GENRE: In Focus

Access to sanitation is a human right, according to the United Nations. But when we conducted a spot-check of some public toilets in Chennai, not all of them were accessible, safe and usable. While the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has made sure that the public toilets are free to use, many people do not yet have complete physical access to toilets or a safe and clean set-up to use with dignity. For instance, 128 families of around 400 people in Kannappar Thidal use the community toilet with four usable cubicles for women and six for men. Read more: Kannappar Thidal: Where residents continue their 20-year…

In a narrow gully in Thane’s Vartak Nagar, a small home-based unit of a contractor is also the assembly point for the area’s women to gather and take raw materials to make keychains. The contractor weighs and counts the keychain parts before wrapping them in a plastic bag. He notes the quantity in his diary and a small notebook that each woman carries with her. “Kal ka kitna bana (How many did you make yesterday),” the contractor asks each woman, who deposits the previous day’s keychains with him as he again records the quantity they have submitted. The women take…

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…