Urban Environment

The Centre's Ministry of Environment, Forest  & Climate Change recently notified the  Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Amendment Rules, 2021, to phase out certain types of single-use plastics by 2022. The ban applies to the manufacture, sale, use, import and handling  of some plastic items. The amendment is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment of eliminating single-use plastic by 2022. What is single-use plastic? According to the PWM Rules, 2021, ‘single-use plastic commodity’ means a plastic item intended to be used once, before being disposed of or recycled.  The Expert Committee on ‘Single Use Plastics’, constituted by the Department of…

Two years ago, Sobha Daffodils -- an apartment in HSR Layout -- decided to do something about their water footprint. Over 420 houses in the apartment adopted smart water flow meters that monitor water usage in real-time. Since then, Radhakrishna Kurup’s average water intake has dropped by about 20%. Kurup is the President of Sobha Daffodils Apartment Owners’ Association. The use of water globally has increased by roughly six times over the past 100 years, and is expected to rise further. The available freshwater resources have declined by more than 20% per person over the past two decades, according to…

An apartment complex conjures an image of rows of buildings, with amenities like swimming pool, play areas, manicured lawns and alien trees. These complexes are considered 'concrete jungles' and are not really known for their biodiversity. But the residents of SJR Redwoods Apartments have broken this myth - they have converted their premises into a food forest. This apartment complex off Sarjapura Road has 152 flats, and is situated on a five-acre property of which two acres is common land. How we created a zero-waste food forest Our garden used to generate six tonnes of waste per month, which had…

If the outside of the Cubbon Park metro station is devoid of colour, step inside and the station is anything but colourless. On an outside wall of the station is an end-to-end monochrome mural depicting tree trunks and children climbing them. Step inside, to the concourse next to the tracks, and the eye cannot help but catch the large colourful mural that captures the essence of what lies under the sprawling Cubbon Park---a massive groundwater recharge system. The theme that defines the artwork spread across the entire metro station. “The idea is to make water practices in the city visible,…

Translated by Sandhya Raju வாய்ப்புகள் தேடி மக்கள் நகர்ப்புறம் நோக்கி நகரத் தொடங்கியதில் உலகம் முழுவதும் நகரமயமாக்கல் வெகு விரைவாக முன்னேறியுள்ளது. பெருகி வரும் மக்கள் தொகைக்கேற்ப நகரத்தின் உள்ளேயேயும், அதனை சுற்றியும் விரிவாக்கம் செய்யும் நிர்பந்தத்திற்க்கு தள்ளப்பட்டுள்ள நிலையில், வெப்ப நிலை மாற்றம், சுற்றுச்சூழல் பாதிப்பு, அதிக மாசு என அதன் தாக்கம் பல எதிர்வினைகளை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது. 2001 ஆம் ஆண்டு 6.6 மில்லியனாக இருந்த மக்கள் தொகை 2011-ல் 8.6 மில்லியனாக (சென்சஸ் படி) அதிகரிக்க, சென்னையும் இந்த மாற்றத்திற்கு விதிவிலக்கல்ல. சமீபத்தில் வெளியான ஆய்வின் படி, 1991-2016 ஆண்டில் சென்னையில் கோடை வெப்பம் (மார்ச் - மே) 5.8 டிகிரி செல்சியஸ் வரை உயர்ந்துள்ளது. மக்கள் தொகை ஏற்றம், சீரற்ற நகரமயமாக்கல் ஆகியவை இதற்கான முக்கிய காரணியாக அமைந்ததாக குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. நகர்ப்புற விரிவாக்கம் மற்றும் இரண்டு இந்திய மெகாசிட்டிகளுக்கான மேற்பரப்பு வெப்பநிலை மற்றும் அதன் விளைவுகள்:…

Mallathahalli Lake has been in the news the past week, but for all the wrong reasons. There are plans set in motion to “develop” the lake, converting it into nothing short of an amusement park, with the main waterbody forming a sorry backdrop. Despite clear guidelines from the courts and the NGT on how to work around lakes, there are plans to build structures inside the lake. I live close to this lake and regularly go for walks by the lake. Life in and around the lake has always been in profusion, slowing me down on these walks. So it…

Scenario 1: It’s Friday night, and Kiran decides to order some burger, fries, and a bottle of soft drink to go with it. He finishes drinking the beverage and puts the bottle in the recycle bag, with all his other dry waste, and places the bag out, on the day BBMP workers pick up recyclables. Scenario 2: Anita is hosting a birthday party, and she orders soft drinks, along with other snacks and beverages.. Post the party all the bottles go into the recycle bag that is placed outside her apartment door. Scenario 3: Jayamma, is a pourakarmika, in Ward…

Petrol and diesel prices in Bengaluru stand at Rs 105 and Rs 95 respectively. The increasing prices have hit the transport expenses of lower and middle-income Bengalureans. Looking for lower operating costs, they are increasingly choosing electric vehicles (EV). As the adoption of e-vehicles increases, so does the need for infrastructure to support it. An internal survey by Bangalore Apartment Federation predicts a 5-6% increase in EV adoption amongst its members. This, in turn, necessitates Apartment Associations to anticipate, plan and expand the charging infrastructure to accommodate increasing numbers of e-vehicles amongst their residents. Apartments are setting up community charging…

India’s urban population went up from 17.9% in 1960 to 34.9% in 2020. Bengaluru’s population in the same time period increased more than 10 times. The city’s urbanisation has led to Bengaluru's Land Surface Temperature (LST) increasing from 33.08℃ in 1992 to 41℃ in 2017 -- a whopping 24% increase! Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur have analysed Bengaluru’s urban expansion and how it affected surface temperatures. The study titled Analyzing and Predicting Urban Expansion and Its Effects on Surface Temperature for Two Indian Megacities: Bengaluru and Chennai also predicts the city’s urban area in 2025. Key findings…

Last October, around 700 houses in Bengaluru were damaged after heavy rains and flooding. The saga continues this year - 70 houses were flooded on June 4, and more on July 5. For hundreds of low-income families in Bengaluru, heavy rainfall in the last few years have meant intense damage or even losing their home. Flooding can also lead to the inflow of sewage into slums, which further increases the risk of water-borne and vector-borne diseases. Flooded roads and underpasses don't just choke traffic for hours, but they also increase the likelihood of accidents. Flooding has also been leading to…