Category: Environment

For homemaker Rani, alternate evenings are dedicated to a few rounds at the 2,456 sq m Sharma Park in Chennai's T Nagar, playfully chasing her two granddaughters across the sanded area. But there are a few things she is worried about. “It’s hot throughout the year at the park. It has unwatered, withering plants, and this area is often prone to rowdyism,” Rani says, pointing to strewn water bottles and food packets behind some benches. However, as she spends all day sweating in her kitchen, these few hours in the open air are immensely valuable. ​In an earlier article, we…

A flower-seller weaving mozhams of jasmine, men reading newspapers, and cackling children playing games — these are common sights across city parks. As Chennai saw temperatures cross 40°C this May, seekers of shade, couples stealing time together, and informal workers turned to parks for solace.​ Parks and open spaces are crucial for residents in congested areas, many of whom live without air conditioning. But open spaces in Chennai are shrinking. The Urban Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) guidelines mandate 10 to 12 sq. m of open space per person, yet the Chennai Metropolitan Area has roughly just 0.65…

“Ae Dil hai mushkil jeena yahan, Jara hatke, jara bachke, ye hai Bombay meri jaan!”  This song from the 1956 hit movie C.I.D has become most Mumbaikars’ anthem since the monsoon has started—replace the words “kahin building, kahin trame” with open manholes and falling trees. Residents have seen mayhem and mishaps due to lashing rains in the city. Within the first six days of July, the Colaba and Santacruz observatories have recorded 823.4 mm and 898.4 mm of rainfall, respectively. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had initially issued an orange alert on July 3, which was changed to a red alert…

From the medieval bazaars of Baghdad to the intellectual debates of Paris, to the warmth found in Delhi’s winters, poets, artists, writers, and aficionados have long captured what it means to be in a city, amid thousands of people, synchronising their lives to a rhythm entirely different from their rural counterparts. Life in the city is distinct. It is hard, exciting, liberating, and fast. Regimes are born in cities. Revolutions are ignited in them. India’s history, too, has played out against the backdrop of her many urban centres: Prayagraj, Gangaikondacholapuram, Pataliputra, Hampi, Shahjahanabad, Surat, Meerut, Kolkata, New Delhi, Navi Mumbai,…

Amid global crises like climate change, concepts such as solastalgia (distress produced by environmental change), eco-grief, and eco-anxiety are becoming familiar. Climate change’s impact on mental health has only recently cropped up in research, with studies finding connections between the climate and depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and suicidal thoughts. Around 50% of Indian youth aged 14 to 25 experienced increased stress due to worsening climate, according to a survey by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Other studies have found that repeated experiences with flooding, which occur particularly in eastern and southern India, appear to contribute to…

‘Inconvenience today for a better tomorrow’ signs follow commuters across the city as work inches on for the 118-km Chennai Metro Phase II. Residents eagerly await three corridors that will connect Madhavaram to SIPCOT, Lighthouse to Poonamalle Bypass, and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur by 2028. But the project is resulting in an irreversible loss of green cover along the corridors, far more than was estimated at the time of its approval. A total of 8,029 trees would be affected, either felled or transplanted, for the project. Over 7,000 of these trees have been uprooted already. Though new trees are planted to…

The Straight-cut Flood Escape Channel project at Uthandi in the southern part of Chennai along East Coast Road was conceived by the Water Resources Department (WRD) as a flood mitigation measure, with a budget of ₹91 crores. The plan proposes a cut-and-cover drain through the VGP Layout in Uthandi, to connect the Buckingham Canal to the Bay of Bengal. The drain is supposedly meant to divert excess floodwater in Buckingham Canal during heavy rains, when areas around the Pallikaranai marsh and Okkiyam Madavu face flooding.  Work on the project started immediately after its inauguration in August 2025. However, residents of…

Last year around the same time, Citizen Matters published a two part series on how the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) funds were underutilised in Bengaluru. Following this, budget allocation sped up and last September, the state government allocated over ₹145 crore to various agencies. However the air quality in the city hasn't improved, while more than ₹100 crores of the clean air funds remain unused. A total of ₹541 crore has been released so far, with ₹147.7 crore recently allocated among BESCOM, BMTC, BSWML, the Horticulture Department, and the Climate Action Cell. The planned projects for these clean air…

“If the authorities go to Putlur Lake and actually listen to the residents there, how would a sewage treatment plant (STP) at this location in Madambakkam even get sanctioned in the first place? Either they are unaware, or lethargic towards community welfare,” says Anand R, a weather and waterproofing expert and a Madambakkam resident, who lives close to the proposed STP site.  Madambakkam, situated in the southern part of Chennai, is an old town with a long history, known for its ancient temple and open grasslands. Over the years, however, rapid urbanisation has begun to change its landscape. Recently, lake…

Ever since the contentious Mamallan reservoir was proposed in the ecosensitive Kovalam–Nemmeli backwater system, fisher communities in Chennai have repeatedly asked: Does it have to be here? Experts and scientists say no, urging the government to abandon the project and work on sustainable alternatives.  Critics point to a long list of costs: high expenditure, land acquisition, and risks to livelihoods and biodiversity. As we have reported earlier, the central concern driving the project is the looming drinking water supply crisis – demand is projected to rise from 1,100 million litres a day (MLD) to over 2,500 MLD for the Greater…