City: Surat

More than 5,000 unauthorised constructions have been demolished in the crackdown following the horrific fire in a Surat coaching centre in May, but in a city that has routinely legalised illegal buildings and never looked inside to check compliance with fire guidelines, is the present knee-jerk reaction really enough?

Around 8 lakh workers from Odisha, after strenuous shifts in Surat’s powerlooms, stay in rotation in crowded rooms, amid power cuts, scarce water, filth and noise. Illnesses are common, as are stress and alcoholism.

The Centre has been actively promoting municipal bonds as a source to fund development of cities, but those with lower credit ratings may not find it a very smooth option to raise money through the same.

Pune tops the fifth Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems conducted by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, while Bengaluru is in the last position. A summary of the key findings from the survey.

Most cities have suffered because of CEOs who keep changing or have additional responsibilities and charges that make it difficult to focus exclusively on the Smart City projects.

India’s smart cities aim to provide essential infrastructure, decent quality of life, sustainable environment and smart solutions for citizens — to do more with less! Take a quick look at what the top 5 chosen cities are prioritising in the process.

The top ranked cities in the Swachh Survekshan 2017 undertaken by the MoUD do not segregate, process or dispose of their waste scientifically. In the first part of an in-depth study, Navya P K finds that the survey criteria are in conflict with the government’s own SWM policy!