Series: Environment and climate change in Tier II cities

On February 10th, 2021, Citizen Matters organised an online round-table discussion on ‘Climate Crisis and Environmental Sustainability: Lessons for Tier 2 cities’. The discussion was a logical extension of a series published on Citizen Matters, and supported by Climate Trends, that looked at climate change and environmental sustainability in cities like Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Shimla, Rishikesh and Varanasi. The intense session saw a deep exploration of the various sustainability challenges before India's Tier 2 cities and towns, and the systemic gaps underlying such manifestations. Read more: What’s causing climate risks in our smaller cities and towns? The primary objective of this…

A discussion with a difference Over the latter half of 2020, Citizen Matters commissioned a series of articles, supported by Climate Trends, to look at climate change and environmental sustainability in Tier 2 towns like Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Shimla, Rishikesh and Varanasi. Why Tier 2, one may ask. Because if and when there is a spotlight on issues of sustainability or the urban climate crisis, it is usually the metros that are at the centre of it. Air Pollution is invariably associated with Delhi/NCR, discussions around water crisis are more often than not Chennai-centric, while waste and mobility issues are mostly…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. Situated on the banks of river Ganga, Varanasi, India’s holiest city and the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came into limelight in 2015, when Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data highlighted that the city didn’t have even a single good air quality day that year. In fact, Varanasi is among the 43 critically polluted zones across the country. Not just air, its water quality is equally pathetic. Pollution indices in Varanasi have only got worse with time. In…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. Climate change is not a new phenomena for the Himalayan State of Uttarakhand. In fact, the Indian Himalayan Region, comprising all the mountain states/UTs of India, has been at the forefront of climate change. Increased human activities, like unplanned construction, rampant tourism, increased waste generation, unsustainable transportation and more are resulting in rapid deterioration of the Himalayan landscape. The ambitious 900 km Char Dham all-weather highway project is the new addition to this list.  The “Char Dham project is…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. The colonial summer capital is taking some key steps on the energy front in its goal of becoming a green city. Presently, 67 government buildings are switching over to solar power and more than 1,000  street lights are working on solar energy. Also, dozens of city hotels are maximising their use of solar energy systems, while several residential buildings have installed photovoltaic technologies to cut down their monthly power bills. “This is our 2021-22 mission for a green city project…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. Chandigarh: The Beautiful City, located in the foothills of Shivalik range, was originally a cluster of 58 villages. When the site was chosen to build a modern capital for the then state of Punjab in 1948, it resulted in relocation of 21,000 people, mainly farmers cultivating crops such as wheat, corn, and maize. The city lies in the Indo-Gangetic plains, between two seasonal hill torrents – the Sukhna and Patiali rivers. Presumably, back then it was a much cooler…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. In May 2018, 51-year old Shail Bala Sharma, an Assistant Town Planner (ATP) was shot dead at Kasauli –a popular hill station and cantonment in Solan district, known for its quaint colonial buildings and landmarks. She was out to enforce a Supreme Court order to demolish half a dozen illegal constructions in the town, mainly hotels, lodges and guest houses. Hotelier Vijay Singh, whose hotel was slated for demolition, allegedly opened fire on her and the accompanying town and country…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. Natural disaster triggered by unusual climate events is a way of life in Himachal. The latest incident is that of flash floods triggered by sudden heavy rainfall in Kinnaur with the IMD issuing yellow weather warnings of heavy rainfall in middle and lower hills of the state in the coming few days. Fortunately, no lives were lost. Earlier in June 2005, when the Pareechu lake in Tibet burst its banks, the loss of property, both private and public, was…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. The life sustaining character of the Sutlej river has changed drastically in recent years. Symptomatic of Sutlej’s sorry state is the Buddha Nullah, a 14-km stream that runs through Ludhiana, picking up toxic effluents in massive quantities and around 200 MLD of untreated sewage a day,  in its passage through the city before dumping it all in the Sutlej.  Sutlej which originates at the Mansarovar lake in Tibet, flows through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab covering a distance of 1450…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. In Part 1 of the story, we saw how pollution of the Daya river and lack of a proper sewerage system is affecting Bhubaneswar.  Bhubaneswar’s other problem is drainage. The city used to have 10 natural drainage channels that carried rainwater coming from the uplands in Chandaka forest and other areas around the city. But in the last few decades, most natural drainage channels have been encroached by illegal constructions blocking water flow.  “We have asked the state government to give Rs…