From developmentlinks at gmail.com Wed Apr 1 22:30:53 2009 From: developmentlinks at gmail.com (Development Links Foundation) Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2009 22:30:53 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Development Links Foundation website URL changed to http://developmentlinks.org/ Message-ID: Dear Friends This is to inform all the members in the mailing list that web address of Development Links Foundation has changed to http://developmentlinks.org/ Please ignore the web address of our organisation mentioned in previous communications from my end. -- Sincerely Arshad Rizvi Vice President and Director Development Links Foundation Basement 20, Masihgarh Sukhdev Vihar New Delhi 110025 Telefax: +91-11-41320294 Mobile: 09868612627 Email: arshadrizvi at developmentlinks.org Website: http://developmentlinks.org/ From anilaemmanuel at gmail.com Wed Apr 1 09:58:18 2009 From: anilaemmanuel at gmail.com (anila emmanuel) Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2009 09:58:18 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] balancing life - Urban wetlands Message-ID: <59ead66c0903312128h64755822i8b2e2e59797baf34@mail.gmail.com> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090401/e9a9dbfd/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090401/e9a9dbfd/attachment-0001.htm From veena at doccentre.net Thu Apr 2 12:05:28 2009 From: veena at doccentre.net (veena) Date: Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:05:28 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Climate Crisis - launch of Bangalore Platform Message-ID: <1238654128.10369.11.camel@cedban2.doccentre.net> CENTRE FOR EDUCATION & DOCUMENTATION No.7, 8th Main Road, Domlur IInd Stage, IIIrd Phase, Bangalore-560071 , Ph:080-25353397, Email : cedban at doccentre.net www.doccentre.net Dear friend, We wish to invite you for a meeting to launch the Bangalore Platform. The Meeting will take place at The Centre for Internet and Society No. D2, 3rd Floor, Sheriff Chambers 14, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052 Phone: 4092 6283 on Saturday, April 4, 2009 4.30 pm - 7.00 pm The agenda for the meeting will be: Brief introduction on the need for such platforms and the history of these platforms-Sagar Dhara Discussion on the setting up of the Bangalore Platform Objective of the platform: The Bangalore Platform will help concerned individuals to collectively deepen their understanding of implications of the looming worldwide energy crisis of unprecedented proportions, the unsustainable overuse of natural capital, and climate change; and to discuss possible roadmaps to tackle these issues (a brief note is attached). Given this objective, a very wide variety of subjects fall within the purview of the platform-science and technology, ethics, epistemology, economics, politics, socio-biology, etc. Similar work done/planned in other cities: Similar platforms have been set up earlier in Hyderabad, Delhi and Udupi-Mangalore and the Kolkata one is at an incipient stage. The Hyderabad platform participants have written papers on negative entropy and society, implications of the energy crisis, the road ahead for human society, lineages of modern philosophy, post-industrial capitalism, etc. Two symposia on climate change have been held in Mumbai and Hyderabad in Dec 07 and Mar 08. The Delhi and Hyderabad Platforms have jointly published a book, "The roots of climate change". Another book on related subjects authored by a member of the Hyderabad Platform has just been published and another is to be published in a couple of months, and a third is being written. Work on preparing an indigenous version of a carbon footprint calculator and a vulnerability mapping tool have just been begun in Hyderabad. The Delhi Platform, in association with several organizations from all over India, plans to hold a serious of national and regional consultations on climate change and its impacts. The principal topics for discussion are: a) developing a platform for discussing perspectives, b) developing a programme for intervention at inter-governmental meets, with the union and state governments, and at civil society and individual levels. Expected outcome in Bangalore: Given Bangalore's rich human capital, we expect the Bangalore Platform to produce high quality work-theoretical and programmatic-and join hands with similar platforms in India and worldwide to impact public policy on major issues the world faces in transiting towards an equitable post-carbon society, and the steps-big and small, at individual and collective levels-that are required to get there. Organization structure of other platforms: The other platforms have no formal membership criteria, and anyone may participate in them by invitation. They are unregistered and unfunded. In peace and solidarity, Walter Mendoza Sagar Dhara RSVP: by 17th March -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/624ec506/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: CED-le2.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1184 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/624ec506/attachment-0002.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: CED-le2.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1184 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/624ec506/attachment-0003.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Carbon_cycle_interference_abstract.doc Type: application/msword Size: 335872 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/624ec506/attachment-0001.doc -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: First_List_of_Invites:Launch_of_Bangalore_Platform.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 56320 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/624ec506/attachment-0001.xls From esg at esgindia.org Thu Apr 2 18:39:07 2009 From: esg at esgindia.org (ESGINDIA) Date: Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:39:07 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] High Court directs Bangalore Road Widening to strictly comply with Town and Country Planning Act Message-ID: <49D4B8F3.7050300@esgindia.org> *PRESS RELEASE : 02 April 2009* *Widen Roads only in strict compliance with Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and Karnataka Tree Preservation Act* *Landmark Decision of High Court of Karnataka* On 16 March 2009, the Division Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka consisting of Chief Justice Mr. P. D. Dinakaran and Justice Mr. V. G. Sabahit directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP - Bangalore's civic authority) to strictly comply with the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act (KTCP Act) and Karnataka Tree Preservation Act (KTP Act) when dismissing BBMP's appeal to carry on its ambitious mega project of road widening unconditionally. This interim direction was issued in a Public Interest Litigation filed by Environment Support Group and ors. (WP 7107/2008) challenging the legality of the ongoing road widening programme. It may be recalled that BBMP has pushed for widening of roads since 2004 on its unilateral claim that this would help relieve traffic congestion. It has repeatedly asserted its right to carry on this mega project costing at least Rs. 4,000 crores without complying with the provisions of the KTCP Act, amongst other. According to its current plans, 91 roads are proposed to be widened presently running over a length of about 400 kms. This road widening project will destroy some of the oldest neighbourhoods of Bangalore, ruin livelihoods of hundreds of traders, put thousands of people dependent on street trade and a variety of commercial services, displace hundreds of homes, and cause the felling of at least 40,000 avenue trees thus depleting urban greenery and open space. Such a massive exercise has been undertaken by BBMP in total disregard to environmental, social and economic impacts. Various independent studies and the city's traffic commissioner have questioned the logic of this approach providing evidence that the problem of congestion was due to untreated intersections and not because of lack of space on roads. Communities, environmental and social action groups, legislators and a host of