Governance

Translated by Sandhya Raju மார்ச் 18 அன்று தமிழக நிதித் துறை அமைச்சர், பழனிவேல் தியாகராஜன் 2022-23 ஆண்டுக்கான மாநில பட்ஜட்டை சட்டமன்றத்தில் தாக்கல் செய்தார். நிலையான சுற்றுச்சூழல், போக்குவரத்து இணைப்பு அதிகரித்தல், தமிழ் கற்றலை மேம்படுத்தல், சேவை அணுகலில் கவனம் செலுத்துதல் ஆகியவை முக்கிய இடம் பெற்றன. போக்குவரத்து நெரிசலை கட்டுப்படுத்துவது, நெடுஞ்சாலை விரிவாக்கம், வெள்ளத் தடுப்பு, பேரிடர் தயார்நிலை, பருவ நிலை மாற்றம், நகரத்தின் பசுமை போர்வையை அதிகரித்தல் ஆகியவை சென்னைக்கான ஒதுக்கீட்டில் இடம்பெற்றுள்ளன. தமிழக நிதித்துறை அமைச்சர் பிடிஆர் தியாகராஜன். படம்: Wikimedia Commons by Avenuesmadurai Read more: Sustainability needs a people-centric approach; is smart city Chennai geared to that? போக்குவரத்து நகருக்கு உள்ளேயும் வெளியேயும் பயணிக்கும் சாலைகளில் அதிகரித்து வரும் போக்குவரத்து நெரிசலைக் குறைக்க பட்ஜெட்டில் பல முன்முயற்சிகள் இடம்பெற்றுள்ளன. சாலை விரிவாக்கம், உயர்த்தப்பட்ட காரிடார் மற்றும் கிரேடு…

At 8 AM Sunday, on February 6*, 2022, about 150 people congregated at the Khajaguda Cave Trail in Hyderabad. Among them were young scientists, engineers, IT professionals and artists. There were young couples, grandparents and children. There were adventure sport enthusiasts and bird watchers. Most of them had never met each other except through social media. Very few considered themselves activists. Yet, this was no casual social occasion. They were agitated. They had a hunch that they were witnessing something horrifying: a mound of dirt the size of two football grounds and some twenty feet high, that had been created…

MyCityMyBudget, the annual participatory budgeting campaign run by the BBMP in collaboration with Janaagraha and community organisations, was held between February 23 and March 20, 2022 . The campaign reached all 198 The campaign reached all 198 wards under the leadership of community groups, apartment associations, federations and resident welfare associations. A total of 7238 budget inputs were provided by Citizens to make Namma Bengaluru a walkable, public urination-free and green city— 3290 for Public Toilets (46%)2188 for footpath improvements (30%) and1760 for parks (24%). MyCityMyBudget inputs from citizens. Pic credit: Janaagraha Among these categories: In footpaths ‘new footpaths’ has…

Faced with mounting criticism of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for inflating revenue receipts, the Karnataka Government earlier this month brought the BBMP under the Karnataka Local Fund Authorities Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2003. The government also issued a draft notification of the BBMP Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Rules, 2021, inviting suggestions from citizens within 30 days before issuing the final gazette notification. The objective is to ensure basic that BBMP’s expenditure doesn’t exceed income. As per the notification, BBMP must prepare its budget on the basis of actual revenues collected in the last fiscal year. The draft notification…

Ashwin, 27, an IT employee. Sharmila, 38, teacher. Khurshid Ahmed, 65, madrassa teacher and vendor. Tasdik Bushra, 19, MBBS student. These four Bengaluru citizens have only one thing in common--they all lost their lives recently due to potholes and poorly-maintained roads. In many cases, the victims were thrown off their two-wheelers, or hit/run over by other vehicles when they swerved to avoid potholes. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, Bengaluru was the city to register the maximum such cases (18) in 2020, as per data from the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau). With a series of such incidents…

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), also called the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), is India’s richest civic body. With an annual budget of Rs 45,949.21 crore for the year 2022-23, the BMC governs a population of over two crore people. Established in 1888, it is one of India's oldest municipal corporations with a vast administrative structure. Like any city corporation, BMC too consists of a deliberative wing comprising elected representatives i.e. the Corporators who represent the local wards, and the administrative wing composed of appointed officials. Officials including the Municipal Commissioner and Additional Commissioners, along with the staff of…

On Friday, March 18th, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan presented the budget in Assembly for the 2022-23. Environmental sustainability, increased connectivity, focus on access to services and promotion of Tamil learning were some of the prominent aspects of the budget. As for what was in store for Chennai, the budget mainly comprised of a number of development projects related to easing traffic congestion, expansion and construction of highways, flood mitigation, disaster preparedness of the city, climate change and increasing green cover. Finance Minister PTR Thiagarjan. Source: Wikimedia Commons by Avenuesmadurai Read more: Sustainability needs a people-centric approach; is…

A new Mayor and Council are in place at Ripon Buildings. And in keeping with that there is plenty of hope. The Worshipful Mayor, in keeping with the ideology of her party, has resurrected the Singara Chennai slogan. A new plan had earlier been unveiled by the Chief Minister under the name Singara Chennai 2.0. There is no doubt that the Mayor and Council will focus on making that vision a reality, given that she is from the same political party. And there is no doubt the opposition will protest, chiefly because it is the ruling party’s idea. The interests…

With different electoral constituencies in Mumbai for national, state and local elections, finding which one you belong to can be a little confusing, but is important to know before exercising your democratic right to vote for an elected representative at different levels of government. What is a constituency? A constituency refers to a geographical area which votes for an elected representative. Each constituency corresponds to a seat in a government body, depending on the election. Given there are three levels - national, state and local - of elections in India, each place falls into three constituencies of different sets. What…

BBMP has spent over 100 crores on fixing, remodelling, and maintaining drains in just one ward – HSR Layout. Their Stormwater Drain Department does not maintain records like work registers or the progress reports of works. BBMP has been indicted for ineffective and inefficient collection of waste, non-compliance with waste management rules, and lack of scientific processing facilities at landfill sites. These are just three instances of impropriety and poor performance in local government bodies. All these are issues that citizens should demand accountability from their elected reps and officials. One easy way to be aware of such issues is…