Policy

This year, the government announced an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for farmers, those national benefactors who are mostly forgotten. The MSP for 14 crops sown in the summer was increased. The price of paddy was hiked by 13 per cent to Rs 200 per quintal, the most important crop, while the MSP for cotton saw a hike of 28 per cent. This was called a “historic decision” by the government, but it immediately set off a ripple of fear among consumers in cities. Will inflation shoot up? Shall we now have to pay more taxes in order to maintain…

“கடந்த பத்து வருடங்களாக எல்லோரையும் சூரிய எரிசக்திக்கு மாறும் படி வலுயுறுத்தி வருகிறேன். இது நான் எடுத்த சிறந்த முடிவு. இது எவ்வளவு எளிதானது என்பதை மக்கள் உணர்ந்தால், அவர்கள் நிச்சயம் முயற்சிப்பார்கள். அதற்கான மனம் தான் தேவை” என்கிறார் சென்னைவாசி டி சுரேஷ். சூரிய எரிசக்தி பற்றி சென்னை மற்றும் தமிழ்நாட்டு மக்களிடையே எடுத்துச் செல்லும் இவரது முயற்சிக்காக இவர் சோலார் சுரேஷ் என்றே அழைக்கப்படுகிறார். க்ரீன்பீஸ் மற்றும் ஜெர்மி (Greenpeace India and GERMI) நடத்திய Rooftop Revolution: Unleashing Chennai’s Solar Potential  ஆய்வின் படி சென்னையில் 1.38 GW (கிகாவாட்) அளவுக்கு சூரிய மின்சக்தி தயாரிக்க வாய்ப்பு உள்ளது என்றும் இதுவரை இந்த முயற்சி மேற்கொள்ளப்படவில்லை என்றும் கூறுகிறது. மேலும், வீட்டு கூரை மேல் சூரிய மின்சக்தி அமைப்பின் மூலம் 586 MW (மெகாவாட்) கிடைக்கும் என்றும் இது மொத்த அளவீட்டில் 46% ஆகும் எனவும்…

16 traders lose licences for using disposable plastic At a council meeting held in July, BBMP had declared an ultimatum to traders who do not stop using disposable plastic material (cups, plates and spoons). Mayor Sampath Raj had chalked out a week's deadline for the shopkeepers to permanently shift to using eco-friendly materials instead, failing which the licences of establishments would be cancelled. True to their word, the corporation's health department cancelled 16 trading licences of shops in Avenue Road, Bommanahalli and Neelasandra. One and a half tonnes of plastic was recovered through the raids conducted over two days, along with…

It no longer comes as a surprise to anyone -- the annual monsoon headlines describing how India's megapolis Mumbai is gasping to keep its head above floods caused by heavy rain, while citizens rue that there is little they can do to dam it. Still, sometimes, there are fledgling ideas that do lead to action, even if at a hyperlocal level. Radha, a citizen activist from Lokhandwala Residents' Association at an apartment in a shopping-cum-residential area got into the act immediately. She says that when her locality was getting flooded, the main cause of the excessive water was found to…

It no longer comes as a surprise to anyone -- the annual monsoon headlines describing how India's megapolis Mumbai is gasping to keep its head above floods caused by heavy rain, while citizens rue that there is little they can do to dam it. Still, sometimes, there are fledgling ideas that do lead to action, even if at a hyperlocal level. Radha, a citizen activist from Lokhandwala Residents' Association at an apartment in a shopping-cum-residential area got into the act immediately. She says that when her locality was getting flooded, the main cause of the excessive water was found to…

In our deeply undemocratic traffic system, we need to call out how strong the automobile lobby is, how suppressed pedestrians are and how small is the resistance from pedestrians and public transport uses. Consider this: peaceful, democratic protesters are not allowed by a force-wielding police to come anywhere near Mantralaya. They are confined to a corner some 2 km away in Azad Maidan, in a corner, rendered invisible to the people. But axe-wielding men of the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) could easily dig up the footpath right in front of the state government headquarters, supposedly to protest the presence of…

In our deeply undemocratic traffic system, we need to call out how strong the automobile lobby is, how suppressed pedestrians are and how small is the resistance from pedestrians and public transport uses. Consider this: peaceful, democratic protesters are not allowed by a force-wielding police to come anywhere near Mantralaya. They are confined to a corner some 2 km away in Azad Maidan, in a corner, rendered invisible to the people. But axe-wielding men of the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) could easily dig up the footpath right in front of the state government headquarters, supposedly to protest the presence of…

State transport department in dire need of funds  Transport Minister DC Thammanna has said that the state transport corporations BMTC, NEKRTC, and NWKRTC have run into annual losses worth Rs 600 crore, and a fare hike may be inevitable if operations are to be continued. The decreasing fuel efficiency (mileage) of buses caused by halting in congested, traffic-ridden roads and additional taxes for fuel have only added to the debt, the minister complained. In order to make profits and generate some revenue, a proposal for a 20% hike in bus fares has already been made. The matter is being considered by the…

On June 8, Delhi’s peak electricity demand broke all previous records, hitting a new high of 6,934 megawatt (MW) at 3:28 pm on June 8, which was 6 per cent higher than last year’s peak. This is surprising because even though Delhi crossed the 2017 record four times since June 1, it was not even the hottest day of the season! The earlier record of 6,526 MW was set on June 6, 2017, which was a hotter day than June 8, 2018. In fact, Delhi's peak demand has been consistently higher than that of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai taken together during this…

When it comes to transparency and providing information to citizens, Tamil Nadu has a rich legacy. The southern state was a front runner in passing the Right To Information (RTI) act in 1997, eight years before the Centre passed it in 2005.  The Act proved to be a game changer. To cite just one example, an RTI activist exposed a scam by the Tamil Nadu Housing Department (TNHB) in December 2010, where selected government servants were provided with houses, under the Government Discretion Quota. Through the RTI reply and further investigation, it was learnt that undeserving people were categorised as social…