other actors have consistently campaigned against the need for widening roads, and protested against the brazen approach of BBMP. But the BBMP has continued with its illegal and controversial approach guided by a draconian bureaucracy which has no oversight due to the lack of an elected City Council for over two years now. So far four major roads have been widened. One such is the Bellary Road connecting the city to the new Bangalore International Airport. This project was undertaken without compliance with the provisions of the KTCP Act. At a very early stage Environment Support Group and /Hasiru Usiru /(a network of organisations and individuals interested in protecting the city's environment and open spaces) contested the proposal (as it was designed) and advocated a participatory approach to redeveloping this road in conformance with the KTCP Act and the National Urban Transport Policy. This appeal was brushed aside as BBMP was in a hurry to provide connectivity to the new Bangalore International Airport and failed to comply with planning provisions, statutory public consultation requirements or even standards for safe road design. One major terrible result of this brazen approahc has been that 53 people have been brutally killed in accidents on this one road and hundreds more have been injured and traumatised. Almost always, victims were pedestrians. The reason for such a high rate of accidents is not far to seek: 30 kms of Bellary Road widened and walled to connect to the airport has only 6 safe traffic intersections! As this road runs through densely populated neighbourhoods and several villages, people are forced to risk their limb or life in carrying on living. Such irresponsible planning has also resulted in fragmenting neighbourhoods and villages, and put at high risk the lives of elderly people and children who have to use the road daily. *Background to the PIL:* When the PIL was admitted by a Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka constituted by Justice Mr. V. Gopalagowda and Justice Mr. Ravi Malimath in June 2008, the Court had hoped that BBMP would comply with all laws and progressive policies, such as the National Urban Transport Policy and National Policy on Street Vendors, while widening roads. To ensure this actually happenned, the Court established a Committee of interdisciplinary experts based on suggestions made by the Petitioners and Respondents. Mr. A.N. Yellappa Reddy, former Environment Secretary of Karnataka, was approinted to chair this scoping Committee and formulate legally compliant road widening schemes that were also sensitive to and protective of the rights of disabled, elderly people and children, and to ensure designs were so developed that trees were not unnecessarily felled and public transport and fossil fuel independent transport modes were advanced. In the six months that this Committee functioned, Mr. Reddy conducted the proceedings in a secretive manner. Rather than allowing public engagement at all stages of planning and implementation of projects, as the law mandated and as Committee members repeatedly demanded, the approach adopted by Mr. Reddy was to push ahead with widening of roads despite its illegalities, and social and environmental impacts. Troubled by this undemocratic and unscientific approach, the Petitioners approached the Karnataka Legal Services Authority (Hon'ble Lok Adalat) in November 2008 for relief, as required per the High Court direction. The Lok Adalat favourably considered the Petitioners representation and directed Mr. Reddy to ensure Committee meetings would be made public. It also directed the Committee to consider representations of Petitioners, affected public and independent experts while formulating suggestions for the programme of road widening and such other infrastructure projects. However, this relief was short-lived for during December 2008 BBMP proceeded to widen Palace and Sheshadri Roads in the city centre causing the felling of over 500 old trees that formed the heritage of the city. This ruthless act was patently illegal and based on the non-existent power of the Committee to approve such legally non-compliant projects. Deeply disturbed by such illegal exercise of power, the Petitioners moved the Hon'ble Lok Adalat once again. In its decision of 6^th January 2009, the Lok Adalat held that little could be done now about the heritage trees that had been felled on Sheshadri and Palace Roads. It, however, reprimanded officers of BBMP and the Tree Officer over their efforts to get Court approval for actions in contravention of town planning law. Returning the case to the High Court to decide the applicability of KTCP Act to the activity of road widening, it directed BBMP and the Tree Officer to seek the Adalat's permission prior to any tree felling in Bangalore. Rather than complying with the provisions of the law as mandated, BBMP sought to continue road widening and moved the matter before the High Court of Karnataka seeking its approval for road widening activity. Hearing the petition, the Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice Mr. Dinakaran clarified in its order of 16 March 2009 that "that the respondent corporation is at liberty to proceed with the works relating to widening of the roads. Of course, while doing so, the respondent-corporation shall _*strictly follow*_ the provisions of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act" (emphasis added). Thus granting the Petitioners, Environment Support Group and ors., the main relief sought for -- that KTCP strictly applies to road widening. A logical consequence of the High Court order was that the Committee headed by Mr. Yellappa Reddy became infructuous. *Highly significant implications of the High Court order:* The implications of this direction of the High Court are significant and far reaching. The Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, is perhaps one of the finest pieces of urban planning legislations and many states in India have adopted similar laws since independence. This law requires planning and implementation authorities to evolve urban projects by consulting the wide public in many stages. It further demands a detailed process of enquiry into social, economic and environmental impacts of projects and requires that implementing agencies develop schemes transparently by making public plans before undertaking any project. Needless to state, most States have failed to implement this legislation. It is no wonder, therefore, that Indian cities are amongst the worst planned and managed anywhere in the world. Indian cities are also characterised by very low involvement of the public in decision making and some of the worst infrastructure scandals are a direct consequence of this intransparent and undemocratic approach. The lack of compliance with KTCP Act has also resulted in violation of several fundamental socio-economic and environmental justice rights, and of the rights to housing and sustenance of livelihoods such as by street vendors. Needless to state, the concerns of weaker sections of society, such as urban poor, the elderly, disabled and the needs of children are rarely considered with the sensitivity they deserve. A direct and tangible result of the High Court direction to affected communities in urban areas of Karnataka is that hundreds of property owners, tenants and traders have now secured their statutory right to be consulted prior to any road widening work being implemented. By implication, this direction applies to all urban development and infrastructure projects, such as the Metro, High Speed Rail Link to the airport, building new roads (such as the one through the University of Agricultural Sciences campus) and so on. Because the Court has explicitly stated that the provisions of Karnataka Tree Preservation Act will also be strictly complied with, the burden now lies with the Tree Officer of Bangalore to ensure that no tree is felled unless the activity demanding tree felling is firstly and fully compliant with the provisions of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. *What next:* This unprecedented and landmark direction has significant bearing on the nature of engagement of urban communities with authorities. For one, it greatly advances the democratisation of decision making in urban areas, enhances the quality of public review of projects and ensures a high degree of transparency in formulation of schemes and implementation of projects. This is a sign step towards the the development of healthy, environmentally sensitive, safe and just cities. To ensure that this order is strictly implemented, ESG along with /Hasiru Usiru /network will intensify its engagement with communities affected by road widening and other infrastructure projects and build their awareness on the significance of this victory. This is the most sure way to secure the wide public from adverse impacts of coercive and illegal actions by urban planning and development authorities. Leo F. Saldanha Bhargavi S. Rao Environment Support Group 105, East End B Main Road, Jayanagar 9^th Block East, Bangalore 560069. INDIA Tel: 91-80-26531339/22441977 Voice/Fax: 91-80-26534364 Email: _esg at esgindia.org _ or _esgindia at gmail.com _Web: _www.esgindia.org _ PS: Please visit our website (Namma Raste link) for a copy of the PIL, all orders of the High Court of Karnataka and Lok Adalat and minutes of meetings of the Committee. