Have you seen how soon after a new financial year begins and departments are flush with funds, the PWD road repair personnel descend on your colony to fix the roads? Soon, the thud-thud of your car’s suspension is replaced with a smooth, noiseless glide. And just as you are beginning to bless the department, the familiar thud-thud begins again. Someone from another department, water, or perhaps electricity, has dug up the pristine road to lay a new cable or pipeline. It gets worse if the monsoon is on time and the rains fill up the craters, keeping us all guessing about the depth of the pond.
So, while the Rigveda story of the 5 blind men pertains to various perceptions of the same subject, it also aptly describes the lack of coordination between departments as they continue to work in silos. That is another way of saying unsustainable development.
Let’s see how this impacts SDG achievement. Take the case of SDG 3 which aims to deliver Good Health and Well-being. So, to deliver on this SDG, one would think that departments like Health and Women & Child Development would suffice, right? But no, the 13 targets under this goal also concern themselves with air pollution, vaccine formulation, safe drugs, substance abuse, and wait, safe traffic movement too! Thus, a meeting for SDG 3 planning or execution will be incomplete if PWD digs up the road and one of the many department personnel is stuck in a jam.
Evidently, the way forward for the blind men is a new approach where departments set and measure collective outcomes towards specific indicators. This will need closer and consistent coordination. In other words, a business-as-usual approach will not work.
However, given the amount of shuffling and juggling this will require, one can see that it will not be easy for governments to break this Chakravyuh. However, can businesses adapt themselves better to the SDGs? Can companies deliver better on ESGs? What will be their challenges? How can they best impact the SDGs?
I hope to share some more pointers on this in the 6th installment of The Sustainable Development Goal Chakravyuh. Hope to see you then.
– Terry Ahuja
