Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

An RTI filed by a social activist shows that the civic body spent over Rs 15 crore to fill 8,879 potholes on Mumbai roads in the last two years; yet, accidents due to bad roads are on the rise, with three fatalities in October alone. Is citizen action the only solution?

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Smiling School Project will train principals and teachers to identify students facing mental or emotional distress. These students will then receive free counselling. But will it be enough, given the nature and magnitude of the problem?

A wetland of that size with two retention basins has managed to mitigate urban flooding to a large extent in an Australian suburb. And such wetlands can be created even in a congested city, as Japanese examples have shown. These and other innovative solutions from the east merit serious consideration in flood-prone Mumbai.

Around 500 people from different walks gathered at a public hearing on July 8th to raise their voices against the proposed felling of 2702 trees in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony. This is just the most recent example of growing citizen engagement and efforts to save the green cover of the city.

For many Mumbaikars, ‘air pollution’ is a Delhi or at most a North Indian problem. Yet, Mumbai air itself says otherwise on many a day. But are city authorities really aware and equipped to take the steps they need to?

For decades, waste has been Mumbai’s teeming, unsolvable problem. Slums around the city’s dumping ground are now Asia’s largest, exposing ragpickers and the general population to serious health risks. All plans and commitments to waste management, meanwhile, appear figurative.

Mumbai currently sources 3.8 billion litres of water per day from seven dams built over lakes in neighbouring districts. It is also familiar with seasonal water cuts. But why does a city with abundant monsoons and flooding every year have such unstable water supply?

Organisers of the recently concluded Mumbai marathon had promised to take several steps to make their event a green one. In post-event reflection, runners and observers share what they got right and what could be improved.

Heard of Advanced Locality Management (ALM) in Mumbai? It is a programme under which citizens of a locality can get involved and work with the municipality to ensure resolution of civic issues. Can ALMs not work towards solving the city’s annual monsoon misery, one locality at a time?

The Maharashtra plastic and thermocol ban kicks in today. What is banned? What can happen if you violate the ban? And most importantly, what are your alternatives? A look at how the average Mumbaikar is preparing for life without plastic.