OPINION

A day before Valentine’s, news broke that the Government of Karnataka had quietly tabled an amendment to Karnataka Tree Preservation Act of 1976. Under the proposed amendment, 50 trees were added to the list of 27 existing species that would no longer require permission to be chopped down. Many of these trees were favourites with Bengalureans - Gulmohars , Flame of the forest, Yellow Bells, African Tulips and even the humble Ashoka tree which lined many of the pavements in the city. Most of them were flowering species who’d bloom to their full glory in summer, adding to the beauty…

In a conversation with a colleague on the draft Revised Master Plan 2031, I was told that councilors of the BBMP (of the 198, less than thirty sat in on a presentation on the Draft RMP 2031) are convinced that the Master Plan is not a workable plan. When probed further, I was told that many councilors brought up issues that are technically not the concern/ mandate of the Master Plan. For instance, some mentioned that roads in their wards were in a bad condition. Others mentioned efficacy of water supply. Many others believe that the tool of Transfer of…

For an effective air quality management plan, a lot of information is required at various stages to ascertain the sources, their impacts on health, and their potential to control emissions. However, the most basic information that every city requires is ambient monitoring data. This data tells us, what is the level of air pollution, where and when is it the highest (spatial and temporal trends). It is very important that the ambient monitoring network for a city is representative, spatially and temporally, to support an effective long-term air quality management plan for the entire airshed of the city. For example,…

A recent BBC report projected that Bengaluru will run out of water soon. Yes, it was a superficial list of cities that already have water problem. It just pronounced the harsh verdict without any in-depth analysis of the factors involved. That’s like taking a casual look at an emaciated man and saying, “he is going to die soon”. But in this case, all the x-rays and MRIs are only going to confirm the same verdict. Ignoring the problem is going to worsen the situation. Let’s have a look at this complicated case, Munnabhai-style. He is bound to say, “Ae maamu!…

The Indian Motor Vehicles Act makes it compulsory to wear a BIS standard helmet when riding a two wheeler. It has been proven that wearing a standard helmet can reduce the risk of fatality by 40% and severe injury by 70%. Yet 70–80% of the helmets sold in the country are spurious. Bengaluru Traffic Police recently decided to make driving safer for two wheeler riders by insisting they wear ISI branded helmets only. Campaigns were launched and repeated reminders were published in the newpapers leading up to the roll out date of 1 Feb 2018. Then came the U-Turn, the…

The Bengaluru Master Plan for 2031 promises to equip the city to deal with the challenges that will come its way by 2031 - principally more people, causing more demand for living space and transport. There are plans for development of new mass transport options like LRT (Light Rail Transit), BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) and Monorail along several major corridors alongside road and junction improvements.  But in this article, I want to step back from the issues concerning the city at large, and focus on the impact of the master plan on my own area of J.P. Nagar. The strange…

Every morning hundreds of tempo travellers traverse IT corridor routes including Outer Ring Road and Hosur Road in Bengaluru. On their way to picking up their customers’ employees, they also ferry commuters waiting on the way for public transport, illegally of course. It is no secret that there are many private buses too plying from K.R. Market or Anand Rao Circle, to the outskirts. Some of them have just a contract carriages license, and some service organisations. A colleague of mine reports college buses plying in the evening near Race Course Road, carrying regular passengers to pre-defined destinations within the…

If you have travelled a reasonable number of major cities in India, the first thing that will strike you about Bengaluru is its green cover. The trees that stand regally spreading their foliage on both sides of the road, creating cool, beautiful avenues for passers-by to enjoy. These trees shield us from the fury of the sun during the warm summer months, and bear beautiful flowers in springtime. The joy that comes from watching these flowers in full bloom is truly sublime. It can transport one from mundane surroundings to a veritable paradise. Trees soothe our senses and relieve stress.…

With rising concerns about air quality in the city, a number of private citizens have begun measuring pollutant levels in the atmosphere, and are publishing them. The Karnataka Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), which is tasked with monitoring air quality and protecting the public from the health risks of poor air, disputes these measurements, arguing that these are taken by un-certified sensors. That's true, but it's also not the end of the matter. The problem is quite simple - secrecy is the weakness of pollution control efforts in the country. The government has taken the view that it will collect its…

Growing up in this beautiful city of gardens and lakes, one does wonder what happened to it over the past two decades. Any plans for the city’s future should carve a path of opportunities towards preserving what already works well, adding progressive and sustainable changes and allow the continuum of livability. The past couple of city development plans have been regressive and have lead this city towards a path of decay. This write up is a citizen’s analysis of what is proposed for a neighborhood (Planning District 07) in RMP 2031. Let’s start with some numbers. Land Use Planning District…