public interest litigation pil

Death by air pollution A Greenpeace Southeast Asia report on Thursday estimated that Bengaluru recorded 12,000 avoidable deaths due to PM 2.5 air pollution in 2020. The city fared better than Delhi and Mumbai, but worse than Chennai, Hyderabad, and Lucknow. The ‘Cost Estimator’ online tool estimated the real-time health impact and economic cost from fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), using real-time ground-level PM 2.5 measurements collated in IQAir’s database. Apart from waste burning, construction, industries, and DG sets, the fossil-fuelled transport sector was the key emission source. Polluted air increases the likelihood of deaths owing to cancer and stroke,…

563 new dengue cases in four days The number of dengue cases in the city shot up by 12 percent over just four days, this week. From the start of 2019, till Sunday, 4443 cases had been recorded in the city. But by Wednesday, the number rose to 5006, said officials. That is, 563 new cases were registered in just four days. BBMP East zone is worst affected, with 1937 cases since January. Bengaluru South zone comes next with 786 cases, followed by Mahadevapura with 760 cases. Dasarahalli Zone has recorded the lowest number, with 116 cases. Among wards, Hoysalanagar…

High Court to state: Why no law to regulate rallies in Bengaluru? High Court called the state government's conduct "contemptuous" for not putting in place a law to regulate public assemblies and processions in Bengaluru. The court was responding to a PIL filed by an advocate A V Amaranathan. He was seeking a direction to the state, to notify the Licensing and Controlling of Assemblies and Processions (Bangalore City) Order, 2008. The government had notified the draft order years ago. In April 2011, the High Court had disposed of PILs related to the problems caused by rallies and bandhs, after…

A walk along our neighbourhoods in Bengaluru will indicate the vibrancy of some of our streets. Colourful carts of green and other bright colours with a fresh supply of vegetables, fruits and flowers are therapy for the eyes, and also ensure we buy the required vitamins and minerals for our well-being. The carts of street food that offer a quick snack after shopping, or the much-needed energy after too long a day to cook dinner at home, are such a blessing. More importantly, the little stalls in unexpected corners selling just what you were looking for - such as a…

In the first part of this series, we explained how compensatory afforestation is a sham - compensatory saplings are not tracked or cared for, or are planted way outside the city. In this part, we explore why trees are felled in the first place without public consultations. Environmentalists in Bengaluru have pointed out the curious trend of tree-cutting packages awarded in bunches of 49 trees or lesser. Why is this? Section 8 (3)(vii) of the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976, stipulates that if more than 50 trees need to be cut for any infrastructure purpose like road construction or…