The Uttarakhand High Court directed the Nagarpalika, Nainital to survey the stray dogs within the town and to identify and remove only the aggressive dogs within the pack and remove them and place them in dog pound. "A balance has to struck between the rights of the stray dogs on …
The Uttarakhand High Court directed the Nagarpalika, Nainital to survey the stray dogs within the town and to identify and remove only the aggressive dogs within the pack and remove them and place them in dog pound. "A balance has to struck between the rights of the stray dogs on …
Cities have largely borne the brunt of the global financial crisis of the last few years, and have relentlessly struggled to keep their heads above water. What does this economic downturn mean for urban infrastructure in India and the world?
Visits to seven small towns in north India reveal how paucity of funds, slipshod planning and a dearth of capabilities have contributed to poor civic services and inadequate infrastructure. Citizens in some areas have organised themselves into neighbourhood committees to tackle problems that the urban bodies neglect, but this has …
While the outcomes of the Lok Sabha and the state assembly elections have been well documented and analysed, little is known about the electoral geography in urban areas. In discussing the conflicting interests of local politics and urban development, this article places the definition and understanding of what is “urban” …
This paper takes the position that a useful governance perspective must be informed by the socio-economiccultural milieu, and in the specific Indian context must sit on a tripod of ”political reality”, ”state of decentralisation” and ”basic economic principles”. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region is one of the most important growth engines …
The responsibility of municipalities to provide crucial services is being increasingly passed on to the resident welfare associations located in middle and upper middle class areas in cities. Similar tools of intervention are absent in the slums and low-income neighbourhoods and even the local ward committees fail to represent their …
URBAN local bodies in India’s scheduled areas have been functioning illegally for the past 15 years because of Parliament’s oversight. The Constitution mandates a law separate from the Panchayati Raj Act for rural and urban local bodies in scheduled areas—tribal dominated areas specified in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. …
mumbai’s municipal corporation has proposed fixed hawking zones in the city. Its draft byelaws for regulating hawking are ready and were open for public comments till April 20. “We have received over 350 responses. Once approved, the Hawkers (Occupation and Regulation) Byelaws of 2009 would be forwarded to the state …
It is 9.30 am. The M block main park in Sundarnagri in New Delhi is gearing up for a meeting. Two men carry a microphone and speaker into it. While they fix the gadgets into place, two men enter on a bike, with a bag of rugs intended for seating …
If it were not for the quality of the mutton, Brijesh Kumar, a customer of five years, would not have endured the smell of ammonia that hung around Mohammed Haroon’s shop. The six-square-metre concrete platform from which Haroon plies trade is two metres from a public urinal in Paharganj near …
The Government of Maharashtra has given a go ahead to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) thirteen proposals for multi-level parking lots in Mumbai. These lots that would provide parking space for about 21,000 cars will be coming up on mill lands in the city's Worli-Parel area.
On 19 December, the Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2009 was passed in the State Assembly. It is now mandatory for all registered voters in Gujarat to vote in the elections of all local bodies (municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayats) of the state. The new amendment empowers the election …
Urban biodiversity and the associated ecosystem services have been ignored and undervalued because ecologists have focused only on pristine habitats and rare species. However, with rapid urbanisation the challenge is to build the native biodiversity within the urban landscape. This could be done by involving multiple stakeholders like the local …
Privatization of solid waste management (SWM) services has been a debated topic and has come under greater focus in recent times. This has been because of various developments such as the Supreme Court order of 2004, directing all metros to set up scientific landfills, and the funding model available under …
TWO months ago, a fleet of hydraulic trucks of a private company started collecting garbage from homes in many areas of Nagpur. The trucks transport the garbage directly to the landfill site managed by another private company. This privatization of garbage collection has alarmed some 5,000 ragpickers who earn their …
Tripura building laws permit only five storeys the Agartala Municipal Corporation has banned the use of seven multi-storey buildings in the city that were constructed illegally. The council administration of the corporation pasted notices on the buildings saying they cannot be leased, rented or sold. The Tripura building rules of …
In garbage dumps on the eastern outskirts of Delhi, Ravleen Kaur unearths an extortion racket that runs on a lapsed contract This is not what I had in mind when I signed up for journalism. I had dreams of becoming a war correspondent and cover conflicts in, say, Afghanistan. But …
Hill station burns biogas that can meet the needs of 300 families matheran, a hill station 100 km from Mumbai, still relies on horses for transport and is off limits for motor vehicles. In March 2007, the town lived up to its green image by installing a garbage disposal plant …
