Burning biomass is not green
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Timarpur Waste Management Company
Pvt. Ltd., have proposed a waste incineration plant to treat the city's
solid waste and generate 6 MW of electricity. TWMPCL has applied to a
United Nations body for tradable carbon credits.
Gopal Krishna
finds much wrong in the proposal.
Discrimination in the name of inclusion
25 per cent of the seats in Delhi private schools are reserved for poor students, to be provided free.
But this provision is dodged in numerous ways; schools claim ignorance of the law, that they can't find poor
students, that poor students have to be educated separately even if admitted, and so on.
Deepa A
reports.
Delhi water project soaked in controversy
24/7 water for an Indian city? Unclear motives of the Delhi government
in applying for a World Bank loan, possible hiccoughs in the supply anyway,
and questions about the World Bank's role itself are irking a number of local
NGOs and civic groups. As they increase pressure on the government to
change course,
Varupi Jain
reports.
The kanwarias: such a long journey
Many Delhi roads in July-August are dotted with thousands of water-carrying, orange-clad kanwarias,
devotees of Shiva. Their long journey from Haridwar finds logistical support from the government
and society alike. It is a reminder that the values of mutual support and service do exist
but have not penetrated deeper, notes
Varupi Jain.
Malls trampling Delhi's green belt
Part of the Aravalli range, the Delhi ridge is an icon of greenery and part of the capital's heritage. But over the years, much of the ridge has disappeared, with the most recent threat coming from swanky hotels and malls. A multi-stakeholder board is supposed to protect the ridge, but is fraught with conflicts of interest.
Deepa A
reports.
Fighting for a better, cleaner world
Employees of the Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
have been celebrating recently. The Padma Shri award, the Stockholm Water Prize and the Chameli Devi
Jain award have come in quick succession.
Ramesh Menon
tracks the growth of CSE and Sunita Narain, its director.
Delhi authorities condone vicious attacks
In the sixth incidence of recent violence against citizens exposing
corruption, Santosh (20) was attacked murderously on 30 December 2004.
The Delhi government is not pursuing the wrongdoers, and has instead
projected the violence as an issue between an NGO and shop owners.
Varupi Jain
reports.
Sewers becoming death holes
Sewer cleaners must be provided instruments to check poisonous gases, blowers to throw out polluted air, torches, gloves, etc., say government rules. But with Delhi municipal authorities ignoring safety measures, 10 workers recently died in a span of just one and a half months, reports
Pankaj Chaturvedi.
Flower power
The flower industry suffers from logistical bottlenecks and inadequate post-harvest infrastructure, but government support has focussed mostly on the growers. Varupi Jain starts at Delhi, India's apex flower market, and travels back the supply chain.
Concrete pressure on Delhi’s greenery
Unmindful of clear urban development guidelines, the Delhi municipality is replacing greenery lined
pavements with tiles, followed by a yearly ritual of retiling with newer designs.
Kanchi Kohli
writes about the unchecked concretization.
Her mind, her country
The State Council for Educational Research and Training in Delhi has taken a
surprisingly different approach in its preparation of text books for
students in classes 6-8.
Dipta Bhog
was coordinator of the team for Civics books.
Waiting and guessing
The displacement of the Panchkuyian Road furniture market by the
construction of the third line of the Delhi Metro has caused much
uproar for almost a
year. Many threats and agitations later,
the market is still physically in place but hardly anymore a place
to be in.
Varupi Jain
reports.
Another step towards Parivartan
Ration shopkeepers won't divulge their records, Food Department officials
wont file complaints, and the police wont act on their own or accept
complaints from the public. But the cycle of corruption can still be broken.
Fast, smooth, and affordable - but when?
Delhi's High Capacity Bus System promises enormous gains, but has been a long time coming.
Dr. Geetam Tiwari
of the IIT-Delhi sheds some light on the project and the difficulties in the making it happen.
Equals in education?
A Supreme Court directive on providing parents relief from high tuition
comes with an addition - a reminder that these schools are required by law to
reserve 25% of their
seats free for poor children.
Varupi Jain
reports.
Illiteracy begins at home
Millions of Indian kids are out of school because the places that were reserved for them by law were
instead given to others like you and me. That may be about to change, says
Ashwin Mahesh.
Popularising the right to know
New Delhi's citizen crusaders for the state's Right to Information law are now taking their methods and inspiration to other localities, reports
Varupi Jain.
Private, but still stolen
Attitudes among consumers long used to pilferage and non-payment of bills,
has made early attempts at privatisation only of limited use.
Ranjit Devraj.
And Parivartan goes on...
Varupi Jain
reports on the steady progress in transparency in Delhi's public distribution system.
No wasteful business this!
Varupi Jain
traces the life of household and other waste in India and Germany,
and finds both hope and apprehension.
A burdensome livelihood
Varupi Jain
investigates the lives of these hard labourers at New Delhi Railway
Station, and finds a constant struggle for livelihood.
Parivartan, here to stay?
