GENRE: In Focus

“Wetlands are seen as waste lands, to be encroached and built upon,” says Himanshu Thakkar, water expert and coordinator at SANDRP. “There is no effective legal protection for most of our wetlands. In fact, there are no updates on maps of wetlands. There is no system for clearance or monitoring when wetland components undergo a change.”   No wonder then that India is losing its wetlands at a rate of two to three per cent each year. Going by the Wetlands International South Asia (WISA) report, from 1970 to 2014, major cities that have reported a massive loss of wetlands.  are…

The upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly election, which will see the state voting on April 6th, is being hotly contested between the two major parties DMK and AIADMK and their allies. On the third front, looking to break their hegemony is the relatively new entrant, Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam.  With polling dates close by, a slew of promises have been made by various candidates and parties. But what do citizens want from their elected representatives? What are their most pressing concerns that they would like the state to address? Citizen Matters brought together a panel of eminent citizens, who have…

Located in the southern part of Chennai, Tambaram is a developing suburban area that is an entry and exit point for Chennai. As the area is growing rapidly, many people prefer settling down in and around Tambaram, which is well connected with the city and IT corridors. The second airport for the city and a bus terminal at Kilambakkam are some of the projects in the pipeline that could benefit the residents of the suburb. Some of the areas in Tambaram constituency: Chitlapakkam, Kadaperi, Tambaram, Mudichur, Perungalathur, Sembakkam and Selaiyur. Representative image. Voters in 2016 (excluding postal votes) Total number of…

In 2011, Ambattur was one among the areas that were added to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). The neighbourhood has the biggest small scale industrial estate in South Asia and is witnessing a boom in the IT industry. While the quality of roads has improved in the recent past, overall development over the last three decades still leaves much to be desired. As an industrial estate, Ambattur constituency is home to a floating population, due to which the area falls behind in citizen activism. Since 2011, the constituency has seen an AIADMK candidate in the MLA seat. Some of the areas…

Royapuram constituency is one of the smallest constituencies in terms of land and population, comprised of localities such as Old Washermenpet, Royapuram and Basin Bridge.   A stronghold of the AIADMK party, Royapuram is developing fast as a commercial space. “A majority of the old-timers among the Royapuram electorate work in the Railways or the Port Trust. But with the flourishing of the export business and go-downs, members of the Marwadi and Muslim communities have also begun to settle here,” said Monish Kumar, a trader and a long-time resident of the constituency.  It is one of the least developed constituencies, characterised…

Anna Nagar is considered one of the more well-developed constituencies in the city. The assembly constituency covers areas such as Anna Nagar, Kilpauk, Aminjikarai, Shenoy Nagar, Naduvankarai. Many of these localities top the real estate markets of Chennai. Anna Nagar constituency boasts of many amenities such as parks, playgrounds, good schools and connectivity.  "Parts of the constituency with its rich neighborhoods could be compared to those in Singapore" says Mr Ratna Singh, President of Residents Welfare Association Asiad, Anna Nagar Tower.  The constituency is home to localities with some of the highest real estate prices in the city. Pic:Nileena MS…

It is a death no one will mourn. The Commission For Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region, created by an ordinance promulgated on October 28th,2020 — in fact  a super commission  that on paper subsumed all the other bodies involved in maintaining air quality in the NCR — was quietly disbanded, as the Ordinance lapsed. No bill to implement it was even introduced, let alone passed during the Parliament’s 2021 budget session. According to Press Trust of India, Union Environment Secretary R P Gupta said that since the ordinance was not introduced in Parliament within six weeks…

When it comes to bus services in the city, there seems to be a wide and clear gap between what residents want and what they get. A recent newspaper report highlighted the intensifying public call for resumption of small buses on route S3 along the Chrompet-Madambakkam route, that were stopped three years ago. When members of a residents' association in Chitlapakkam filed a petition with the CM Cell, they received a reply saying services had been stopped due to poor patronage. Yet, there are many commuters who say that they were benefitted by these buses that used to run at…

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…