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/d3ab7ba2/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: esg.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 341 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/d3ab7ba2/attachment-0001.vcf From cugambetta at yahoo.com Fri Apr 3 10:35:11 2009 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 22:05:11 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fw: UDRI Research Fellowship announcement Message-ID: <142376.39653.qm@web57402.mail.re1.yahoo.com> ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: UDRI Research Fellowship Programme To: urbanstudygroup-owner at sarai.net Sent: Thursday, April 2, 2009 11:58:27 PM Subject: FW: UDRI Research Fellowship announcement FW: UDRI Research Fellowship announcement To: Urban Study Group: I would be grateful if you could post/circulate the following announcement for the UDRI research fellowship program Thanks and Best Wishes, Deepali Mody Director-Research Fellowship ANNOUNCEMENT- UDRI RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP 2009- CYCLE 2 The Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) announces its second cycle of its Research Fellowship Programme of 2009 to provide young scholars, researchers and independent practitioners the opportunity to do research on contemporary urban issues and concerns of Mumbai. This programme is supported by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) grant. Research Fellows shall be given a monthly stipend/ professional allowance of INR 20,000 and will be provided with working space and requisite infrastructure at the UDRI studio. In addition UDRI will facilitate discussions with relevant resource persons in the field and assist in the publication of research findings. Support will also be available to the fellows for post-research advocacy. The research period can vary between 6 to18 months. Applicants shall demonstrate the relevance of the proposed research to the city of Mumbai/Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the feasibility of accompanying the research goal within the stipulated period. Areas of research could revolve around: · Alternative Histories and Conceptualizations · Urban Projects · Urban Practices · Policy Review · City Geographies Dates Last date of application | 25.05.09 Tentative dates of interview | 10.07.09 Tentative Date for Start of Fellowship | 03.08.09 Eligibility Requirements · Bachelors/masters degree in architecture or planning, and equivalent published work (or) Masters degree in geography or social sciences and equivalent published work · High proficiency in English and preferably Hindi and Marathi · Be eligible for leave of absence, if employed. The programme Brochure and Applications can be downloaded from the UDRI websitewww.udri.organd submitted by email to researchfellowship at udri.org For further details you may also contact UDRI Tel.. +91-22-6573-5773, +91-22-22822924 Address: 43, V B Gandhi Marg, Kalaghoda, Fort, Mumbai 400 023 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/510c17f3/attachment.html From esg at esgindia.org Fri Apr 3 10:41:40 2009 From: esg at esgindia.org (ESGINDIA) Date: Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:41:40 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] High Court directs Bangalore Road Widening to strictly comply with Town and Country Planning Act In-Reply-To: <49D4B8F3.7050300@esgindia.org> References: <49D4B8F3.7050300@esgindia.org> Message-ID: <49D59A8C.4000305@esgindia.org> Dear All As we continue to address issues involved in this case, a point that has come up to our attention is how other States have implemented their Town and Country Planning legislations, in particular regard to transport infrastructure development (new or revamping old ones). Any case law, studies, articles, etc. that you may find in this regard may be sent to us at your convenience. I would also appreciate a discussion on the implications of the High Court decision.. as this could help us advance a more nuanced approach to the issues involved. Thanks in anticipation Leo Saldanha Environment Support Group ESGINDIA wrote: > > *PRESS RELEASE : 02 April 2009* > > > *Widen Roads only in strict compliance with Karnataka Town and Country > Planning Act and Karnataka Tree Preservation Act* > > *Landmark Decision of High Court of Karnataka* > > On 16 March 2009, the Division Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of > Karnataka consisting of Chief Justice Mr. P. D. Dinakaran and Justice > Mr. V. G. Sabahit directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP > - Bangalore's civic authority) to strictly comply with the Karnataka > Town and Country Planning Act (KTCP Act) and Karnataka Tree > Preservation Act (KTP Act) when dismissing BBMP's appeal to carry on > its ambitious mega project of road widening unconditionally. This > interim direction was issued in a Public Interest Litigation filed by > Environment Support Group and ors. (WP 7107/2008) challenging the > legality of the ongoing road widening programme. > > > It may be recalled that BBMP has pushed for widening of roads since > 2004 on its unilateral claim that this would help relieve traffic > congestion. It has repeatedly asserted its right to carry on this mega > project costing at least Rs. 4,000 crores without complying with the > provisions of the KTCP Act, amongst other. According to its current > plans, 91 roads are proposed to be widened presently running over a > length of about 400 kms. > > > This road widening project will destroy some of the oldest > neighbourhoods of Bangalore, ruin livelihoods of hundreds of traders, > put thousands of people dependent on street trade and a variety of > commercial services, displace hundreds of homes, and cause the felling > of at least 40,000 avenue trees thus depleting urban greenery and open > space. Such a massive exercise has been undertaken by BBMP in total > disregard to environmental, social and economic impacts. Various > independent studies and the city's traffic commissioner have > questioned the logic of this approach providing evidence that the > problem of congestion was due to untreated intersections and not > because of lack of space on roads. Communities, environmental and > social action groups, legislators and a host of other actors have > consistently campaigned against the need for widening roads, and > protested against the brazen approach of BBMP. But the BBMP has > continued with its illegal and controversial approach guided by a > draconian bureaucracy which has no oversight due to the lack of an > elected City Council for over two years now. > > > So far four major roads have been widened. One such is the Bellary > Road connecting the city to the new Bangalore International Airport. > This project was undertaken without compliance with the provisions of > the KTCP Act. At a very early stage Environment Support Group and > /Hasiru Usiru /(a network of organisations and individuals interested > in protecting the city's environment and open spaces) contested