Governance

Residents near the old HAL airport in Bengaluru have been finding peaceful living a problem over the past few months. Authorities at HAL have leased out their airport and airspace for civilian low-altitude, night time pilot training by civilian airlines. The list of such airlines includes Indigo, Vistara and Air India. The aircraft operate at low altitudes-typically 3,000 feet to 5,000 feet above ground and take an elliptical predefined path, which passes over Koramangala, HSR layout, Sarjapur Road, Old Airport road, Kaggadasapura and other neighbouring areas. Training begins around midnight most days and goes on almost until daybreak. It may…

An early adoption of universal adult franchise and a parliamentary system that has stood the test of time have ensured that every eligible Indian voter has a stake in national policies through their elected representatives. During the recently concluded G20 summit, India positioned herself as the ‘mother of democracy’ – patting herself on the back as a model of pluralism and participation. This claim however calls for some critical self-examination. Parliament functions not only as a space for deliberating and dissecting provisions of imminent laws. It is also the main institution seeking accountability for government actions and inactions. To this…

Chennaiites have had a spate of complaints about the state of the city in recent months. From the menace of stray cattle to poor roads, all avenues such as social media and the civic body’s official app are being used by residents to raise their grievances. However, they continue to be deprived of constitutionally mandated platforms in the form of Area Sabhas and Ward Committees to put forth their complaints. With most of the residents not having the chance to attend Area Sabhas and Ward Committee meetings, citizen participation in urban governance has a long way to go in Chennai.…

A year ago while I was looking into the spate of evictions in Chennai, I came across the heart-wrenching story of 115 families in Kannappar Thidal. Around 62 families, who were living on the streets near the Ripon building, were evicted in 2002 by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) as their presence was found to be an obstacle to the then-ongoing sporting events and developmental work in the nearby Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. These families were provided a temporary shelter in a building that was originally used to house load-men working in the nearby Southern Railways goods shed. They were promised…

Ever since the recent successful landing of the Vikram rover on the moon, made possible by a substantial number of women scientists in the ISRO team that did it, the mention of “women-led development” has gained currency in public discourse. The recent piece of legislation providing for women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies will no doubt raise the decibels of this discourse. Even as India celebrated its G20 moment, the government had emphasised its belief in women-led development. The thought finally found takers in Parliament where The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill 2023 was…

At the entrance of the Jankalyan Society at Dahisar, near the lift, a blackboard asks residents to clear their pending maintenance charges. Signed by the building's Mahila Mandal Sudhar Samiti (MMSS) or resident women's group, the note also urges residents that they would be able to offer better services to residents if maintenance dues are paid on time.  Though a number of garbage bins lie below their building, the provisional committee members of the Society are convinced that their building is cleaner and better maintained compared to other buildings provided by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) Mumbai. Even so, at…

A study conducted by the Chennai-based NGO, Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), on World Bank-financed housing projects in Chennai and across Tamil Nadu reveals that nearly four decades after the implementation of the project, a majority of the beneficiaries still await land titles and sale deeds that were promised to them. The study, titled 'Implementation of the World Bank-financed Housing Projects in Tamil Nadu and its Impact on the Deprived Urban Communities', has been compiled based on the existing information and updates available in various citizens’ reports and participatory assessments that were facilitated by IRCDUC…

The Karnataka government launched the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme on August 30th in Mysuru. Under this scheme, Rs 2,000 will be transferred every month to the bank accounts of the woman head of every eligible family. The state government claims that this scheme will benefit nearly 1.28 crore women across Karnataka, making it one of the largest monetary transfer schemes in India. The scheme is part of the five guarantees by the Congress government. The five welfare schemes include: 200 units of free power to all households under Gruha Jyothi 10 kilograms of rice free to every member of a below…

"I was not someone who aspired to become a politician. My dad is the reason I am here now. He has been associated with politics and the Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for over two decades. However, I never felt like his involvement in politics was political. It felt more like social service. This made me more interested in politics and when I got the opportunity to contest in the urban local body polls, I went for it," says Nilavarasi Durairaj, the 24-year-old Councillor from Ward 136 in Chennai. Interestingly, Nilavarasi is a full-time MBA student. She balances her studies along…

The irony was too stark and tragic to ignore. Along with millions of fellow countrymen, I whooped with joy and pride at India becoming the first nation to land its Chandrayan 3 lander safely on the moon’s southern polar region. Unfortunately, the day's newspaper was lying next to me and I could not help notice the headline that stared back at me. A young girl had suffered serious injury as an electric pole fell on her. Just a day or so earlier, the same newspaper had carried a similar headline. Then again, the victim, a young man, had been grievously…