GENRE: In Focus

When Cyclone Mandous and its wake dumped considerable rain in Chennai suburbs as well as the city, residents in gated communities and housing units experienced yet another year of misery. It was in stark contrast to the marketed images of gated communities where people happily drive in and out of luxury enclaves in flashy cars and spend time in butterfly gardens as children play in the warm sunshine. Residents had to put up with choked patchy inundated roads, the stench of stagnant floodwater and rotting refuse, and a proliferation of invasive giant African snails that comes after the rains. Chennai…

On December 2nd, a performance audit report by the CAG of India on Solid Waste Management by Urban Local Bodies in Odisha got tabled in the state assembly. This CAG audit covered the five year period (April 2015 to March 2020) and was conducted with the objective to assess whether the planning of waste management in ULBs were effective, efficient and economic. The period under review is of interest to all the researchers concerned with the compliance of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, as Odisha state has been facing a legal battle with regard to compliance at National Green Tribunal,…

In 1958, Fathima Ahamath's father, the late A.K.A. Abdul Samad, who led the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) for 25 years, began his political career as the ward councillor of Harbour (erstwhile ward 60) of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). "I am proud to carry my father's legacy," she says. "I have taken up this job with a commitment to make a change." Fathima entered the world of politics at the age of 25. Even though she had her inhibitions about her new career, her father and partner provided much-needed reassurance. "They wanted me to break the glass ceiling and…

With a timeline of at least 15 years, the Dharavi redevelopment project is not expected to bear fruit anytime soon. Neither the residents, the established businesses, nor the winning bidder, the Adani group, have any illusions of a quick transformation to the area that has evolved over a century; spanning over 250 hectares, 8.5 lakh residents and 20,000 businesses and industries. But change is very much on its way. The Maharashtra government aims to get this long-promised project started in 6 months. The race to kickstart the redevelopment has been on, however, ever since September last year, when the government…

The United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2015 to universally take a stand to end poverty and protect the planet. The UN set 2030 as the target year to achieve these goals, which India has accepted. NITI Aayog's inaugural SDG Urban Index and Dashboard for 2021–22 is aimed at driving SDG localisation in Indian cities, under the umbrella of Indo-German Development Cooperation. The policy think tank's monitoring tool at the Urban Local Body level localises the global goals. The dashboard's index framework consists of 56 ULBs and 77 indicators (from 15 SDGs). The data on these indicators…

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is currently facing huge losses in property tax revenue due to a technical glitch in its zonal classification. It is estimated that at least 70,000 citizens have underpaid their property taxes from 2016-2017, the time of implementation of new zones under the Self Assessment Scheme of Property Tax assessment. This glitch in assessment has caused a loss of Rs 240 crores in the past five years for the financially struggling BBMP. Low revenue from property taxes BBMP revenue collection from property tax is Rs 2,400 crores against an estimated demand of approximately Rs 4,000…

The POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, was enacted in 2012. The Act aims to protect children under the age of 18 from offences of child sexual abuse and sexual harassment committed by adults. Despite the protections offered by this Act, cases registered under POCSO in Chennai have been on the rise as per the National Crime Records Bureau. Every other day there are news items of harrowing instances of child abuse. In many cases, the offenders turn out to be family members or staff at the school. Those entrusted with the welfare of children abuse the trust placed…

In an interview with a traffic policewoman in Chennai, we asked her how she manages trips to the washroom when on traffic duty. She said that used the toilets in hospitals or educational institutions near the junction she was posted at, but did not mention public toilets. The Greater Chennai Corporation has toilets in 943 locations with 7590 toilets, all free to use. There is a common notion among many that these toilets are not clean and fit for use. We visited a few of Greater Chennai Corporation's public and community toilets across Chennai in the last week of December…

The recently inaugurated Sir M. Vishveshwaraya Station in Bengaluru (SMVB) is almost always described as the “airport”-like railway station. The South Western Railways (SWR) drew inspiration from the Kempegowda International Airport in the design and aesthetics of the city’s third coaching terminal (the beginning and final points for trains). Perhaps pleased with the outcome, SWR has now announced that the Krantiveera Sangoli Rayanna City Station (KSR), Yeshwantpur and Cantonment would also be revamped in a similar style. But do we need more airport-like railway stations? Especially considering how much time these revamps have taken so far, what should SWR’s priorities…

Only the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) even mentioned this in its 10-point poll promise list. The menace posed by stray animals — cattle, dogs and monkeys — in Delhi. None of the other contestants to the Delhi Municipal polls had thought this was a serious enough problem to make it a campaign point. While Congress ignored the issue, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had a single line in its 12-point manifesto: “We are committed to provide better parking facilities and solving the problem of stray animals”. While other issues such as clearing of landfills, sanitation, street vendors etc. were stressed…