Environment

The Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP), announced by the Maharashtra government on August 28th was meant to democractise decision making in order to make Mumbai sustainable by considering suggestions from citizens, experts and research organisations. However, the ground reality seems very different. Numerous projects currrently being executed in the city have drawn strong criticism from experts and citizens. Below are some of the concerns raised by experts which need to be addressed urgently. Induced demand phenomenon While some countries have dismantled their highways and coastal roads to promote public transport, Mumbai's approach is something called induced demand; the economic concept…

As Delhi’s air quality continues to oscillate between poor and severe this winter, the Delhi government imposed a ban on construction from November 15th. The Supreme Court too stepped in to reinforce the ban. In a move to alleviate the problems faced by about six lakh suddenly unemployed construction workers registered with the Delhi Government, the government launched the ‘Shramik Mitra‘ scheme for them. Under the scheme, 800 ‘Shramik Mitras’ will reach out to construction workers, and spread awareness on various government schemes available to them. These Shramik Mitras will work as District, Ward and Vidhan Sabha level coordinators and go…

On the evening of November 21st, parts of North Bengaluru were hit by a sudden thunderstorm. Jakkur, in the Yelahanka zone recorded 153 mm. Many layouts and apartments around Yelahanka were flooded. Visuals of a flooded Manyata Tech Park went viral on social media. November is expected to be the start of winter in Bengaluru and the end of the regular rains that start in April. As per the IMD Long Period Average (LPA) - the average rainfall between 1981 and 2010 - November gets average rainfall of only 49 mm, with four rainy days. But this November, IMD Bengaluru…

With intense spells of rain over the past month, there has been widespread flooding in Chennai. Areas such as T. Nagar, Guduvanchery and K K Nagar are among the many localities that experienced extreme waterlogging. Residents raised their concerns and requests to the civic body on social media by posting photos of water-stagnation and the damage caused by it.  Care Earth Trust, a city-based environmental organisation, saw here a need for better information at the ground-level for proper flood mitigation measures. And this information needed to be sourced from citizens themselves. Seeing as many in the city were taking to…

The torrential rains that hit Tamil Nadu’s state capital of Chennai in November this year is said to be the heaviest since the downpour in 2015 which caused massive floods in the city. The rains that lashed Chennai this time around following the festival of Diwali have also led to water logging and inundation in several areas such as T Nagar, Adyar, Velachery, Pulianthope and other places.  In the backdrop of the severe problems faced by residents of Chennai due to the heavy downpour, Citizen Matters Chennai organised an online panel discussion on November 17th (for full video, check below),…

It’s early morning, and the PfA Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre in Kengeri receives a call. A small bird with blue, green, and black wings is lying immobile on a terrace, said the caller. The roof, wet from incessant drizzle, is bespeckled with a handful of orange and white down feathers. Feral cats are on the prowl. The caller says he picked up the bird and placed it indoors, in a warm corner. He has no clue what this spectacular, multicoloured bird is, but the rescuer, already racing on his bike, knows only too well. A visiting Indian Pitta. Now…

With the effects of climate change in front of us, protecting our natural environment is what we should be doing, but the situation on the ground is different. In Navi Mumbai, at the centre of all development is the planning authority of Navi Mumbai, the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO). The city of Navi Mumbai was entirely planned and built by CIDCO, starting in the early 1970s. Fifty years on, Navi Mumbai is threatened by urban planning that is destroying its environment. Read more: Activists win in the fight to save Panje Let’s go back to over…

To explore any workable solution to the problem of air quality in Delhi, one needs to first understand Delhiites themselves. Delhiites have two unique behaviour patterns. One, all laws, rules and regulations apply only to others, not to themselves. A Delhiite caught breaking a rule would call the relative of a relative of a relative to bail him out rather than obey the rule. The second is whatever goes wrong, like the very poor air quality that the capital is facing right now, is always someone else’s fault. Never their own. No way will they not take out their personal…

Located south of Mumbai is Panje, one of four neighbouring villages, Panje, Funde, Dongri and Bokadvira spanning 289 hectares of wetland. Every winter, 1,50,000 migratory birds of over 50 species return to roost here. Of them, the Indian skimmer was recently upgraded from vulnerable to endangered. To some, however, this land is prime location to acquire for constructions, due to its close proximity to all forms of transport, including the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport. In 2019, Reliance Industries (RIL) sub-leased 4000 acres, including Panje, from the Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone (NMSEZ) to develop the area into a "Global Economic…

With rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather patterns becoming the norm over the last two decades, climate change has emerged as the single greatest threat to our species' survival on our planet. In the coming decade, called the #GenerationRestoration by the UN, several individuals and organisations will do their best to alleviate the climate change crisis. Amongst a range of actions out there, micro forests are emerging as one of the most popular, decentralised and effective ways to fight climate change. Micro forests, or Miyawaki forests, are small forests in urban settings. What differentiates them from other conventional landscapes…