Civic

The Central Finance Commission is a constitutionally mandated commission that has the key function of recommending how financial resources will be shared between the central governments and state governments, and between individual state governments.  It is constituted every five years, generally for a two year term, and is also required to make recommendations on strengthening financial resources of panchayats and municipalities (also known as urban local bodies). The Finance Commission’s terms of reference are drawn up by the central government, but its report is required to be tabled in Parliament. Generally the Finance Commission submits a single report sometime during Oct-Dec for five…

Kaikondrahalli Kere Habba entered its 6th edition this year. The Kere Habba has typically been a day long series of events from sunrise to sunset. It celebrates the gorgeous Kaikondrahalli Lake that is spread over 48 acres, 23 guntas on Sarjapur Road. Once a dumpyard, this lake has been a bio-diverse ecosystem for the last few years. The lake's rejuvenation was taken up by BBMP few years back with the help and efforts of local citizens. The lake has become home to myriad species of resident and migratory birds and other creatures.  To celebrate the lake, this year, a variety…

Shaheen Bagh: Mediation ends with Road 9 opened Following talks between Supreme Court appointed interlocutors and anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh, road number 9, a one-way route connecting Noida with Kalindi Kunj, was opened to allow one-way traffic from the Shaheen Bagh-Jamia Nagar locality and Ashram towards Noida through the Kalindi Kunj bridge. While it may not completely resolve traffic problems, it’s being considered a positive start. Hearing pleas against the blockade of roads for protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Shaheen Bagh, on February 17th, a Supreme Court Bench had appointed Senior Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde, advocate…

HC cracks a whip on illegal buildings along ECR in CRZ-1 and II A Madras High Court bench comprising Justices M Sathyanarayanan and R Hemalatha have instructed the State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA) to carry out a detailed survey and identify the total count of unapproved buildings on ECR from Uthandi to Mahabalipuram. The bench had issued lock and seal notices to over 700 building owners a few years ago for violating the norms. Chennai Corporation has been directed to submit a report detailing the action taken against the owners. Further, the Justices ruled that GCC should develop a…

Bembala is a Bengaluru-based organisation – an initiative of the citizens group, Whitefield Rising– is a free and confidential volunteer-run support center for women and children who face abuse or violence. The alarming rise of violence against women and children is of critical concern for Bengaluru today. A group art show “Oorja” will be held at The Art Corridor Taj West End, Bengaluru from 23rd Feb to 2nd March 2020 in association with Mr. M G Doddamani. “Oorja” or Energy in Sanskrit is the defining expression of the human spirit, that energy or life force which inspires and unifies us to reach…

Makeover for city’s streets under the Mega Streets project The Corporation of Chennai has adopted the Complete Streets Framework under which close to 110 kms of the city’s arterial roads are set to get a makeover. The project aims to upgrade the city’s streets to aid better walking, cycling and improve access to public transport. Through these measures the civic body hopes to create accessible public spaces for all. The project will revamp roads spread across 426 sq km of the city. There will be greater importance to various forms of non-motorized transport and making streets fit for the same.…

Arvind Kejriwal all set to take oath as Delhi CM After registering a resounding victory in the Delhi Assembly Elections 2020, Arvind Kejriwal will be taking oath on February 16th along with his other fellow cabinet ministers. AAP won 62 seats out of 70 in the elections, while the remaining 8 were won by BJP. India’s oldest political party, Congress, could not win any.  The party has claimed that since its win in the Delhi elections, over 1 million people have joined the party. Data collected by Axis My India poll analysis agency through a survey conducted immediately after the…

While the pedestrian plaza and smart bike projects are well underway, there are many other plans for Chennai under the Smart Cities Mission, all at at various stages of progress. While Chennai started its smart city projects a couple of years after other cities did, it has caught up with the latter now, feels Raj Cherubal, CEO of Chennai Smart City Limited (CSCL). A few exciting projects in store include the restoration of the Mambalam Canal. The restoration efforts will not only focus on cleaning of the canal but also the creation of usable public spaces around the same, with…

Debashish Mondal looked vacantly at the broken walls of his home. All that remained of the house he was born in 35 years ago was broken bricks, chunks of cement and a shattered roof. On November 11, the colony he lived in, under Tallah bridge in north Kolkata, home to around 60 families, was reduced to rubble. The local municipal authorities and personnel from the Public Works Department (PWD), along with a posse of cops, came around 10:30 that morning. They had brought along labourers for the demolition, and two days later also called in bulldozers for some of the…

Apprehension loomed large in the mind of homemaker Geetha Dhananjaya, when she first accompanied the Bengaluru City Police (BCP) to their night rounds in Kumaraswamy Layout, in mid-September. Now however, the 45-year old, sporting a salwar kameez, says she has become a regular at the night rounds. Geetha is part of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee (NWC) of the city police. “Being a homemaker, I was not used to being around cops though all of them were women. So initially I had agreed to accompany them with a bit of reluctance,” Geetha says. Geetha is among the 45 NWC members at…