City: Chennai

Chennai is all set to have local body polls for the first time since 2011. The city will elect 200 councillors who will then choose from amongst them a Mayoral candidate for indirect election. In what is a first for the city, the post of Mayor has been reserved for a woman candidate from the Scheduled Castes. The city also sees a 50% reservation of wards for women candidates, meaning half the elected councillors will be women. With the election all set to take place on the 19th, here is all you need to know to cast your vote in…

As Chennai gets set for local body polls for the first time since 2011, many issues faced by the city and how an elected council might offer long-awaited solutions for the same, warranted a discussion. On February 14 2022, Citizen Matters and Janaagraha Center for Citizenship and Democracy brought together a diverse panel of candidates in the fray in this election and prominent voices from civil society organisation to delve into the complexities of local governance and how Chennaiites can hold the elected representatives accountable. The panel was comprised of activist David Manohar of the corruption watchdog Arappor Iyakkam, Charu…

In the upcoming local body elections, many of the contesting candidates are individuals who have engaged in civic activism in the city over the years. Having witnessed the many civic issues in their locality, ranging from flooding to poor waste management, these socially active citizens have entered the fray with the hopes of making a big difference, given their deep understanding of issues in the ward. One such candidate is Meenakshi Sundharam, a prominent activist from Manikam Nagar in Chromepet. He has worked on a number of issues in the area from lake restoration to rehabilitation of stray dogs. He…

Zone snapshot: Wards - 168, 169, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191 Population - 322728 (2013) Number of polling stations - 279 To locate your polling station - https://tnsec.tn.nic.in/tn_election_urban2021/find_your_polling_station.php To locate your ward and zone - https://chennaicorporation.gov.in/gcc/citizen-details/location-service/find_zone.jsp Issues in the zone: Poor civic amenities in many slums in the zone are a persistent issue. Residents of Kallukuttai slum have decided to boycott the civic polls on account of not having basic facilities despite living in the area for nearly four decades. They demand better roads, drainage facilities and solutions to water shortage in the summer months. Many roads…

Zone Snapshot: Wards- 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108 Population- 757273 (2013) Polling Stations- 572 To locate your polling station – https://tnsec.tn.nic.in/tn_election_urban2021/find_your_polling_station.php To locate your ward and zone – https://chennaicorporation.gov.in/gcc/citizen-details/location-service/find_zone.jsp Issues in the Zone: In January of 2021, the waste collection in 11 out of 15 zones were handed over to private companies. Zone 8, was one of the zones where a waste collection contract was handed to Ramky Enviro Engineers (a private envrionmetal services company). The company absorbed around a 100 workers, and the rest (who were employed under the…

Zone snapshot Wards -170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182 Population - 490767 (2013) Number of polling stations - 471 To locate your polling station - https://tnsec.tn.nic.in/tn_election_urban2021/find_your_polling_station.php To locate your ward and zone - https://chennaicorporation.gov.in/gcc/citizen-details/location-service/find_zone.jsp Issues in the zone: Traffic congestion at Madhya Kailash Junction is a key issue that affects commuters. Those looking to travel to the airport or southern parts of the city face long hours of commute during peak hours in the area due to traffic jams. Overflowing sewage and old sewage pipes are an issue in Adyar. The old pipes leak…

Wards -156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167 Population - 239382 (2013) Number of polling stations - 200 To locate your polling station - https://tnsec.tn.nic.in/tn_election_urban2021/find_your_polling_station.php To locate your ward and zone - https://chennaicorporation.gov.in/gcc/citizen-details/location-service/find_zone.jsp Issues in the zone: Recent spell of rains left areas under Manapakkam and Mugalivakkam inundated for days. Residents were forced to stay indoors for close to two days as the water-logging did not recede in many parts. A lack of proper stormwater drains coverage across the zone has been cited as the reason for the flooding. Traffic issues are frequent at the MIOT…

Zone snapshot Wards -143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155 Population - 433077 (2013) Polling stations - 309 To locate your polling station - https://tnsec.tn.nic.in/tn_election_urban2021/find_your_polling_station.php To locate your ward and zone - https://chennaicorporation.gov.in/gcc/citizen-details/location-service/find_zone.jsp Counting station - MGR College of Engineering, Maduravoyal Issues in the zone Encroachment of water bodies has been a key issue in the zone. Large scale flooding has taken place as a result of such encroachment during the rains of 2021. The Ambattur lake channel has seen construction on it, leading to water stagnation in many parts of the zone. Shrinking…

Zone snapshot Wards: 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93 Polling stations: 439 Population: 715079 (2013) To locate your polling station – https://tnsec.tn.nic.in/tn_election_urban2021/find_your_polling_station.php To locate your ward and zone – https://chennaicorporation.gov.in/gcc/citizen-details/location-service/find_zone.jsp Issues in the zone: Residents have been demanding that Metro Water implement sewer connections for houses in areas such as Oragadam, Venkatapuram and  Kallikuppam. Wards 82, 85 and 86 are yet to get underground drain connections. Residents have also pressed for the long overdue widening of Rail Over Bridge at Ambattur OT to reduce traffic congestion, but the construction is yet to happen. This plan was part of a…

After a gap of over five years, Tamil Nadu’s state capital of Chennai is going to get an elected council to monitor the administration of the city. It’s also after a span of a decade that the people of the city will be going to the polling booths to elect their ward councillors. Although the official website of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) states that the administrative set up of Chennai city includes a council of 200 councillors, headed by a Mayor, that hasn’t been the case in the past five years, that is since October 2016, which was when…