Environment | Citizen Matters

Hope anew for Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill as PMO steps in

August 8, 2019 Sri Krishna

Following national and international outcry over East Delhi’s towering Ghazipur dump, the Prime Minister’s Office has issued a Global Request for Proposal (RFP) inviting solutions from experts to the problems posed by the landfill.

Do we really need an airport in Noida at the cost of 63 wetlands?

August 7, 2019 Kanchan Srivastava

Over 63 wetlands and habitats of Sarus cranes, peacocks and blackbucks will be affected by the construction of the Noida International Greenfield Airport, just 70 km away from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Meet the guardian angel of Mumbai’s defence against climate change

July 30, 2019 Kartik Chandramouli/Mongabay

Seema Adgaonkar, one of the four Range Forest Officers at the Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit until recently, has been guarding the city’s vital mangroves that act as a natural barrier against sea level rise and coastal flooding.

A wetland on just 1% of Bandra Kurla Complex could lessen Mumbai’s flooding problems!

July 29, 2019 Apekshita Varshney

A wetland of that size with two retention basins has managed to mitigate urban flooding to a large extent in an Australian suburb. And such wetlands can be created even in a congested city, as Japanese examples have shown. These and other innovative solutions from the east merit serious consideration in flood-prone Mumbai.

Why Mumbai needs parks more than parking lots for its 32 lakh cars

July 23, 2019 Sonal Alvares

Open space available to the average Mumbaikar is 1.28 sq m as against international standards of 11 sq m. And to make matters worse, a large chunk of public space is taken up by cars and spaces meant for cars.

35 years on, govt looks away as Bhopal neighbourhood continues to drink chemical-laden water

July 20, 2019 Shuriah Niazi

Two generations have seen the light of day since the disastrous gas leak at Bhopal’s Union Carbide factory. Yet, children are still born with congenital defects and people battle chronic illness, as thousands of tons of chemical waste lie in the open, contaminating air and water. Is the state even bothered?

How one of Delhi’s tallest structures is contributing to climate change

July 17, 2019 Sri Krishna

Intense summers are not uncommon in Delhi, but when temperatures soared to 48 degrees this June, it was a record even by city standards. Could emissions from the East Delhi Ghazipur landfill have had a role to play?

Why Mumbaikars are getting angrier about tree felling

July 16, 2019 Hepzi Anthony

Around 500 people from different walks gathered at a public hearing on July 8th to raise their voices against the proposed felling of 2702 trees in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony. This is just the most recent example of growing citizen engagement and efforts to save the green cover of the city.

Traffic jam at 13000 feet: What summer tourism means for hill towns in Himachal!

July 10, 2019 Ashwani Sharma

Summer heat in the northern plains sees tourists flocking in huge numbers to Shimla, Kullu-Manali and the scenic Rohtang Pass. But just look at what it does to the ecology and the regular lives of citizens here.

What’s making the water in Shillong oily and undrinkable?

July 9, 2019 Linda Chhakchhuak

Authorities say it is because of the high usage of chemicals needed to treat the turbid waters in the once pure rivers and springs of the region. But what is polluting the water in the first place?

A must-have checklist for apartment buyers as cities run dry

July 5, 2019 Vishwanath Srikantaiah

Multi-storied apartments dot the skyline in all our cities, defining the aspiration of many urban citizens. But don’t forget the terrible water crisis we face today; if you are planning to invest in a flat, make sure the apartment has smart water management in place.

Bhopal left with water for two weeks, thanks to neglect of iconic Upper Lake

July 3, 2019 Anup Dutta

Crores have been marked for wetland preservation and urban water supply; yet, shrinking lakes, ineffective sewage management and diminishing green cover have brought Bhopal to a situation where its natural water reserves may dry up within a matter of weeks.

Resilience, diversity in focus as Bhubaneswar tries to restore trees lost to Fani

July 3, 2019 Basudev Mahapatra

Government, civil society and corporate bodies have joined hands to regreen cyclone-ravaged Bhubaneswar, but what is needed is not just replantation but also proper urban forest planning.

Why Bengaluru must phase out diesel vehicles on war footing

June 25, 2019 Vimal Simha

One diesel SUV accounts for the emissions of about 25-65 petrol cars! And yet cities, where vehicle emissions are the biggest cause of particulate matter pollution, have not been able to shun them. Can we take the steps needed to mitigate the diesel threat or will citizens and environment continue to pay a heavy price?

As Chennai, Bengaluru grapple with water shortage, time to consider a compact with Cauvery

June 25, 2019 Vishwanath Srikantaiah

Cities can no longer rely on romanticized local water resources, but must place themselves in a river basin and take responsibility for the ecological health of the river as a whole. Take the case of the Cauvery in the context of the water starved southern metros.

2020 is around the corner, can we stop Delhi from running dry?

June 24, 2019 Akshita Nagpal

If a 2018 Niti Aayog report is to be believed, the capital is among 21 Indian cities that look poised to run out of groundwater by next year. Here’s what has brought Delhi to this ominous brink, and what needs to be done to avert Doomsday.

Kolkata’s ignored groundwater crisis could lead to much more than just water shortage

June 18, 2019 Gurvinder Singh

Increasing contamination due to deepening of the water table, serious health hazards and even instability in built structures in the city — indiscriminate extraction of groundwater could spell more doom for the city than it seems to be aware of.

Bhopal all set to become ‘smart’, even if hot and barren!

June 11, 2019 Shuriah Niazi

Countless trees have already gone under the axe and several thousands are at risk in Bhopal’s Tatiya Tope Nagar, where a government housing project under the Smart Cities Mission is in progress. Environmentalists fume at the toll that such projects are taking.

Rs 550 crore spent on clean up, yet Ludhiana’s polluted Buddha Nulla only grows more toxic

June 8, 2019 Raj Machhan

Buddha Nulla, formerly Buddha Dariya, symbolises Ludhiana’s decay; its water grows more polluted and contaminated with carcinogens as governments fail to curb dumping and spend crores in sporadic cleaning efforts.

Waste mounds in open landfills grow higher as Kolkata brazenly ignores SWM rules

June 6, 2019 Gurvinder Singh

In Kolkata’s Dhapa and other neighbouring municipalities, open landfills lie filled to the brim with unsegregated waste. Biomedical waste disposal too does not uniformly conform to the rules formulated. A lax administration merely looks on and introduces token measures in select pockets.