Civic

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…

The months preceding the Lok Sabha election this year was a season of sops. Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled several projects and announced more. But a sit-in protest of 200-odd farmers put a spanner in the works for one such big announcement. The farmers have been protesting against land acquisition and inadequate compensation for the proposed site for Noida International Greenfield Airport project since October 2018.  The proposed airport, 70 km away from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, New Delhi, estimated to cost Rs. 16,000 crore, was believed to be the government’s showpiece ahead of the elections. Although the state…

Driving down from Hebbal to Tin Factory, as you cross the Kasturi Nagar flyover, you may occasionally chance upon a lone crane or two, circling over a water body on the left. It may create a pretty picture, but this was not the case until sometime ago. Situated along the Old Madras road and stretching up to the Tin Factory bus stop is the Benniganahalli lake. Not quite visible from the main road, many citizens had become aware of the lake only when it started frothing a few years back due to the untreated sewage flowing into it from nearby…

Flood mitigation project gets central nod The Central government has given its nod for a comprehensive flood mitigation project and has recommended it to the World Bank for loan assistance. The project that is expected to take off in six months will help reduce the vulnerability of several localities to floods in different river basins, including lower Palar, Araniyar, and Kosasthalaiyar. Additional storage of nearly 4.76 thousand million cubic feet will also be created to cater to the drinking water needs of the city. Various structures, including check dams, recharge wells and sub-surface dykes, will be constructed in rivers as…

  Garbage crisis in city as dumpsite fills up The city seems to be slipping into a garbage crisis, as the Bellahalli quarry has filled up and there are no other options to dispose of the mounds of waste in the city. Due to sporadic rains, garbage piles are turning into breeding grounds for mosquito armies as well. This could add to the increasing cases of dengue and chikungunya in the city. Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun said that garbage could be dumped in the Bellahalli landfill for another month, but muddy roads were preventing garbage trucks from reaching the landfill. The…

The newly introduced Dial for Water 2.0 scheme by the Metro Water Department is being billed as the panacea for long delays in  water supply, but it could be a classic case of the cure turning out to be worse than the disease. As per the new scheme, one has to make an on-line payment while booking is made.  This means that only those who have the wherewithal to make on-line payment can make the bookings. The new scheme says it will not allow a consumer to make further bookings if he does not confirm receipt of the previous supply…

“The beauty of Shimla lies in its conceptualisation by the Britishers,” says Dr Ravinder Dhiman, a Shimla-based history researcher. “Primarily, it was modelled as a hill station for their summer recess. Yet most features and facilities built by them were similar to the Smart City concepts currently being drawn up. But in the existing conditions, these smart city concepts sound utterly unrealistic and highly impracticable”. Shimla is one of the 30 urban centres chosen under the Smart City Mission launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2015. The Rs 2,905 crore project, which has been approved by the centre, aims at…

Welcome relief as Chennai records excess rainfall After the longest ever dry spell experienced by the city, the southwest rains have brought in much-needed relief for the city over the last couple of months. According to reports, Chennai has also recorded excess rainfall of over 50% since June. Though the rainfall has been in short isolated spells, the few short and heavy spells in the city and suburbs have statistically resulted in excess rainfall this southwest monsoon. The Meteorological department has forecast more rains during the nights in the coming days. Weather experts have also predicted more rains in the…

BBMP to battle UDD move to allow ad hoardings The BBMP is gearing up to battle the Urban Development Department's (UDD) plan to allow advertisement hoardings in the city again. On July 15th, UDD had notified the draft BBMP Advertisement Rules, 2019, but BBMP officials say they were not consulted beforehand. The BBMP Council had decided to ban hoardings in the city about a year back. The UDD notification came just three days after the High Court stayed the BBMP's resolution to ban hoardings. UDD has also invited objections and suggestions on its draft notification. On Monday, the BBMP Council…

Four months after the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) initiated serious action on waste reduction and management in the city, the civic body is beginning to see the results. According to statistics obtained from Chennai Corporation, the daily average of garbage collected in Chennai has fallen from 5098 Metric Tonnes (MT) in March to 4493 MT in June, a reduction of 605 MT. In other words, Chennai Corporation is stopping an average of 18000 MT of waste from reaching the already burdened landfills of Perungudi and Kodungaiyur every month. Roadmap to reduction Here are the five steps being followed by Chennai Corporation…