Author Archive

Pillar 67 of the Metro line broke causing a crash on 12 July 09. It had developed a crack in March and after placing 400 tonne launcher on the repaired pillar, the cantilever crashed. Subsequently out of the four cranes that were commissioned to clear up - three of them boom snapped. Collapsed span in the construction of the Delhi Metro Rail is a problem for the media, for ... Full story

An earlier blog talked about exotic species of trees that have been planted in Delhi as a result of planned actions by British. Subsequently trees planted by MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) on minor roads are not so well planned. Do these trees have any use in cities? Here is my observation. Delhi as a city has these ... Full story

An earlier blog post dealt with the concept of garbage. The term is a function and reality of man-made systems. The word has existed since the very beginning and is also part of cultural history. The post referred to the term garbage as waste generated from the use ... Full story

The Western Yamuna Canal Overlooking the Delhi Metro: If you thought the Indian Railways track was the world's longest public toilet, wait till you visit this. Cleaning the Yamuna needs a plan that ensures that waste water generated in the city does not reach back into the river untreated. The technology needed to ... Full story

Yamuna River passing through the city of Delhi is polluted and every one is concerned. There is money spent on it. 1200 cr. worth of efforts were spent on Yamuna Action Plan Phase I and Yamuna Action Plan Phase II on creating the STP and physical infrastructure in treating the waste water ... Full story

World Environment Day and the shades of ‘Green’ has been the talk of this blog over the last week. Ever considered the non green, ‘garbage’ part of environment? What is it that we know of this phenomenon? As much as garbage is a function and reality of man-made systems, it has always been a cultural ... Full story

These days Amaltas or Laburnums are in full bloom. The lovely small yellow flowers hanging like a chandelier from the bare branches is a lovely site. Especially in the Chanakyapuri area where these are planted aesthetically along the main roads of the Panchasheel Marg. Delhi as a city is blessed with a collection of flowering trees. ... Full story

Your responses are what keeps this blog going, thank you for sharing. Continuing on the governance issues for urban slums in Delhi on how to justify providing water sanitation etc to the existing Jhuggi Jhompdi (JJ) slums?  ... Full story

The urban governance projects initiated in the infrastructure sectors in Indian cities like Delhi and Mumbai, over the past ten years are all based on the assumption that slum dwellers have basic unalienable human rights to clean drinking water, sanitation and environmental hygiene, especially in the slum community of the city. These rights are so basic and fundamental that, the elected representative and the government as right protector, is obligated to provide them. While the investment for capital assets like toilet blocks or stand posts and drainage lines are paid for by donor funding in Delhi NCR region over the decade. There is pressure on the city governments to meet the Operation and Maintenance (O and M) costs, of electricity used for pumping if any and minor repairs of taps and drains, through their own revenues. Alternately, another model proposed for O and M coverage, is through user charges, paid by the slum community that is serviced, over the life of the asset. One way to over come the resistance by the slum community to paying daily or monthly user charges is develop a sense of ownership by involving them right from the planning stage, though the construction to final usage and making all transactions including the financial ones open and transparent to the community through a participatory demand driven approach, by implementing bodies in this case the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) or relevant Urban Local Bodies (ULB). This situation reminds me of an old Om Puri’s movie in which Full story

We are now nearing the close of elections. With every passing day the new government will be getting formed. Parties will negotiate with each other to form the ruling coalition, as most likely there would be no clear majority. Let us be honest about who we are going to elect and ... Full story