the > proposal (as it was designed) and advocated a participatory approach > to redeveloping this road in conformance with the KTCP Act and the > National Urban Transport Policy. This appeal was brushed aside as BBMP > was in a hurry to provide connectivity to the new Bangalore > International Airport and failed to comply with planning provisions, > statutory public consultation requirements or even standards for safe > road design. One major terrible result of this brazen approahc has > been that 53 people have been brutally killed in accidents on this one > road and hundreds more have been injured and traumatised. Almost > always, victims were pedestrians. The reason for such a high rate of > accidents is not far to seek: 30 kms of Bellary Road widened and > walled to connect to the airport has only 6 safe traffic > intersections! As this road runs through densely populated > neighbourhoods and several villages, people are forced to risk their > limb or life in carrying on living. Such irresponsible planning has > also resulted in fragmenting neighbourhoods and villages, and put at > high risk the lives of elderly people and children who have to use the > road daily. > > > *Background to the PIL:* > > > When the PIL was admitted by a Division Bench of the High Court of > Karnataka constituted by Justice Mr. V. Gopalagowda and Justice Mr. > Ravi Malimath in June 2008, the Court had hoped that BBMP would comply > with all laws and progressive policies, such as the National Urban > Transport Policy and National Policy on Street Vendors, while widening > roads. To ensure this actually happenned, the Court established a > Committee of interdisciplinary experts based on suggestions made by > the Petitioners and Respondents. Mr. A.N. Yellappa Reddy, former > Environment Secretary of Karnataka, was approinted to chair this > scoping Committee and formulate legally compliant road widening > schemes that were also sensitive to and protective of the rights of > disabled, elderly people and children, and to ensure designs were so > developed that trees were not unnecessarily felled and public > transport and fossil fuel independent transport modes were advanced. > > > In the six months that this Committee functioned, Mr. Reddy conducted > the proceedings in a secretive manner. Rather than allowing public > engagement at all stages of planning and implementation of projects, > as the law mandated and as Committee members repeatedly demanded, the > approach adopted by Mr. Reddy was to push ahead with widening of roads > despite its illegalities, and social and environmental impacts. > Troubled by this undemocratic and unscientific approach, the > Petitioners approached the Karnataka Legal Services Authority (Hon'ble > Lok Adalat) in November 2008 for relief, as required per the High > Court direction. > > > The Lok Adalat favourably considered the Petitioners representation > and directed Mr. Reddy to ensure Committee meetings would be made > public. It also directed the Committee to consider representations of > Petitioners, affected public and independent experts while formulating > suggestions for the programme of road widening and such other > infrastructure projects. However, this relief was short-lived for > during December 2008 BBMP proceeded to widen Palace and Sheshadri > Roads in the city centre causing the felling of over 500 old trees > that formed the heritage of the city. This ruthless act was patently > illegal and based on the non-existent power of the Committee to > approve such legally non-compliant projects. > > > Deeply disturbed by such illegal exercise of power, the Petitioners > moved the Hon'ble Lok Adalat once again. In its decision of 6^th > January 2009, the Lok Adalat held that little could be done now about > the heritage trees that had been felled on Sheshadri and Palace Roads. > It, however, reprimanded officers of BBMP and the Tree Officer over > their efforts to get Court approval for actions in contravention of > town planning law. Returning the case to the High Court to decide the > applicability of KTCP Act to the activity of road widening, it > directed BBMP and the Tree Officer to seek the Adalat's permission > prior to any tree felling in Bangalore. > > > Rather than complying with the provisions of the law as mandated, BBMP > sought to continue road widening and moved the matter before the High > Court of Karnataka seeking its approval for road widening activity. > Hearing the petition, the Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice > Mr. Dinakaran clarified in its order of 16 March 2009 that “that the > respondent corporation is at liberty to proceed with the works > relating to widening of the roads. Of course, while doing so, the > respondent-corporation shall _*strictly follow*_ the provisions of the > Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and the Karnataka Preservation > of Trees Act” (emphasis added). Thus granting the Petitioners, > Environment Support Group and ors., the main relief sought for – that > KTCP strictly applies to road widening. A logical consequence of the > High Court order was that the Committee headed by Mr. Yellappa Reddy > became infructuous. > > > *Highly significant implications of the High Court order:* > > > The implications of this direction of the High Court are significant > and far reaching. The Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, > is perhaps one of the finest pieces of urban planning legislations and > many states in India have adopted similar laws since independence. > This law requires planning and implementation authorities to evolve > urban projects by consulting the wide public in many stages. It > further demands a detailed process of enquiry into social, economic > and environmental impacts of projects and requires that implementing > agencies develop schemes transparently by making public plans before > undertaking any project. > > > Needless to state, most States have failed to implement this > legislation. It is no wonder, therefore, that Indian cities are > amongst the worst planned and managed anywhere in the world. Indian > cities are also characterised by very low involvement of the public in > decision making and some of the worst infrastructure scandals are a > direct consequence of this intransparent and undemocratic approach. > The lack of compliance with KTCP Act has also resulted in violation of > several fundamental socio-economic and environmental justice rights, > and of the rights to housing and sustenance of livelihoods such as by > street vendors. Needless to state, the concerns of weaker sections of > society, such as urban poor, the elderly, disabled and the needs of > children are rarely considered with the sensitivity they deserve. > > > A direct and tangible result of the High Court direction to affected > communities in urban areas of Karnataka is that hundreds of property > owners, tenants and traders have now secured their statutory right to > be consulted prior to any road widening work being implemented. By > implication, this direction applies to all urban development and > infrastructure projects, such as the Metro, High Speed Rail Link to > the airport, building new roads (such as the one through the > University of Agricultural Sciences campus) and so on. > > > Because the Court has explicitly stated that the provisions of > Karnataka Tree Preservation Act will also be strictly complied with, > the burden now lies with the Tree Officer of Bangalore to ensure that > no tree is felled unless the activity demanding tree felling is > firstly and fully compliant with the provisions of the Karnataka Town > and Country Planning Act. > > > > *What next:* > > > This unprecedented and landmark direction has significant bearing on > the nature of engagement of urban communities with authorities. For > one, it greatly advances the democratisation of decision making in > urban areas, enhances the quality of public review of projects and > ensures a high degree of transparency in formulation of schemes and > implementation of projects. This is a sign step towards the the > development of healthy, environmentally sensitive, safe and just cities. > > > To ensure that this order is strictly implemented, ESG along with > /Hasiru Usiru /network will intensify its engagement with communities > affected by road widening and other infrastructure projects and build > their awareness on the significance of this victory. This is the most > sure way to secure the wide public from adverse impacts of coercive > and illegal actions by urban planning and development authorities. > > Leo F. Saldanha Bhargavi S. Rao > > Environment Support Group > > 105, East End B Main Road, Jayanagar 9^th Block East, Bangalore > 560069. INDIA > > Tel: 91-80-26531339/22441977 Voice/Fax: 91-80-26534364 > > Email: _esg at esgindia.org _ or > _esgindia at gmail.com > _Web: _www.esgindia.org > _ > > > PS: Please visit our website (Namma Raste link) for a copy of the PIL, > all orders of the High Court of Karnataka and Lok Adalat and minutes > of meetings of the Committee. > > _______________________________________________ > Urbanstudygroup mailing list > Urban Study Group: Reading the South Asian City > > To subscribe or browse the Urban Study Group archives, please visit https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: esg.