Civic

With the Metrorail’s first phase now fully operational across the city, the organisation in charge, Chennai Metrorail Limited (CMRL), has begun planning for the second phase. Spanning over 119 km across three corridors, this project is expected to go for tendering by June this year. Soil testing is now ongoing in various parts of the city. The enthusiasm for the project is palpable, what with the first phase having shown how it can benefit the public. This is also time to ponder over how this phase can be handled in a more efficient manner than the first. The initial phase…

There are perhaps not too many surprises in the results of the Swachh Survekshan 2019 survey, conducted between January 4th and 31st this year, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Ambikapur in Chattisgarh, and Mysuru in Karnataka have bagged the top three ranks for the cleanest cities. Madhya Pradesh seems to have cracked the cleanliness conundrum in several pockets. While Indore has done a hat trick, the capital city of Bhopal is acclaimed as the cleanest capital, while another city in MP, Ujjain, also bagged the "cleanest city" award in the 3 lakh…

It would be hard to miss the recent additions to the streets of Chennai over the past few months. The ubiquitous presence of tiny flickering lights that belong to the many CCTV cameras placed within 50 metres of each other at most roads and intersections have attracted considerable attention and publicity. The CCTV cameras are part of an initiative launched two years ago by the Chennai Police to combat crime. Dubbed 'Third Eye’, the campaign has gained steam over the last six months or so and now covers over half the city. Who's watching? The Third Eye campaign took wings…

“We live in a gated community in Velachery. Corporation workers came door to door to distribute the forms to enlist people who are entitled to the Rs 2000 that they are giving out. They asked for ration card, voter ID or Aadhaar along with bank details. I refused as the scheme is clearly meant for people below the poverty line," said Adi Sankaran, a bank employee. But his is just one of the many accounts of similarly affluent or well to do neighbourhoods and enclaves in the city being approached by government workers. A scheme for BPL families An announcement…

Unauthorized colonies to be legalised in Delhi On March 7th, the central government gave its nod to the constitution of a panel to look into the process of transfer of rights or ownership to the residents of Delhi's unauthorized colonies. The move will be applicable to around 1790 unauthorized colonies in the city that is home to a largely migrant population who moved in search of employment. The committee is to be headed by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal. The committee is expected to submit a feasibility report within the next three months. The committee comprises ten members and is expected…

Write an Open Letter to your MLA A contest for all citizens of Bengaluru. Write an article on how your MLA performed in the last 5 years. How has he/she delivered / achieved as against what was promised during the 2013 state elections. What do you expect in the next term? What we expect: Your letter should make one think, substantiate them with context and data. Write in a simple and lucid style. Your write-up should be based on an understanding of the role of an MLA and the authority vested in him/her. Do not mix up MLA’s roles with other…

Chennai awarded as fastest mover in Swachh rankings Chennai has been lauded for the special efforts it has taken in the previous year to become one of the cleanest cities in the country. The city has also been awarded for fastest growth in 2019 among cities with a population of more than 10 lakh. Chennai has climbed 39 spots to secure 61st spot in the Swachh Survekshan rankings released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. This spike in rankings is primarily due to the improvements in source segregation and redressal of complaints registered on the Swachhata App. The…

Iblur lake is almost ready! Those of you who travel by the lake may have noticed that the lake bed has been cleaned and levelled, the bund has been built, and bund walls pitched with stone. Water inlets and outlets have been constructed, and the newly built storm water drains along Outer Ring Road will bring rainwater runoff into the lake. Once Hoskote Gravel is laid on the bund, the walking/jogging path would be complete. Joggers and walkers have already started using the lake. Birds also make occasional stopovers. We, local residents who had formed the Iblur Lake Forum, are…

"Celebrating four years of changemaking"- this is what my good friends at Namma Ooru Foundation (NOF) Called the event. So naturally I expected to hear stories of the journey, milestones, troubles encountered along, successes hard earned, etc. And of course I knew that I would be meeting many of Chennai's environment warriors. I was looking forward to it. It was all that, and more. I met several of the remarkable individuals that we keep reaching out to, both for our writings at Citizen Matters, and in our personal capacity, for guidance in our efforts to refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle.…

Reports about a third desalination plant, with a capacity of 550 million litres a day (MLD), have raised hopes among Chennaites. Convinced that their water woes can be successfully addressed with advanced technology, citizens welcome the state government’s proposal of the plant that would make sea water potable. But, are desalination plants really the solution we need? Environmentalists are often deeply critical of pollution caused by desalination plants. But, even if we put aside the concerns around environmental damage  for the present discussion, desalination plants themselves do not appear to be economically viable for the city. An extravagant affair The…