Articles by Aruna Natarajan

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) budget for 2024-2025 was tabled before the council last week. The civic body’s focus in the budget this year is on enhancing physical infrastructure across schools, improving the soft skills of students, upgradation of facilities in health centres across the city and tackling issues with stray dogs and cattle.  The Ward Development Fund for each councillor has also been hiked from Rs 40 lakh per year to Rs 45 lakh. The discretionary fund can be spent by the councillors to fulfil the needs of their ward.  One of the highlights of this year's budget is…

Chennaiites have had a spate of complaints about the state of the city in recent months. From the menace of stray cattle to poor roads, all avenues such as social media and the civic body’s official app are being used by residents to raise their grievances. However, they continue to be deprived of constitutionally mandated platforms in the form of Area Sabhas and Ward Committees to put forth their complaints. With most of the residents not having the chance to attend Area Sabhas and Ward Committee meetings, citizen participation in urban governance has a long way to go in Chennai.…

Residents of Chennai face myriad issues on a daily basis right from bad roads, poor quality of water, power cuts, safety and connectivity. Fixing these issues requires a concerted effort on the part of residents, officials and elected representatives.  Residents have found ways to escalate problems in their vicinity and the larger city through collectives such as civic engagement groups, residents’ welfare associations and civil society organisations. A civic engagement roundtable organised by Citizen Matters brought together members of these groups who have been actively working for the betterment of the city. The discussion centred on understanding the key challenges…

Citizen Matters Chennai organised a Citizen Clinic on Fixing Civic Issues in Chennai with a panel of civic activists providing guidance and sharing their experience in engaging with civic authorities. The panel considered questions on issues such as waste management, water supply, parking and drainage and offered suggestions on the steps to be taken to solve these issues. The panel comprised Raghukumar Choodamani, a resident of Perambur and the Founder of Community Welfare Brigade, a civic engagement forum; Sridhar Venkataraman, a resident of Mylapore and a social activist and Vasanthi Kannan, a civic activist and Secretary of the Kodambakkam Residents…

One of the recurring themes in the life of a journalist is looking at a story done by another publication and kicking yourself for not having thought of the idea yourself. So, to sign off for the year, I’d like to highlight the stories that our reporters did on Chennai in 2022 that I hope made someone else think, “I wish I’d written that!” These stories also happen to be the ones that illustrate what we do best - platforming voices drowned out by the daily discourse, unpacking urban policy and highlighting actions that bring about collective change. Life in the…

Chennai’s high ranking in the annual National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on road accidents has been a cause for concern in recent years. The city has seen over 5000 road accidents in 2021. It stands second behind Delhi in terms of road accident fatalities.  What makes Chennai’s roads so unsafe? Is it poor road design? Lack of adherence to traffic rules? Is poor enforcement also a factor in the increasing number of road accidents? Citizen Matters organised a tweet chat with experts who weighed in on why Chennai’s roads have turned into a death trap and what can be…

“We don’t want to do this but it's not like we have a choice”, said Kannika* on having to use the playground near her home to relieve herself due to the lack of proper sanitation facilities in the vicinity in Doomingkuppam.  This is the reality for many who reside in the area despite having lived in the city for decades. The many rows of huts that dot the area opposite the scenic beach do not have proper toilets, forcing residents to defecate in the open. Doomingkuppam residents await toilets Doomingkuppam is home to many from the fishing community, with their…

With catastrophic rains and severe drought having become a recurrent feature in the recent history of the city, it is time to take climate change and its effects seriously. Chennai needs a comprehensive climate action plan for a holistic approach to preparedness and mitigation. Cities like Mumbai taking the lead show the need for climate action now. While a state-level action plan has been prepared, what actions specific to Chennai could help combat the effects of climate change? Citizen Matters hosted a tweet chat with experts to understand what a climate action plan for Chennai could look like and what must…

Mayor R Priya presented the budget for the Greater Chennai Corporation on April 9th. The budget has placed heavy emphasis on upgrades to and creation of new infrastructure, with focus on stormwater drains. The budget also looks to improve the state of schools run by the civic body and improve the quality of education and activities on offer through various new schemes.  The civic body’s expected revenue is Rs 2824 crore while the expected expenditure is Rs 3613 crore. Bulk of the revenue is to come from Rs 800 crore to be collected as property tax.  What is in store…

Translated by Sandhya Raju முதல் முதலாக பாலின நிகர் மேம்பாடு மற்றும் அதற்கான கொள்கை ஆய்வு மையம் சென்னையில் ஏப்ரல் ஒன்றாம் தேதி திறக்கப்பட்டது. மாநகராட்சி, போக்குவரத்து மற்றும் அரசின் பிற அமைப்புகளுடன் இணைந்து பணியாற்றி, பாதுகாப்பான, ஒருங்கிணைந்த நகரமாக சென்னையை மாற்ற இந்த மையம் வழிவகுக்கும். சென்னை மாநகராட்சி மேயர் ஆர். பிரியா, மா நகராட்சி ஆணையர், ககந்தீப் சிங் பேடி, காவல் துறை ஆணையர் சங்கர் ஜிவால், உலக வங்கி பிரதிநிதிகள், மாநகராட்சி மற்றும் போக்குவரத்து கழகங்களின் பல்வேறு துறை அதிகாரிகள், உறுப்பினர்கள் பல்வேறு இலாப நோக்கற்ற மற்றும் சிவில் சமூக அமைப்புகள் கலந்து கொண்டனர். சென்னை நகர கூட்டுத் திட்டம் மற்றும் நிர்பயா திட்டத்தின் ஒரு பகுதியாக பாலின நிகர் மேம்பாடு மற்றும் கொள்கை ஆய்வகம் உருவாக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. ரிப்பன் கட்டிடத்தில் இந்த ஆய்வு மையம் செயல்படும். பாலின கொள்கை மையத்தின் நோக்கம் பாலின நிகர் மேம்பாடு…