City: Chennai

Nearly three years after the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019, the State Environment Department published the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) and land use maps for Chennai and other districts in October 2022. The National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) prepared the base maps that have the demarcation of eco-sensitive areas (ESAs) like mangroves, coral reefs, sand dunes, mudflats and turtle nesting grounds and other coastal infrastructure in different colour codes. However, the fishing communities in Chennai have registered some strong objections to the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan as they have found many mistakes in the…

River restoration work by GCC underway Work on the restoration of the Adyar and Cooum rivers is ongoing, with the planting of saplings along the banks, erection of barricades and levelling work taking place across various locations. The work is being carried out by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). As part of the project, a walkway has also been constructed from the MRTS bridge to the Thiru Vi Ka bridge. The cost of the walkway is Rs 5.4 crores. The planting of 60,000 saplings is also being carried out. The saplings include Neem, Ashoka and Banyan trees. Encroachments are also…

Padur is an important area strategically located 2km from one of the country's largest IT parks in Siruseri. Due to the presence of IT parks, multiple deemed university campuses, colleges and schools, the population in the area is dense and growing. Yet, scant attention has been paid to the infrastructure in the area. As a result, the bad roads of Padur are a menace that residents have been forced to live with. Read more: Explainer: How are roads in Chennai laid? Unmotorable roads of Padur  On December 1st, a major accident occurred in the area when a government bus collided…

The Chennai Climate Action Plan (CCAP) is a document prepared and released by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) with the support of C40 and Urban Management Centre and aligned to C40’s Climate Action Planning framework. CCAP has some alarming findings that should make Chennaiites sit up and take notice.  According to the document, 100m of the coast is at risk of submersion as a result of a likely rise in sea levels by as much as 7cm in the next five years. North Chennai Thermal Power Plants are going to be impacted as well, which will require replacement by 2050,…

There is a distinct possibility that many residences in Chennai stand on what would have been a waterbody or agricultural land decades ago. So, how did it become a residential plot? How was construction even allowed on such land? Most likely, because the builder applied for land reclassification by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) before construction of houses in these locations. Around 70% of the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) constituted agricultural lands before CMDA formed its First Master Plan in 1976. According to the Second Master Plan, only 12% of agricultural lands are remaining. According to researchers, waterbodies have…

The phrase Singara Chennai has captured the imagination of many of us who have grown up in the city. I am one of many who have taken up the cause of improving Solid Waste Management (SWM) in Chennai. My key motivation to do so has been the desire to leave behind a beautiful, green and pristine city for the future generation without any filth, garbage or pollution. I have been a close observer of the SWM landscape in the city and the changes it has undergone in the past 20 years, ever since the first instance of roping in of…

Kumar*, a food delivery gig worker rode back home after midnight on his scooter a few weeks back. Suddenly, a few cops stopped him on the way, captured his photo and then let him go. "Why are you taking my photo? I have my driving license and other documents, and I am also wearing my helmet," he asked them, flabbergasted and confused. But they did not respond. Little did he know that the Chennai police might have used their facial recognition technology (FRT) to see if his photo matched that of a criminal in their database. This has been one…

Cyclone Mandous uproots trees, damages Marina beach ramp Cyclone Mandous left a trail of destruction in its wake over the past weekend with hundreds of trees uprooted and damage to the newly inaugurated accessible pathway for persons with disability on the Marina beach. The cyclone resulted in the uprooting of over 200 trees in 107 locations and generated 645 tonnes of garden waste. Frontline workers had to clear the trees on war footing. The waste generated was sent to the dump yards in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur. Another fallout from the cyclone was the destruction of the viewing deck of the…

Savitha*, a 16-year-old minor girl from Chennai, was to be married off to a 35-year-old man in September of last year. Her parents invited close relatives to the ceremony by handing out invitations. Just as the wedding was about to take place, officials from Childline came to her rescue based on a tip-off from her 15-year-old cousin. He sent a copy of the invitation to the non-governmental organisation (NGO) that had once conducted an awareness programme on preventing child marriages in their locality. Savitha was lucky and was rescued on time. She is now pursuing an undergraduate degree in a…

It is a balmy Wednesday morning. Having arranged the chairs in rows and set the required vaccines ready on a wooden table, Selvi G, the Urban Health Nurse (UHN) of Valasaravakkam Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) in Chennai, awaits mothers scheduled to come in for the immunisation of their children. As the first of them arrive, Selvi gives them a heads-up that it is only normal for the child to cry after the injection and there is nothing to panic about. She tells them not to rub the injected area and to administer the medicine which will be given to…