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 341 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090403/3e3ffa84/attachment-0001.vcf From cugambetta at yahoo.com Sat Apr 4 00:36:03 2009 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 12:06:03 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fw: H-ASIA: Seeking submissions on Mumbai floods 2005 Message-ID: <425918.20873.qm@web57411.mail.re1.yahoo.com> ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Ryan Dunch To: H-ASIA at H-NET.MSU.EDU Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 11:42:06 AM Subject: H-ASIA: Seeking submissions on Mumbai floods 2005 H-ASIA March 31, 2009 Seeking submissions on Mumbai floods 2005 ************************************************************************ From: PUKAR You can read the original version online: http://www.ymlp195.com/msg.php?id=acpincxbern ------------------------- Dear friends, colleagues, and mumbaikers, We would like to invite you to participate in the 'Collective Memory' initiative which will be part of an exhibition titled 'SOAK: Mumbai in an Estuary' scheduled to open at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai in June 2009 at the start of the monsoons. The exhibition, authored by Anuradha Mathur and Dilip da Cunha explores alternative ways to visualize Mumbai's terrain, ways that accommodate its aqueous nature. In the Mumbai floods of July 26 2005, few people were left unaffected or untouched by the devastation that hit the city. The unexpected trauma and chaos endured in the immediate, and extended aftermath of the event, has been etched in the memory of people in Mumbai. Collective Memory is a platform that invites the participation of Mumbai's citizens to share personal encounters, photographs and videos from that fateful day. We are looking for individual experiences recorded in any form - whether captured on film, digital, video, hand-held mobile devices or in writing. Photographs / videos can be uploaded to our flickr group http://www.flickr.com/people/soakcollective/ and videos to our YouTube group http://www.youtube.com/group/soak or you can mail us your contributions directly soak..collective at gmail.com Collective Memory is an open group and hopes to be a reflective space to pause, and share one's experiences of July 2005. We seek to reach out to as many people as possible to help build this platform. Do forward this to people who may be willing to share these experiences and would like to participate in this exercise. Be a part of the collective memory ­ a shared concern for the future of Mumbai. For more information on SOAK and Collective Memory please visit http://www.soak.in SOAK Team PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research) Website: www.pukar.org.in ************************************************************************* To post to H-ASIA simply send your message to: For holidays or short absences send post to: with message: SET H-ASIA NOMAIL Upon return, send post with message SET H-ASIA MAIL H-ASIA WEB HOMEPAGE URL: http://h-net.msu.edu/~asia/ From rkamath.research at gmail.com Sun Apr 5 13:55:52 2009 From: rkamath.research at gmail.com (Ranjan Kamath) Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2009 13:55:52 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Rent-A_Reva: Reduce Fuel Usage 'n Carbon Footprint Message-ID: <24b9c2a0904050125t59f12e61qe9f9bbcb1afb5e5e@mail.gmail.com> In an effort to reduce short distance vehicle usage, thereby reducing fuel consumption and the individual carbon footprint, C+ive is launching the Rent-A-Reva service very shortly in Bangalore and thereafter in other Indian cities. Revas will be stationed 24x7 within apartment complexes/ gated communities for exclusive use of residents. Service, maintenance and car replacement will be offered by Reva while the service will be supervised and monitored by C+ive. If you might be interested in more details about this service for your apartment complex - anywhere in India - please contact C+ive at: citizen.postive at gmail.com. This offer is also open to corporate communities and educational campuses Ranjan Kamath For C+ive -- 75, 17e main Vi Block Koramangala Bangalore 560095 Land: 9180 25631847 Cell: + 91 9341 944490 (Bangalore) Cell +91 98203 22988 ( Mumbai) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090405/b5c9d808/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Tue Apr 7 12:03:19 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2009 12:03:19 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Activists meet develops alternative plans Message-ID: <86b8a7050904062333kfc84df6t7d61c78651fa0e32@mail.gmail.com> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4341734,prtpage-1.cms Activists meet develops alternative plans1 Apr 2009, 0006 hrs IST, TNN PUNE: In an effort to develop alternative paradigms for governance, the Centre for Development Studies and Activities (CDSA), Pune and India Habitat Centre, Delhi, recently held a workshop on City and sustainability' at CDSA, where various organisations and activists participated to facilitate the development of vision for "sustainable urbanisation in India." The Pune consultations were a precursor to the Habitat Summit 2009 to be held from September 23 to 30 in New Delhi with an objective to anchor an ongoing dialogue on challenges and opportunities inherent in the inevitable urbanisation of India. Speaking at the event, Raj Liberhan, director of India Habitat centre, said the idea was to understand the experiences of different cities because each city has a personality and there are city specific aspirations and concerns. "Residents of the cities are frustrated with the kind of policies and development that is happening. They want to create a dream for their city. But when we say that what is happening is not the right way, we can't just stop at that. We need to offer an alternative paradigm and pave the way for different process of governance," Liberhan said. He pointed out that efforts are being taken in different cities to prepare such models by intellectuals, activists, experts and citizens. "This alternative should be prepared keeping in mind experiences faced by different cities and then put forth before the policy-makers to consider it. A set of expectations should also be prepared as to what are the issues that are of foremost concern to citizens and not to policy-makers," Liberhan said. Director of CDSA, Aneeta Gokhale-Benninger said participatory governance is the key ingredient for sustainability of cities. "It is the urban poor who are delivering the services to the others, but they should not be treated as second class citizens. Livelihoods, housing and poverty are the biggest concerns. It is very important to manage the financial, natural and human resources," Benninger said. President of National Society for Clean Cities, Satish Khot highlighted the need for citizens to feel the ownership of the city to begin to fight for it. "Involvement in the process is most important for participatory governance. When people start realising that something is missing, it is then that they start getting involved and demanding for what is theirs," Khot said. Echoing similar thoughts, former mayor Vandana Chavan said citizens' empowerment is very important. "Citizens should make their elected representatives accountable and responsible. Capacity building exercises for corporators for tackling urban planning issues is also necessary," Chavan said. Others present for the consultation meeting were activists like Maj Gen (Retd) S C N Jatar, Sujit Patwardhan, architectural and planning consultant M N Jogalekar, Sanskriti Menon, Narendra Dengle, Anupam Saraph and Sharad Mahajan. