URBAN PLANNING

In April 2019, the Madras High Court, acting on deoccupation orders issued by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), directed the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to demolish the structures put up by a restaurant chain on Old Mahabalipuram Road, on land that was classified as residential.  The Court struck down the reclassification and subsequent planning permission granted by the GCC as 'fraudulent'. This is a rare occurrence, not just in Chennai, but in most of our rapidly growing cities. As urban India grows, and larger numbers of people migrate to cities, commercial establishments of every hue and size begin to…

ON JUNE 18th, Upper Vaitarna, one of the few lakes that provide water to Mumbai, hit zero. Appeals of saving water trickled across the city and the Brihanmumbai Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) assured citizens that it would dip into its safety stock in other lakes. When monsoon finally arrived, it came with the decade’s highest 24-hour rainfall. Mumbai was flooded; trains, buses and flight services disrupted; and 32 people dead.   But no one was surprised. “It happens every year. A couple of days ago we barely had any water and now the city is waterlogged,” Prashant Patil, a resident of…

Chennaiites who have lived through the devastating floods of 2015 can attest to how the event and its aftermath has had a lasting impact on the city. The sudden and massive scale of the deluge saw scores dead and many lose their homes and possessions. Rebuilding from a catastrophe such as this is a long process that the residents come to grips with it over many years. Krupa Ge's evocative book Rivers Remember: #CHENNAIRAINS and The Story of a Manmade Flood delves into the various aspects of the fateful events that led to the lathe scale flooding. The book deconstructs…

The spectre of water scarcity is haunting Bengaluru. And from a din of solutions to avert this man-made crisis, one suggestion has take the city over like a storm, and brought to the forefront a debate with myriad perspectives. Recently, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameswara suggested banning apartment construction in Bengaluru for the next five years. His announcement invited strong objections from the real estate industry. Just a day after, the shares of Bengaluru-based real estate giants Shobha and Brigade plunged five percent. However, Parameswara's suggestion resonated with many citizens who have been facing the brunt of water shortage. Questions…

On June 29th, hundreds of JP Nagar residents took part in a peace walk from MLR Convention Centre to Nandini Junction along 24th Main road. Our walk was against the illegal commercialisation and bad traffic planning along this stretch. Over 15,000 residents live around this 1.8 km-long stretch of 24th Main road. Thousands of commuters use it as well, but they take as much as 40-45 minutes to traverse it on a regular day. The reason is the unethical commercialisation of the area, which has led to infrastructure breakdown and deterioration of the neighbourhood. As per the Revised Master Plan (RMP…

After years of public demand for a suburban rail network in Bengaluru, the project seems to be rolling out slowly. But there is much confusion as authorities are still working out the details. Just last week, the state government gave its consent to register a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that would implement the project worth Rs 22,242 crore. The SPV named B-RIDE (Bangalore Integrated Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises Limited), is expected to be registered within a month. It will be a joint venture between the state and the centre. After years of delay, it was this February that the state…

One among the first 20 cities selected for redevelopment under PM Narendra Modi’s Smart Cities Mission (SCM) launched in 2015, Bhopal faces the loss of a major chunk of its green cover, thanks to the implementation of the smart city project. The number of trees that could literally go under the axe may run into thousands under the Rs 3400 crore development plan in the city, which is still grappling with the consequences of the world’s worst industrial disaster -- a gas leak that killed thousands in 1984. The area chosen for implementing the project, Tatya Tope Nagar (TT Nagar),…

One fine morning around mid-March, we, the residents of ST Bed Layout in Koramangala, suddenly found the Maharaja Junction bridge, our main link to the outside world, demolished. On asking around, we were given all kinds of reasons, none of which seemed to justify the demolition. The bridge, which covered a major storm water drain (SWD)/rajakaluve, used to be in good condition. However, we were told that a new bridge was being built, and that it would be completed in around 45 days. We saw a lot of construction activity around the area, and hoped that BBMP would complete the…

When the Tamil Nadu government proposed to restore Avadi’s Paruthipattu Lake in 2016, the suburban residents rejoiced. The Public Works Department (PWD)-owned lake, spanning 87.03 acres was to be restored in a sustainable manner, at an expenditure of Rs 28 crore. Unfortunately, the work has been a curse, leading to untreated sewage water from 3,500 houses around flowing straight into the water body. The plan was to convert the Lake into an eco-park, much like the one at Chetpet, with boating facilities, a children’s park and walking track. It was expected that the water body would spring back to life…

Aggrieved residents of OMR have come together to write to the Chief Minister to address the water and sanitation issues faced by close to 400,000 families that reside in the area. The 100 or so resident welfare associations in the area that have come together under the banner of Federation of OMR Resident Associations (FOMRRA) called for immediate action by the Chief Minister. The move has been prompted by the recent and frequent strikes by private water tankers which are the primary source of water for the residents. A strike by the private tankers association that was due to take…