigation and flood control. The Taj Mahal was completed in 1653. The building materials were red sandstone, marble, brick-in-lime mortar, and well foundations to ensure stability.