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090407/05528c35/attachment.html From esg at esgindia.org Tue Apr 7 12:10:40 2009 From: esg at esgindia.org (ESGINDIA) Date: Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:10:40 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] [HasiruUsiru] Activists meet develops alternative plans In-Reply-To: <86b8a7050904062333kfc84df6t7d61c78651fa0e32@mail.gmail.com> References: <86b8a7050904062333kfc84df6t7d61c78651fa0e32@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49DAF568.4050601@esgindia.org> Guess its not a bad idea to emulate in Bangalore. leo Vinay Baindur wrote: > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4341734,prtpage-1.cms > > > > Activists meet develops alternative plans > > 1 Apr 2009, 0006 hrs IST, TNN > > > PUNE: In an effort to develop alternative paradigms for governance, > the Centre for Development Studies and Activities (CDSA), Pune and > India Habitat Centre, Delhi, recently held a workshop on City and > sustainability' at CDSA, where various organisations and activists > participated to facilitate the development of vision for "sustainable > urbanisation in India." > > The Pune consultations were a precursor to the Habitat Summit 2009 to > be held from September 23 to 30 in New Delhi with an objective to > anchor an ongoing dialogue on challenges and opportunities inherent in > the inevitable urbanisation of India. > > Speaking at the event, Raj Liberhan, director of India Habitat centre, > said the idea was to understand the experiences of different cities > because each city has a personality and there are city specific > aspirations and concerns. > > "Residents of the cities are frustrated with the kind of policies and > development that is happening. They want to create a dream for their > city. But when we say that what is happening is not the right way, we > can't just stop at that. We need to offer an alternative paradigm and > pave the way for different process of governance," Liberhan said. > > He pointed out that efforts are being taken in different cities to > prepare such models by intellectuals, activists, experts and citizens. > > "This alternative should be prepared keeping in mind experiences faced > by different cities and then put forth before the policy-makers to > consider it. A set of expectations should also be prepared as to what > are the issues that are of foremost concern to citizens and not to > policy-makers," Liberhan said. > > Director of CDSA, Aneeta Gokhale-Benninger said participatory > governance is the key ingredient for sustainability of cities. "It is > the urban poor who are delivering the services to the others, but they > should not be treated as second class citizens. Livelihoods, housing > and poverty are the biggest concerns. It is very important to manage > the financial, natural and human resources," Benninger said. > > President of National Society for Clean Cities, Satish Khot > highlighted the need for citizens to feel the ownership of the city to > begin to fight for it. "Involvement in the process is most important > for participatory governance. When people start realising that > something is missing, it is then that they start getting involved and > demanding for what is theirs," Khot said. > > Echoing similar thoughts, former mayor Vandana Chavan said citizens' > empowerment is very important. "Citizens should make their elected > representatives accountable and responsible. Capacity building > exercises for corporators for tackling urban planning issues is also > necessary," Chavan said. > > Others present for the consultation meeting were activists like Maj > Gen (Retd) S C N Jatar, Sujit Patwardhan, architectural and planning > consultant M N Jogalekar, Sanskriti Menon, Narendra Dengle, Anupam > Saraph and Sharad Mahajan. > > __._,_.___ > Messages in this topic > > (1) Reply (via web post) > > | Start a new topic > > > Messages > > | Files > > | Photos > > | Links > > | Database > > | Polls > > | Members > > | Calendar > > > Yahoo! Groups > > > Change settings via the Web > > (Yahoo! ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest > > | Switch format to Traditional > > > Visit Your Group > > | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | > Unsubscribe > Recent Activity > > * > 4 > New Members > > > Visit Your Group > > > Give Back > > Yahoo! for Good > > > Get inspired > > by a good cause. > > Y! Toolbar > > Get it Free! > > > easy 1-click access > > to your groups. > > Yahoo! Groups > > Start a group > > > in 3 easy steps. > > Connect with others. > > . > > __,_._,___ -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: esg.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 341 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090407/2aa35a09/attachment-0001.vcf From esg at esgindia.org Thu Apr 2 18:35:29 2009 From: esg at esgindia.org (ESGINDIA) Date: Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:35:29 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] High Court directs Bangalore Road Widening to strictly comply with Town and Country Planning Act Message-ID: <49D4B819.80004@esgindia.org> *PRESS RELEASE : 02 April 2009* *Widen Roads only in strict compliance with Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and Karnataka Tree Preservation Act* *Landmark Decision of High Court of Karnataka* On 16 March 2009, the Division Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka consisting of Chief Justice Mr. P. D. Dinakaran and Justice Mr. V. G. Sabahit directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP - Bangalore's civic authority) to strictly comply with the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act (KTCP Act) and Karnataka Tree Preservation Act (KTP Act) when dismissing BBMP's appeal to carry on its ambitious mega project of road widening unconditionally. This interim direction was issued in a Public Interest Litigation filed by Environment Support Group and ors. (WP 7107/2008) challenging the legality of the ongoing road widening programme. It may be recalled that BBMP has pushed for widening of roads since 2004 on its unilateral claim that this would help relieve traffic congestion. It has repeatedly asserted its right to carry on this mega project costing at least Rs. 4,000 crores without complying with the provisions of the KTCP Act, amongst other. According to its current plans, 91 roads are proposed to be widened presently running over a length of about 400 kms. This road widening project will destroy some of the oldest neighbourhoods of Bangalore, ruin livelihoods of hundreds of traders, put thousands of people dependent on street trade and a variety of commercial services, displace hundreds of homes, and cause the felling of at least 40,000 avenue trees thus depleting urban greenery and open space. Such a massive exercise has been undertaken by BBMP in total disregard to environmental, social and economic impacts. Various independent studies and the city's traffic commissioner have questioned the logic of this approach providing evidence that the problem of congestion was due to untreated intersections and not because of lack of space on roads. Communities, environmental and social action groups, legislators and a host of other actors have consistently campaigned against the need for widening roads, and protested against the brazen approach of BBMP. But the BBMP has continued with its illegal and controversial approach guided by a draconian bureaucracy which has no oversight due to the lack of an elected City Council for over two years now. So far four major roads have been widened. One such is the Bellary Road connecting the city to the new Bangalore