Civic

The current administration has undertaken several infrastructure development activities across Chennai over the last few years. Roads have been resurfaced and stormwater drains (SWDs) have been constructed during this time. The members of the Perambur Neighborhood Development Forum have been engaging closely with the local authorities and contractors to monitor the quality of the civic work carried out in Chennai and ensure that they are up to prescribed standards. Our observations in this time have been that the civic body and the contractors have failed to properly adhere to processes when it comes to several works including the laying of roads.…

Even though manual scavenging was officially banned in 1993, it continues in the city. This is due to the increasing number of sewage treatment plants (STPs) and a lack of awareness about their operation and maintenance.  In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the absence of data and organisation within the rehabilitation programme for manual scavengers. In this part, we look further into the emergence of a new form of manual scavenging. In 2018, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) amended its guidelines for STPs. It made the installation of STPs mandatory in apartments above 50 units.…

"As a woman in politics and mother of a two-year-old, I am aware of my child's needs and am in a position of power to create a safe space for children. That's precisely what I have been trying to do," says Brindhaa Shrri Murali Krishnan, the Councillor of Ward 160. Brindhaa also highlights the importance of promptly addressing the needs of the residents. "I am dedicated to ensuring that each query and issue raised by the residents of my Ward receives thorough follow-up and timely updates", she adds. Brindhaa’s journey into politics has been shaped by her upbringing and early experiences…

That Mumbai is space-starved with one of the worst ratios of people to open spaces, is common knowledge. In this highly congested city, it is the public parks and grounds that offer respite to citizens, who often live in housing societies with little or no place for walks, or for children to run around. So, when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) came up with a proposal that some of these open spaces could be given to private players on temporary leases for upkeep, through an adoption scheme, citizens and civic activists have come together to oppose it. Activists have met…

Elevated corridor to come up on Mount Road The State Highways department has invited bids for the construction of an elevated corridor above the metro tunnel on Mount Road. The elevated corridor will be 3.2 km long and have four lanes and the width of the flyover will be 34m. Footpaths measuring 2m will be present on both sides.  The flyover will allow vehicles to drive up to a speed of 80 km/ph and cut travel time between Teynampet and Saidapet to under 10 minutes. The budget for the project is Rs 525 crore.  The project will commence after clearance…

Fire at SRA building in Goregaon West Seven persons died and over 60 were injured in a fire at the Jay Bhavani SRA building in Goregaon west. The fire gutted the ground floor with shops and the seven residential floors. Parked vehicles, items in the shops, meter cabins, household items were also damaged. The fire was extinguished at 0654 am on 6th October using six hose lines and 8 motor pumps. Out of the 62 injured five are critical. The injured have been admitted to Cooper Hospital and HBT hospital. Various agencies including persons from six NGOs were mobilised to…

Stalled BBMP works to resume Civic stalled works in the city will be resumed, according to the directives by the Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar. Broken roads will be repaired while stalled projects, including overflowing rajakaluves, will be fixed. The incomplete works were paused four months ago, due to a pending inquiry by a government-constituted team of IAS officers. Partial payments to contractors and up to 75% of the bills are being cleared, but the special investigation team (SIT) will continue with its investigation. The previous government had sanctioned 353 works costing over Rs 5,000 crore.…

Students, women, farmers and Dalit groups gathered together on October 2nd, Gandhi Jayanti, to demand the withdrawal of a government order restricting protests to the confines of Freedom Park. The protestors intended to march from Gandhi Park at Maurya Circle to Vidhan Soudha but were detained by the police.   In 2022, the BJP-led Karnataka government passed an order barring protests anywhere in Bengaluru, except Freedom Park. Since its enforcement, the order has been used to arrest a wide range of protesting groups, including Citizens for Sankey, a group that opposed the proposed widening of Sankey Road, farmers from Devanahalli…

Mathew Idiculla, an independent legal and policy consultant based in Bengaluru and a visiting faculty at the School of Policy and Governance Azim Premji University, discussed the significance of public participation in urban planning and the views of urban planning experts in part 1 of this interview. In part two, he discusses the absence of an urban planning process and cites a few case studies to illustrate his point. CM: In 2015, you were a part of the BBMP restructuring committee. How was your experience being in the system? Mathew Idiculla: I accidentally became a part of the system. The…

Suggestions sought from survey of North Chennai The Rs 1000 crore Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam will see development of various key infrastructure in North Chennai. Neglected areas in the region will soon get model school, sports facilities, amenities such as walking paths and cycling tracks and sprucing up of existing public spaces such as parks and playfields.  The project will be carried out by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), Tamil Nadu Urban Habitate Development Board (TNUHDB) and Department of Town and Country Planning. Read estate firm CBRE has been roped in to conduct surveys…