Articles by Bhanu Sridharan

As the 2023 Karnataka Assembly Elections approach, thousands of booth level officers (BLOs), across the state, are going door to door, draft list in hand, to check the accuracy of electoral rolls. BLOs are government, semi-government or retired government employees, who check that electoral rolls are accurate and up to date at the level of a polling booth (also called part). This is the third and final part of a series looking deeper into the implications of the Bengaluru voter data theft controversy. Part I: Illegal voter data collection: Does it really matter?Part II: Illegal voter data collection: How can…

In a previous article, we looked at how personal data illegally collected by the NGO Chilume can impact the privacy and safety of voters as well as affect the integrity of our elections. The News Minute (TNM) and Pratidhvani reported that workers and external vendors, hired by Chilume, posed as booth level officials (BLOs), complete with identity cards signed by BBMP election officials, to illegally collect voter data. This is the second part of a series looking deeper into the implications of the Bengaluru voter data theft controversy. Part I: Illegal voter data collection: Does it really matter? Part II:…

The  voter data scam, uncovered by The News Minute (TNM) and Pratidhvani, has raised concerns over the breach of privacy and the misuse of voter data. At the heart of the issue is the actual voter data. This is the first part of a series looking deeper into the implications of the Bengaluru voter data theft controversy. Part I: Illegal voter data collection: Does it really matter? (this article)Part II: Illegal voter data collection: How can we protect our privacy?Part III: Illegal voter data collection: Frontline workers of election management The crucial allegation against the NGO Chilume Educational Cultural and…

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we saw that the impact on biodiversity is completely ignored when real estate projects are given Environment Clearance (EC), even though documents submitted by the builder are often completely obscure or even copy-pasted from other publications. Yet the SEIAA (State Environment Impact Assessment Authority) clears most of these projects without question. When it comes to mega ‘township’ projects with built-up area above 1.5 lakh square metre, builders have to submit an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), giving details of the abundances and densities of flora and fauna in the project area as…

Part 1 of this series looked at how mid-sized real estate projects in Bengaluru get Environment Clearance (EC) quickly, irrespective of their impact on biodiversity. But what about larger ‘township’ projects exceeding built-up area of 1.5 lakh sq m or total plot area of five lakh sq m (50 ha)? On paper, the criteria is stricter for these - the builder has to submit a detailed EIA (Environment Impact Assessment). The State Environmental Appraisal Committee (SEAC) has to assess the EIA and recommend the project, before the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) clears the project. However, environmentalists have for…

Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environment Management Plan (EMP). These are mandated by law to get environment clearance for large real estate development projects. Builders in Bengaluru, however, seem to have hit on an easy way to answer the detailed list of questions that the requisite forms ask for. Just copy-paste answers from one project to another, irrespective of site location and local biodiversity requirements. As the consultants who prepare these EIAs and EMPs are often common to more than one project, it is easily done. This three-part series examines how the builders responded to the questions on biodiversity and…

Simply put Urban Commons refers to spaces in a city that a broad spectrum of people use and depend upon. Agara Lake located south east of the city is one such space. Like most other lakes in the city, Agara is an irrigation tank that dates back to the 9th century. Apart from irrigation, and water supply the lake is also home to a wide variety of flora and fauna.D’Souza’s study is an attempt to understand the effect of urbanisation on what began as a solution to irrigation of agricultural lands in the area. Agara turned out to be the…

Initiatives around Bengaluru spark some hope that progress can be made to cut down the city's carbon footprint. Bengaluru estimated to emit around 6.36 million metric tonnes of Carbon dioxide. In 2008, the South Asia chapter of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) came out with Carbon emission profiles for 54 cities in the region. Bangalore was one of the cities studied. ICLEI estimated that Bengaluru was emitting around 6.36 million teCO2 (metric tonnes of Carbon dioxide and equivalents) during the study period of 2007-2008. (This was the only published study Citizen Matters has found on carbon emissions…

A lot of heated debates at the recently concluded Copenhagen Climate Meet 2009 threw up more questions than answers. Though many argued over India's position in the debate, little is known of how its rapidly growing cities are contributing to global warming. Speaking locally, how much does Bangalore, teeming with a six-million-plus, contribute to India's total carbon emissions? How does it hold itself accountable to the mess our planet is in and how does it plan to help clean it up? The answer is systematic assessment of its emissions. As with much of the climate change topic, here it becomes…

A visit to a zoo always sounds like a fun-filled activity for kids and adults alike. Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) located on the outskirts of Bangalore in Anekal district is no exception. Easy accessibility, parking spots, surprisingly well-organised ticket counters, and numerous food kiosks make the outing a delightful experience. A near-perfect picture? Not quite.What started off as a picnic spot in 1971 is now a notified ‘large zoo' spread over 320 hectares housing over 1,500 animals. All zoos in India come under the purview of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), New Delhi, and a state-level body, which in Karnataka…