Articles by News Desk

The monsoon is just settling in to Bengaluru, however, the city is already under water, and residents are blaming the crumbling infrastructure and haphazard development in the city for the widespread waterlogging. Tractors and boats were engaged to rescue people stranded in flood-hit areas. Many companies have asked their employees to work from home, as many parts of the IT corridor were inundated. Meanwhile, the Karnataka Lokayukta has said that official negligence and poor inter-agency coordination were the key factors behind Bengaluru's flooding. Read more: Lack of stormwater drain planning in Bengaluru is a risk factor for future floods Why…

As temperatures soar in Delhi, residents are left grappling with the intense summer heat. But does the Heat Action Plan (HAP) 2025, released by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, provide real relief? The government claims that the plan is designed to address emergency response and long-term mitigation, and includes measures such as water coolers, cooling shelters, regular temperature updates and health advisories. The question remains—will these steps be sufficient to protect vulnerable communities from the escalating heat? Here are the key highlights about the plan and what it misses in addressing.    Early warning systems and targeted relief measures   The…

Waste-to-energy (WTE) plants are notorious for releasing harmful pollutants, and environmental activists have long criticised them as an unsuitable solution for legacy waste. Yet governments often view them as a quick fix for waste management and energy generation, despite their risks. It is no different with the WTE plant coming up at Deonar, the country's largest dumping ground in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai. The clamour against the project is growing louder as residents fear the toxic emissions from the WTE plant and the impact on their health. Here are five things you need to know about the project and…

DPDP Act sparks privacy vs transparency debate The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules (DPDP Bill 2025), drawn up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), are designed to facilitate the implementation of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act), 2023. The DPDP Act, 2023, lays out guidelines for the collection, processing, and protection of personal data while ensuring individuals' privacy rights. The Act was passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in August 2023 and subsequently received assent from the President of India. However, the DPDP Bill has stoked a controversy over its ruling on the…

The GBG Bill: A 'great' idea or just 'greater' trouble? The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024 proposes significantly restructuring Bengaluru’s governance by splitting the city into seven corporations and creating a single, unified authority to oversee the city's development. The goal is to streamline decision-making and address Bengaluru’s growing challenges, like traffic and infrastructure issues. But will this really lead to decentralisation? Citizen groups and urban planners argue that the plan gives too much power to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and weakens local representation, considering elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike are long pending. When: Tabled in the…

Chennai's parking policy overhauled Are you one of those desperately seeking parking spots in Chennai? Then look out for these five insights from the policy introduced by the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA). Why: The ultimate, though distant, aim of the policy is to streamline parking and reduce driving. With 9.2 million vehicles crowding Chennai’s streets, the government hopes to encourage people to use public transport, ride-sharing, cycling, or walking. This shift is aimed at decongesting roads and enhancing safety and mobility, according to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) experts, who offered technical knowledge support for…

Supreme Court halts tree felling in Hyderabad's Kancha Gachibowli The Supreme Court has intervened to halt the felling of trees in Kancha Gachibowli, Hyderabad, following widespread protests. The court issued an interim stay on deforestation activities across 400 acres of land near the University of Hyderabad campus, citing ecological concerns and the presence of scheduled animal species. The Telangana High Court had earlier paused development plans for the land, which is earmarked for IT infrastructure by the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC). Students, environmental activists, and conservationists have opposed the government's plans, arguing that the land is ecologically sensitive and…

Delhi CM's first, 1 lakh-cr budget The Delhi Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta, who also holds the Finance Minister's portfolio, presented the new government's first budget on March 25th. By allocating ₹1 lakh crore in various sectors such as education and urban development, she showed a rise of 31.58% from the previous government's allocation. The budget for Housing and Urban Development has increased by 9% to provide affordable housing, sanitation and urban infrastructure. The funds for education have increased from ₹16,396 crore in 2024-2025 to ₹19,291 crore. The budget for the transport sector has risen by 73% and for Housing and…

Cities lack long-term planning to fight heatwaves Some cities that are most sensitive to future heatwaves are focusing mainly on short-term respite, according to Sustainable Futures Collaborative, a research organisation in New Delhi. Its report shows how nine major cities that account for over 11% of the national urban population—Bengaluru, Delhi, Faridabad, Gwalior, Kota, Ludhiana, Meerut, Mumbai, and Surat—are gearing up to face the heatwaves. The report states that while all nine cities are taking immediate steps to address heatwaves, “long-term actions remain rare, and where they do exist, they are poorly targeted.” Without effective long-term strategies, India might confront several…

The blanket of haze that shrouds most big cities in India has grown denser as air quality continues to dip. Last winter was no different with pollution levels soaring way above permissible limits and posing major risks to public health.      A recent analysis of winter pollution during 2024-25 by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) highlights alarming pollution trends in India's megacities, with Delhi leading with the worst air quality. Even megacities outside the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) have seen escalating air quality challenges, despite relatively favourable climatic conditions.  One significant trend across cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai,…