This Delhi non-profit's initial success in effective enforcement of Delhis Right to Information Act has woken up the establishment just as much as it has informed citizens, reports
Varupi Jain.
Rape and Delhi's urban environment
Sex sells, but prevention of rape does not. Planners who take deterrence seriously could
contribute in creating women-friendly urban environments, says
Pratiksha Baxi.
A weekly struggle
Delhi's roadside markets offer a wide range of goods
at competitive prices, but sellers' economic security
depends on extra-legal rules too.
Varupi Jain
reports.
Old books in old lanes
A thriving Sunday book market on pavements competes handily with trendier retailers,
but must fight off the system too.
Varupi Jain
reports.
Delhi's citizens acting en-masse
Arvind Kejriwal
on how over one hundred and fifty citizens have filed applications seeking information about PDS ration records in Delhi's Food and Civil Supplies department.
Unmapped, yet visited
Varupi Jain
sums up the threats to and opportunites for the development of Delhi's Pahar Ganj.
Seek and hide
Another ongoing story on the pressure being created by citizens using the Right to Information
Act in Delhi, this time on the Public Distribution System's (PDS) ration shops.
Salaam, Dilli!
Drawing inspiration from an acclaimed film, a Delhi trust
brings hope and opportunities to street children.
Varupi Jain
reports.
Testing your municipality's work
In ensuring that Delhi's roads and lanes are stiff with quality, citizens are facing
stiffer resistance from the muncipality's officials, says
Arvind Kejriwal
Re-routing livelihoods
Varupi Jain
visits Delhi's famous Panchkuian furniture market, where
the city's plan for its Metro transit system threatens
the livelihoods of hundreds of traders.
More stories of Parivartan
Delhi's Right to Information Act (RTI) is increasingly being used by citizens to pressure offiicials into delivering on projects and services says Arvind Kejriwal.
Where did our money go?
A social audit of the Corporation of Delhi
finds public money is routinely redirected away
from the purposes it is intended for. But citizens can
monitor its uses, as Parivartan shows.
Universal education, minimal learning
Tripura's proclaimed progress in ensuring high attendance and sufficient numbers of teachers doesn't stand up to scrutiny. There are
many holes in the numbers as well as quality.
Himanshu Upadhyaya
reports.
NREGA shines for Tripura women
More and more women in Tripura are participating in NREGA works, ensuring success of the scheme. The challenge lies in involving the menfolk too and implementing NREGA in insurgency-hit regions.
Ratna Bharali Talukdar
reports.
SRI: Small state, big results
With a focus on attaining self-sufficiency in the production of food grain, Tripura has embarked on an ambitious programme to bring large swathes of
cultivable land in the state under the System of Rice Intensification. The results are promising, writes
Ratna Bharali Talukdar.
How democracy really works
Democracy for Realists is an important critique of how democracy works in practice. Nidhi Gupta reviews the book.
Growing without a plan
Rajnandgaon's location along a national highway has helped it to grow. It is also not cash-strapped. But its problem is the absence of good
governance, writes
Kalpana Sharma.
Between a village and a town
Janjgir has a poor base to raise finances and is heavily dependent on fund transfers from the state government. There is little here that would
qualify this as a town, writes
Kalpana Sharma.
A gigantic investment deficit
We have grossly under-estimated the true cost of urban infrastructure in our country. 20-odd committees have considered this over several decades, and
so have the Planning Commission and several Finance Commissions. But we don't really have
a legitimate figure for our urban infrastructure needs, says
Ramesh Ramanathan.
Lessons in urbanisation
Every developed country built the infrastructure of its cities only during the last 100 years, often in response to
crises of plagues or fires. If we learn their lessons, then we could build our infrastructure with the participation of
the people, says
Ramesh Ramanathan.
Mumbai's tragedy
The poor have filled up marshland, resurfaced uneven land, all with their own labour, and built their homes.
"People should get the right to shelter," says
Kadvi Wagri, another one of the growing stream of homeless. These voices should not be silenced, says
Kalpana Sharma.
The base of the pyramid
So much in India seems out of control because local governments are not functioning well.
A SYSTEM for citizen involvement needs to be in place, says
Ramesh Ramanathan.
Can local democracy be enforced?
With the government making hollow promises that don't
actually deliver local government, should citizens turn
to demanding it as a right, asks
Videh Upadhyay.
External Affairs Minister's video conference with the Heads of Indian Missions[ph]Photo courtesy - Chandan Kumar Shah[/ph]
Prime Minister participates at online Summit of NAM Contact Group[ph]Photo Courtesy - Hemant Joshi[/ph]
Prime Minister's video conference with the Heads of Indian Missions [ph]Photo Courtesy-Hemant Joshi[/ph]
Prime Minister addresses the G20 Virtual Summit, 2020 from New Delhi [ph]Photo Courtesy-Hemant Joshi[/ph]
External Affairs Minister meets Barry Faure, Secretary of State of Seychelles in New Delhi[ph]Photo Courtesy - Chandan Kumar Shah[/ph]