International Airport. This project was undertaken without compliance with the provisions of the KTCP Act. At a very early stage Environment Support Group and /Hasiru Usiru /(a network of organisations and individuals interested in protecting the city's environment and open spaces) contested the proposal (as it was designed) and advocated a participatory approach to redeveloping this road in conformance with the KTCP Act and the National Urban Transport Policy. This appeal was brushed aside as BBMP was in a hurry to provide connectivity to the new Bangalore International Airport and failed to comply with planning provisions, statutory public consultation requirements or even standards for safe road design. One major terrible result of this brazen approahc has been that 53 people have been brutally killed in accidents on this one road and hundreds more have been injured and traumatised. Almost always, victims were pedestrians. The reason for such a high rate of accidents is not far to seek: 30 kms of Bellary Road widened and walled to connect to the airport has only 6 safe traffic intersections! As this road runs through densely populated neighbourhoods and several villages, people are forced to risk their limb or life in carrying on living. Such irresponsible planning has also resulted in fragmenting neighbourhoods and villages, and put at high risk the lives of elderly people and children who have to use the road daily. *Background to the PIL:* When the PIL was admitted by a Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka constituted by Justice Mr. V. Gopalagowda and Justice Mr. Ravi Malimath in June 2008, the Court had hoped that BBMP would comply with all laws and progressive policies, such as the National Urban Transport Policy and National Policy on Street Vendors, while widening roads. To ensure this actually happenned, the Court established a Committee of interdisciplinary experts based on suggestions made by the Petitioners and Respondents. Mr. A.N. Yellappa Reddy, former Environment Secretary of Karnataka, was approinted to chair this scoping Committee and formulate legally compliant road widening schemes that were also sensitive to and protective of the rights of disabled, elderly people and children, and to ensure designs were so developed that trees were not unnecessarily felled and public transport and fossil fuel independent transport modes were advanced. In the six months that this Committee functioned, Mr. Reddy conducted the proceedings in a secretive manner. Rather than allowing public engagement at all stages of planning and implementation of projects, as the law mandated and as Committee members repeatedly demanded, the approach adopted by Mr. Reddy was to push ahead with widening of roads despite its illegalities, and social and environmental impacts. Troubled by this undemocratic and unscientific approach, the Petitioners approached the Karnataka Legal Services Authority (Hon'ble Lok Adalat) in November 2008 for relief, as required per the High Court direction. The Lok Adalat favourably considered the Petitioners representation and directed Mr. Reddy to ensure Committee meetings would be made public. It also directed the Committee to consider representations of Petitioners, affected public and independent experts while formulating suggestions for the programme of road widening and such other infrastructure projects. However, this relief was short-lived for during December 2008 BBMP proceeded to widen Palace and Sheshadri Roads in the city centre causing the felling of over 500 old trees that formed the heritage of the city. This ruthless act was patently illegal and based on the non-existent power of the Committee to approve such legally non-compliant projects. Deeply disturbed by such illegal exercise of power, the Petitioners moved the Hon'ble Lok Adalat once again. In its decision of 6^th January 2009, the Lok Adalat held that little could be done now about the heritage trees that had been felled on Sheshadri and Palace Roads. It, however, reprimanded officers of BBMP and the Tree Officer over their efforts to get Court approval for actions in contravention of town planning law. Returning the case to the High Court to decide the applicability of KTCP Act to the activity of road widening, it directed BBMP and the Tree Officer to seek the Adalat's permission prior to any tree felling in Bangalore. Rather than complying with the provisions of the law as mandated, BBMP sought to continue road widening and moved the matter before the High Court of Karnataka seeking its approval for road widening activity. Hearing the petition, the Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice Mr. Dinakaran clarified in its order of 16 March 2009 that "that the respondent corporation is at liberty to proceed with the works relating to widening of the roads. Of course, while doing so, the respondent-corporation shall _*strictly follow*_ the provisions of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act" (emphasis added). Thus granting the Petitioners, Environment Support Group and ors., the main relief sought for -- that KTCP strictly applies to road widening. A logical consequence of the High Court order was that the Committee headed by Mr. Yellappa Reddy became infructuous. *Highly significant implications of the High Court order:* The implications of this direction of the High Court are significant and far reaching. The Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, is perhaps one of the finest pieces of urban planning legislations and many states in India have adopted similar laws since independence. This law requires planning and implementation authorities to evolve urban projects by consulting the wide public in many stages. It further demands a detailed process of enquiry into social, economic and environmental impacts of projects and requires that implementing agencies develop schemes transparently by making public plans before undertaking any project. Needless to state, most States have failed to implement this legislation. It is no wonder, therefore, that Indian cities are amongst the worst planned and managed anywhere in the world. Indian cities are also characterised by very low involvement of the public in decision making and some of the worst infrastructure scandals are a direct consequence of this intransparent and undemocratic approach. The lack of compliance with KTCP Act has also resulted in violation of several fundamental socio-economic and environmental justice rights, and of the rights to housing and sustenance of livelihoods such as by street vendors. Needless to state, the concerns of weaker sections of society, such as urban poor, the elderly, disabled and the needs of children are rarely considered with the sensitivity they deserve. A direct and tangible result of the High Court direction to affected communities in urban areas of Karnataka is that hundreds of property owners, tenants and traders have now secured their statutory right to be consulted prior to any road widening work being implemented. By implication, this direction applies to all urban development and infrastructure projects, such as the Metro, High Speed Rail Link to the airport, building new roads (such as the one through the University of Agricultural Sciences campus) and so on. Because the Court has explicitly stated that the provisions of Karnataka Tree Preservation Act will also be strictly complied with, the burden now lies with the Tree Officer of Bangalore to ensure that no tree is felled unless the activity demanding tree felling is firstly and fully compliant with the provisions of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. *What next:* This unprecedented and landmark direction has significant bearing on the nature of engagement of urban communities with authorities. For one, it greatly advances the democratisation of decision making in urban areas, enhances the quality of public review of projects and ensures a high degree of transparency in formulation of schemes and implementation of projects. This is a sign step towards the the development of healthy, environmentally sensitive, safe and just cities. To ensure that this order is strictly implemented, ESG along with /Hasiru Usiru /network will intensify its engagement with communities affected by road widening and other infrastructure projects and build their awareness on the significance of this victory. This is the most sure way to secure the wide public from adverse impacts of coercive and illegal actions by urban planning and development authorities. Leo F. Saldanha Bhargavi S. Rao Environment Support Group 105, East End B Main Road, Jayanagar 9^th Block East, Bangalore 560069. INDIA Tel: 91-80-26531339/22441977 Voice/Fax: 91-80-26534364 Email: _esg at esgindia.org _ or _esgindia at gmail.com _Web: _www.esgindia.org _ PS: Please visit our website (Namma Raste link) for a copy of the PIL, all orders of the High Court of Karnataka and Lok Adalat and minutes of meetings of the Committee. