'While we fix a footpath, China will build a hospital': Delhi’s civic mess draws fire from financial advisor

In a stinging open letter that’s now making the rounds on social media, financial advisor and author Manoj Arora called out Delhi’s civic apathy by comparing a broken two-metre footpath to China’s record-setting infrastructure blitz.

“At the time that we hopefully repair this footpath, China would have built a 1,000-bed hospital + a ten-storey building + a bridge + a 300 km fully operational railway line,” Arora posted on X, tagging officials from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Prime Minister’s Office, and opposition leaders.

The grievance? A broken sidewalk outside Plot 14, Sector 7, Dwarka, that was supposed to take a week to repair. Four months in, the work lies abandoned, with no activity for over a month and no response from the authorities.

“Before we compete with China, we seriously need to learn the hi-tech skill of ‘repairing footpaths,’” he wrote in his letter titled A suffering taxpayer's letter. Arora says he initially hesitated to speak up — but felt compelled to go public after watching the system stay silent.

“There was a 2-meter broken part of the footpath (yes, that’s true — in fact, less) which the authorities decided to repair. Privately done, it’s a day’s job. By Indian standards, one week. But the contractor has shelved the work.”

The sarcasm is layered with exhaustion. “Please don’t tell me we can’t build a footpath because, unlike China, we have democracy.”

China’s Made in China 2025 plan has already turned the country into a manufacturing juggernaut, accounting for 35% of global output. It has invested over $1.7 trillion in infrastructure and future tech since 2015, rapidly advancing in semiconductors, rail, AI, and bio-medical industries.

In contrast, India’s PLI schemes and National Manufacturing Mission are still in their ramp-up phase. While promising, they aim to lift India’s manufacturing GVA from 14% to 21% by 2032, still far from China’s scale or speed.

“Tagging whoever I can and hoping someone listens,” he signed off.