City: Mumbai

Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” But, what about systems that make it harder for groups to materialise and facilitate change? Let us imagine, as a thought experiment, that a group of like-minded individuals, wanting to transform a city, is established. These might be people who have the time, space, energy and intent to do this. Those with wealth and cultural capital could bring resources in, and those marginalised by the state could bring intent and a personal drive.…

To register a marriage in Mumbai, the Maharashtra Regulation of Marriage Bureaus and Registration of Marriages Act, 1998 governs marriages in Maharashtra. There are other Acts, specific to religions, like The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 and the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1972. For inter-faith partnerships, the Special Marriage Act, 1954 is available to those who go in for inter-faith or inter-caste marriage or generally for standard Court marriages without any emphasis on personal beliefs. What is the eligibility criteria for a couple to get married? Men above 21 years of age and women above 18 years of age…

Mumbai launches country's first water taxi India's first 'water taxi' was virtually inaugurated in Mumbai on February 17th by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Union minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbanand Sonowal. The taxi service will connect suburban Mumbai to South Mumbai. “Today is an important day as the country’s first water taxi is starting from Mumbai. The first railway service in the country was also started between Mumbai and Thane. The facilities which started from Mumbai were spread all over the country.” said CM Thackeray. The current routes of the taxi are from Domestic Cruise Terminal (DCT) to…

St. Francis Pakhady, a 200 year-old gaothan in Vile Parle, is no stranger to change. What began as a village of close-knit farmers on Salsette Island in British Bombay is now threatened by concrete development. Bullock carts would ply the Milan subway to get from east to west. Train tracks were laid along one side, leading to a level crossing. The opening of Vile Parle station, and its subsequent increase in lines, trimmed and pushed back the goathan. The upcoming sixth railway corridor between Mumbai Central and Borivali will eat 4.5 metres into Veer Ghanekar road, a stretch currently occupied…

Knowing how to a register a flat in Mumbai is important for a person's legal ownership over a property. When you purchase or receive a flat, its agreement of sale, transfer, gift or lease needs to be registered with the government for the transaction to be considered valid and legal under The Registration Act, 1908. Rules in the state are framed under the Maharashtra Registration Rules, 1961. What is the significance of flat registration? Legally, a flat owner's name is not changed or transferred until the sale or gift transaction is registered with the government. Any unregistered transaction has no…

On 12th February, a webinar organised by civic organisations Mumbai First and The Blue Ribbon Movement discussed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) civic budget for 2022. Questions surrounding scope and allocation highlighted the need for citizen participation in policy making. Moderated by Abhishek Thakore, co-founder of The Blue Ribbon Movement, the panel consisted of experts, journalists and grassroots workers, with years of expertise on the functions of the BMC, its historical trends and practices.  The panellists were Chaitanya Marpakwar, a journalist for The Times of India, whose work covers civic and political issues in Mumbai, Ravikant Joshi, an expert on…

Dadul, a security guard at a construction site in Mira Road, returned to Mumbai from Allahabad a month ago. "I went back to my village by truck, paying Rs 3,000, at the start of the pandemic. All I was given from the government at the time was Rs 1,000 and some ration because of the 14-day quarantine. But I was scared of another lockdown, so I stayed back in my village, until recently." he says. Dadul is not aware of any relief announced for construction workers through the lockdown, and he is not alone in this. In the early months…

Mumbai University exams to be conducted offline Mumbai University will open its doors soon for undergraduate exams for this year's summer session. A detailed timetable is yet to be released, but the exam committee has devised a broad outline. Semester 2 will be offline for both regular and candidates with a backlog of exams, while Semester 4 exams will be entirely online for Arts, Science, and Commerce streams. Backlog candidates for Semester 1, 3 and 5 will appear for exams online.  A call on final semester exams will be taken based on data collected on vaccinated students and the public…

On January 10th, a 19-year-old teenager shared an incident of domestic violence in Mumbai on the city-based website Safecity, which encourages citizens to report all kinds of violence. “My friend has an abusive household where her mother was always beaten up. It hasn't changed and due to lockdown, things had gotten worse as they couldn't get out,” she said. Like her, many others have been reporting and sharing incidents of violence on the website. So far in 2022, over 20 citizens have reported domestic violence cases in Mumbai anonymously on Safecity. Indeed, domestic violence cases in Mumbai have risen. In the…

Every year, rains in Mumbai claim lives and leave behind destruction to infrastructure and the city’s economy. Excessive flooding in the city is only increasing. The 2021 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned us about rising sea levels in Mumbai in the coming years, and, towards the end of the century, the city is set to see a 4.6 degree celsius rise in mean temperatures.  In January 2022, the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) released a report on emerging trends of climate change in Western India. The report provides trends for western…