LAW

Despite an order from the National Green Tribunal, efforts to stop Chhat Puja celebrations in Rabindra Sarovar — a 192-acre biodiverse, green sanctuary in the heart of the city — have been futile in previous years. This year the municipal corporation is closing access to the lake area for the two days of the festival, but will it help?

Outrage over the imposition of exorbitantly high penalties for traffic rule violations has dominated much of the conversation around the new road safety law. Yet, there are countless survivors and families who recall their trauma and loss as they support the new fines.

Mumbai’s Tree Authority had for long led a quiet existence, issuing permissions without fuss to cut trees to make way for the city’s rapid urbanization. People are now looking up to the courts as a last resort to save the green cover of the city.

Migrant Kashmiris working in other states have been unable to communicate with their families due to the communication blackout in the aftermath of the scrapping of Article 370 and reorganisation of the state. Shimla’s porters mirror the condition of Kashmiris around the country.

Many Kingfisher employees have been waiting for pending salaries for over six years now. Pilots of the recently grounded Jet Airways also fear a similar fate. And there are thousands across the country awaiting dues from smaller, less known employers. What could be the way forward for them?

The roll out of the Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA) has anyway been lacklustre; now, there are fears that it may be amended to make it more builder friendly, rather than home buyer friendly.

Lack of maintenance and monitoring, power supply and cost sharing issues have seen many cameras go kaput in the past. Now, with a freshly drawn-up Standard Operating Procedure, the Kejriwal government is all set to revive the project with 2000 installations across the city.

Introduced first in 2015 and eventually passed by the Lok Sabha in December 2018, the Consumer Protection Bill is yet to be debated or approved in the Rajya Sabha. The author attracts attention to the significant provisions of the new law and encourages readers to sign a petition calling for its enactment.

In Pune, a two-wheeler rider wore a cooking pan on his head, to protest the crackdown on helmet-less riders. In Puducherry, the chief minister himself led a dharna against mandatory use of helmets by all two-wheeler riders. What’s behind such apparently senseless protests?

From Guwahati to Imphal and Aizawl to Itanagar, north-east India broke out in massive demonstrations as the Citizenship Amendment Bill loomed on the horizon. But now with the bill having lapsed, can one look forward to peace and calm in the region?

The bill introduces the concept of opting out of Aadhaar, offers alternative ids for authentication and helps people get justice in case of disputes related to Aadhaar. But why then are activists still critical of the Aadhaar Amendment Bill?

Parliament nod to the Constitutional amendment providing 10 percent reservation to economically weaker sections has predictably stirred a hornet’s nest. But how much do you really know about how the system of quotas works and how the latest move will change the math?