EDITORS' PICK

The Delhi administration is finally realising the usefulness of the humble cycle. Not only as a much needed commute alternative, but also as a tool to combat Delhi’s perennial poor air quality. Recently, vendors, factory workers, daily wage labourers and other workers who cycle daily to work joined forces to urge the Delhi government to fast track moves to create safe cycling infrastructure and dedicated cycle lanes. The Delhi government reacted by saying it will develop dedicated cycle tracks across the national capital, especially on stretches that are most used by cyclists. Read more: Delhi divided: Will new parking management…

Taufiq, an electrician in Shivaji Nagar, sits in his shop surrounded by wall-mounted fans. Despite other shops like his in the area, he gets at least 2-3 fans for repairs daily. As Mumbai is headed into summer with temperatures touching 40 degrees Celsius in March, it’s no secret why Taufiq gets business everyday. The general ceiling fans, he says, are not cutting it anymore. “Most people here don’t have ACs or coolers, so they look for a fan that is fast,” explains Taufiq, showing me a fan unlike any other in the market. “We assemble this here. The motor comes…

India’s single-use plastic (SUP) phaseout plan comes into effect in July 2022 banning plastic use in a variety of applications under the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2021. This is not the first-time, however, that single use plastics have been banned in India. Following Prime Minister Modi’s pledge in 2018 to eliminate SUPs, a slew of states and Union Territory (UT) governments passed orders and notifications to ban a variety of use-and-throw plastics. Today, most Indian states and UTs have some form of a ban on plastics; all of them have a ban on plastic carry bags. Plastic carry bags…

Kumaran S has been collecting waste from spots in Zone 9 of the Greater Chennai Corporation for over a decade now. But like most other informal waste pickers in Chennai, he has seen a sharp fall in his earnings from waste,  as a large portion of what they collected and sold are now handled by conservancy workers with the Greater Chennai Corporation or the private contractor in charge in most zones, Urbaser Sumeet. “I have been engaged in this work for over a decade. Things have never been as bad for us as it is now. During COVID-19 lockdown I…

The revival and restoration of eris in Chennai has long captured the imagination of city authorities and residents, with these tanks often rightly lauded as an important solution to the flooding problem that has terrorised the city in the past few years. However, a recent paper titled "Lines in the Mud”, authored by Karen Coelho of the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), points out how eri restoration efforts have become sites of social tragedy, as a result of the almost exclusive focus on removal of encroachments. They result in the brutal eviction of thousands of working class families that…

Rekha, a fruit vendor in Kandivali east, has been selling fruits in the area for over 6 years now. Parked under a large umbrella that offers shade from the sun, she awaits customers. "The heat this year has been the worst in a long time, and it is only April. It will get worse," she exclaims, adding that the recent heatwave in the city has also affected her business since customers don't come out much and her fruits get spoiled in the scorching heat during the day. Rekha is also one of the many street vendors in Mumbai who conduct…

Mayor R Priya presented the budget for the Greater Chennai Corporation on April 9th. The budget has placed heavy emphasis on upgrades to and creation of new infrastructure, with focus on stormwater drains. The budget also looks to improve the state of schools run by the civic body and improve the quality of education and activities on offer through various new schemes.  The civic body’s expected revenue is Rs 2824 crore while the expected expenditure is Rs 3613 crore. Bulk of the revenue is to come from Rs 800 crore to be collected as property tax.  What is in store…

The time it takes to cut a tree is insignificant when compared to the time it takes to grow a tree. The cost, however, is disproportionate. Years of generating oxygen, cooling the atmosphere, providing a home to birds and insects, reducing pollution and flooding is lost in a matter of a few hours. There is a lot at stake with each tree. The Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, understands this, providing strict guidelines for the trimming or cutting of trees in urban areas of the state, like Mumbai. Only the Tree Authority - a body…

As the summer intensifies across Chennai, the demand for water is also set to be on the rise. While some areas see residents rely on municipal water supply alone, others rely on purchasing from tankers or by digging or deepening borewell connections.  While residents use various means to meet their water needs, it is important to be aware of the proper procedure to follow while carrying out activities such as borewell digging or deepening. Callousness in this regard can not only affect the resident but also have an impact on the larger neighbourhood.  A recent incident in my neighbourhood has…

This first of a two-part series looks at the new Parliament Act merging Delhi’s three corporations into one all-powerful Delhi Municipal Corporation. For Delhi’s citizens, the hope is that creation of one omnibus municipal corporation for Delhi will improve the quality of services provided. For all those employed by the municipal corporations in different segments and capacities, from  teachers and sanitation workers to doctors, nurses and health workers, to name a few, the hope is that they may at last get their salaries, arrears and pensions which the present trifurcated MCDs have been unable to pay. Not surprisingly, all sections…