Environment Protection: can we?
Recently held Paris summit provided a platform for the Nations of the world to come to agreement on steps necessary to protect our environment by limiting carbon emissions; it aims to limit global warming and its estimated impact by limiting consumption of fossil fuels by the year 2030 and stabilize from thereon. This is a well intentioned statement of intent […]
Road Safety and Me? Must be Kidding
Back in 80’s I used to drive with my boss, a man of brilliant mind, to workplace; this was following our decision to share the car on alternate days to save on petrol (mark of patriotism of those times when strife in the Middle East caused petroleum prices to shoot up). Being new to driving, I received a piece of […]
Mobility in Bengaluru
In the transportation context, mobility refers to the movement of people. In the 1970’s and 80’s, it was common to hear people ask, “Are you mobile?” or “How mobile are you?” This invariably implied, “Do you have a set of wheels to take you where you need to go?” The reference was invariably to motorised transport, whether 2 wheels or […]
Should Mayors be directly elected?
A directly elected mayor should be a political option, not a constitutional decree. Each time an Indian city is hit by a major urban crisis, we hear exasperated queries about why our cities are so dysfunctional. While there are multiple reasons for India’s urban woes, one of the underlying problems is the absence of powerful and politically accountable leadership in […]
Road Transportation Issues in Bengaluru
Driving on the streets of Bengaluru requires a particular set of skills – and a key skill seems to be how to survive in an environment that does not seem to have any rules! The extreme congestion during peak hours and all day congestion in certain sections of the roads can be categorised under the “3 Es”: Engineering, Education & […]
CSR Funds Alleviate Traffic Jams at Whitefield, Bangalore
Perhaps the best idea to come out of the Government of India in recent times was to require companies (beyond a certain size) to set aside 2% of their post-tax income towards investments of social value. Used properly, this can be a powerful fuel for localities and their corporate denizens to collaborate to solve local problems. We’re seeing some of […]
Mayors as leaders of Indian Cities
Any avid reader of superhero comic books will tell you that apart from the superhero with supernatural powers, it is the mayor of the city where the tale is set, who wields the most power and authority. These representations of mayors do not stem entirely from the imagination of the comic-book creators but are based on the authoritative figures cut […]
Right to Clean Drinking Water
Clean drinking water is still a great challenge in the country; in 2008, 96 per cent of urban Indian and 84 percent of rural India had access to improved water averaging to 88 per cent which is a drastic improvement from 72 per cent in 1990. But unfortunately 67 per cent of Indian households do not treat their drinking water, […]
Non-Motorised Vehicle Policy to Ease Pollution
Sixty per cent of Chennai civic body’s transport budget will be dedicated to non-motorised transport. Nayantara Narayanan, Chennai is rethinking it priorities. Its municipal corporation, the oldest in India, is creating a network of footpaths, cycle tracks and greenways to encourage residents to walk or cycle and to ease the passage of human-powered transport like cycle rickshaws and pushcarts. The […]
Towards more Professionalism in Governance
Exasperating – BBMP’s net property tax payment experience From 1st April, when BBMP’s property tax collection was set in motion, I had been mentally girdling myself up to undertake the task of making the payment on the net, the past experiences having been not too happy, to say the least. Meanwhile, yesterday, there was the following exchange between members of […]