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Nominated by the Election Commission of India (ECI), a District Election Officer (DEO) supervises election-related work in the district. In other words, the officer is responsible for ensuring good polling percentage, preparation of booths, setting up the grievance redressal system in coordination with the ECI, and conduct of other election-related duties.  G Prakash, Commissioner of the Greater Chennai Corporation is the DEO of Chennai. Ahead of him lies the Herculean task of ensuring safe, smooth elections during an ongoing pandemic, as the city gets set to vote along with the rest of the state in the Assembly elections scheduled for…

Translated by Sandhya Raju “உலர் கழிவு மேலாண்மை பணியில் நீண்ட காலமாக உள்ளோம் ஆனால் எங்களுக்கு ஊதியமோ மரியாதையோ இல்லை" என்கிறார் வேளாச்சேரியில் கழிவுகளை சேகரிக்கும் நயன் முஹமத். அந்தந்த பகுதிகளில் கழிவு அப்புறப்படுத்தலில் மிக முக்கிய பங்கு வகிக்கும் இவர்கள் நீண்ட காலமாக புறக்கணிக்கப்படுகிறார்கள். எந்தவொரு பாதுகாப்புமின்றி அவர்கள் பணி முறைபடுத்த வாய்ப்புகளின்றி தொடர்ந்து பணியில் ஈடுபட்டுவருகின்றனர். இந்தோ-ஸ்பானிஷ் கூட்டு முயற்சியில் "அர்பேசர்-சுமீத்" நிறுவனம் கழிவு மேலாண்மை ஒப்பந்தத்தை பெற்றதையடுத்து, இந்த முறையும், நகரத்தின் பல பகுதிகளில் உள்ள கழிவு சேகரிப்பவர்கள் நிராகரிப்பை எதிர்கொள்கின்றனர். புதிய கழிவு மேலாண்மை ஒப்பந்தம் பரவலாக்கப்பட்ட கழிவு மேலாண்மை என்ற அடிப்படையில் 2020 ஆம் ஆண்டு அக்டோபர் மாதம், ஏழு மண்டலங்களில் கழிவு மேலாண்மையை இந்த நிறுவனம் பெற்றது. மக்கும் கழிவுகள் (காய்கள், மீந்த உணவு போன்றவை), மக்காத கழிவுகள் (பிளாஸ்டிக், பால் கவர், பேனா போன்றவை) மற்றும் அபாயகரமான வீட்டு கழிவுகள்…

With Phase-II of COVID-19 vaccination having begun from March 1st, India’s fight against the pandemic is picking up pace. The first phase, which commenced on January 16th, saw healthcare workers (HCWs) and other categories of frontline workers (FLWs) eligible for vaccination. The second phase targets two categories: 1. Persons aged 60 and above   2. Persons between 45 to 59 years of age who have a specified comorbidity (scroll down for list of comorbidities). For monitoring and streamlining the vaccination process throughout the country, the government has created a digital platform, CoWIN (COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network). CoWIN is designed to help…

The road map for the next five years for devolution of funds to the states, as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission (XVFC), is ready. Tragically though, despite the many important lessons the COVID pandemic taught us, the Finance Commission’s report seems to have largely ignored these lessons. The draft XVFC recommendations totally ignore the aspirations of the states and their hopes of getting their due share. In fact, the structure of the recommendations has been made more discretionary in favour of the Centre, with little thought of the states' needs, based on fairness and equity. In fact, the report’s…

“Shimla’s carrying capacity vis-à-vis vehicles is already exhausted and needs immediate solutions” admits Mohit Chawla, Superintendent of Police (SP) Shimla, as the city prepares to welcome tourists in the coming months. Having suffered huge losses last year, Shimla’s tourism-related businesses are hoping for a good season in 2021, as unlock restrictions are eased more and more. Unfortunately, an influx of tourist vehicles from outside the state would only worsen an already chaotic hill station’s traffic woes. The town presently does not have the capacity to cope even with the existing 1.2 lakh plus registered vehicles and more than 25,000 other…

Amid the constant hustle and bustle of activities that keep Kotturpuram buzzing, the Miyawaki forest located near the Kotturpuram MRTS is a peaceful sanctuary, a pleasant burst of green and fresh air for all who pause here. The urban forest, which turned one in early February, was created in 2019 after cleaning about 1,600 tonnes of waste. More than 2,000 saplings of different varieties were planted that now yield hibiscus flowers, papaya and drumstick pods among others in the 2211.87 sq m** plot of land. https://twitter.com/albyjohnV/status/1356077781927378946?s=20 The Miyawaki method of raising forests has gained immense popularity across cities. Since the…

Registrations for the second phase of the vaccine drive against COVID were kicked off on March 1st. In this phase, citizens above 60 years of age and people above 45 years of age with comorbidities can register themselves for getting the vaccine. According to the announcement made by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,  Co-WIN website is the only place for registration for common citizens and the Co-WIN mobile application is only for administrators.  Read more: Interview: When and how will Chennai get the COVID vaccine? But what is the registration process like? Is there any provision for offline…

The residential market in Chennai has already begun to see a revival, after going through a pandemic-induced slump in 2020. The realty sector in Chennai has been witnessing steady growth since the third quarter ending September 2020, says a report from The Hindu. But how many among the new projects, with multi-storeyed apartments and offices, will actually go green? According to the Indian Green building Council, "a green building is one which uses less water, optimises energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building." It has been 18…

On February 10th, 2021, Citizen Matters organised an online round-table discussion on ‘Climate Crisis and Environmental Sustainability: Lessons for Tier 2 cities’. The discussion was a logical extension of a series published on Citizen Matters, and supported by Climate Trends, that looked at climate change and environmental sustainability in cities like Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Shimla, Rishikesh and Varanasi. The intense session saw a deep exploration of the various sustainability challenges before India's Tier 2 cities and towns, and the systemic gaps underlying such manifestations. Read more: What’s causing climate risks in our smaller cities and towns? The primary objective of this…

A discussion with a difference Over the latter half of 2020, Citizen Matters commissioned a series of articles, supported by Climate Trends, to look at climate change and environmental sustainability in Tier 2 towns like Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Shimla, Rishikesh and Varanasi. Why Tier 2, one may ask. Because if and when there is a spotlight on issues of sustainability or the urban climate crisis, it is usually the metros that are at the centre of it. Air Pollution is invariably associated with Delhi/NCR, discussions around water crisis are more often than not Chennai-centric, while waste and mobility issues are mostly…