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/8a6a62f4/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: HC_Road_7107_2008_PIL_160309.rar Type: application/octet-stream Size: 208295 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/8a6a62f4/attachment-0001.obj -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: esg.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 341 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090402/8a6a62f4/attachment-0001.vcf From jjinisha at hotmail.com Thu Apr 9 10:58:03 2009 From: jjinisha at hotmail.com (jinisha jain) Date: Thu, 9 Apr 2009 05:28:03 +0000 Subject: [Urbanstudy] 2nd Call For Papers: HERITAGE SPECIAL- Indian Architect & Builder In-Reply-To: <509467.84352.qm@web95216.mail.in2.yahoo.com> References: <509467.84352.qm@web95216.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear all, Please note that on popular request the deadline for abstract submission to IA&B Heritage Special is now 16th April 2009. I would appreciate if you please help circulate this e-mail to others interested. We welcome more than one abstract. Also to give pointers our screening takes into account: Relevance to Theme/Sections. (We would immensely appreciate articles that could respond holistically to a certain theme with adequate case-studies) . Freshness/originali ty of subject/projects (previously published or presented works must be avoided, though exceptions can be discussed with the editorial). We appreciate an all-India presence (case-studies n essays shall reflect good distribution of both subjects n geography). Even though our focus is largely Indian, Cross-cultural analysis with incisive conclusions relevant for our contexts is a great merit. We appreciate a Cross-section of contributors….from trained professionals, contractors, bureaucrats, academicians, students, scholars, researchers, et al. The writings should be as illustrative as possible through projects and case-studies. We encourage a pitch for REAL projects. I look forward to your participation. Sincerely, Jinisha Jain. IA&B. New Delhi. India. For any queries, feel free to contact: Jinisha Jain: jinisha_jain@ jasubhai. com Tel: 011-4674 5555. INDIAN, ARCHITECT AND BUILDER JASU BHAI MEDIA 803, CHIRANJEEV TOWER, 43, NEHRU PLACE. NEW DELHI-10019 India. www.iabforum. com . __,_._,___ Get your own website and domain for just Rs.1,999/year.* Click here! _________________________________________________________________ Rediscover Hotmail®: Get e-mail storage that grows with you. http://windowslive.com/RediscoverHotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Rediscover_Storage1_042009 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090409/faa566e4/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Heritage Special Concept note for IAB[1].pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 449849 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090409/faa566e4/attachment-0002.pdf -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Heritage Special Concept note for I-Struc[2].pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 252188 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090409/faa566e4/attachment-0003.pdf From bawazainab79 at gmail.com Mon Apr 13 10:27:50 2009 From: bawazainab79 at gmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:27:50 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Invitation to the launch of www.EmpoweringIndia.org Message-ID: *EMPOWERING INDIA* *Making Democracy Meaningful* *Press Institute of India* *and* Liberty Institute *in partnership with the* Friedrich Naumann – Stiftung für die Freiheit cordially invite you for the launch of a new initiative *www.empoweringindia.org* a unique website on candidates and constituencies By *Mr SUDHAKAR RAO * *Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka * *Guest of Honour* *Justice SANTOSH HEGDE (Retd.)* *Supreme Court of India & Head, Lokayukta, Karnataka* *DATE*: April 16, 2009 *TIME*: 10 am to 2 pm *VENUE*: The Crystal Hall The Capitol Hotel No 3, Raj Bhavan Road, Bangalore – 560 001 RSVP: *Sangeetha Rajeesh*, Editor – Press Institute of India (098410 51489) ....................................................................................................................................................................................... *PROGRAMME*: 10.00 am - Registration (tea/coffee + biscuits) 10.30 am - Introduction to the programme- *Mr V Murali,* Director – Press Institute of India, Chennai 10.35 am - Welcome remarks – *Mr Subodh Kumar, *Executive – Programmes, FNF, New Delhi 10.40 am - Launch of Empowering India and inaugural address –*Mr Sudhakar Rao, *Chief Secretary - Karnataka 10.55 am – Special Address by *Justice* *Santosh Hegde, *Supreme Court India (retd.) & Head of Lokayukta Karnataka 11.10 am - Introduction to *www.EmpoweringIndia.org * , *Mr Barun Mitra*, Director - Liberty Institute, New Delhi 11.45 am - *PANEL DISCUSSION* – *‘Making Democracy Meaningful’* Chairperson – *Mr L C Jain, *Former Member – Planning Commission Panellists – *Mr R Srikumar, (*retd) DG, IGP, Karnataka - *Mr V N Subba Rao, *Former Chairman, Karnataka Academy - *Mr* *Sharat Pottaraju, *Head of Communications , Janaagraha, Karnataka 12.55pm – Vote of thanks – *Mr Barun Mitra * 1 pm – Lunch Liberty Institute, C-4/8 Sahyadri, Plot 5, Sector 12, Dwarka, New Delhi 110078. Tel: 011-28031309. Email: *EmpoweringIndiaMail at gmail.com*, Web site: *www.InDefenceofLiberty.org * Press Institute of India, (address and contact details) -- Zainab Bawa Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher Between Places ... http://wbfs.wordpress.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090413/9c303d3a/attachment.html From bawazainab79 at gmail.com Mon Apr 13 14:53:15 2009 From: bawazainab79 at gmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:53:15 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Talk on Internet, Transparency and Politics Message-ID: Dear all, The Centre for Internet and Society organizes a talk on "Internet, Transparency and Politics". Description: The 2009 general elections in India have been preceded by various initiatives that seek to provide information to the voters about candidates contesting the elections. The aim of providing this information is to help voters to make 'informed choices' when casting their votes. This talk is being organized in the context of the research that CIS-RAW fellow Zainab Bawa is carrying out on "Internet, Transparency and Politics". Why has the Internet become an important space for publishing information that is streamlined for facilitating interaction between citizens and the state? What is the impact of making such information available to citizens? How does it transform their relationship with political actors and government agencies? Simultaneously, how are elected representatives and political parties responding to these 'transparency' initiatives? *Profile of the Speaker:* Barun Mitra is the Director of Liberty Institute, a think-tank based in Delhi. He has conceptualized EmpoweringIndia.org to enable voters to cast their votes thoughtfully during the elections and to use the information on the site to hold their elected representatives accountable after they have been voted in. Barun Mitra also writes on issues of environment, health, trade and democracy in national and international publications. Time and Date: Wednesday, 15th April, 2009; 5.00 - 6.30 PM Venue: Centre for Internet and Society, No. D2, 3rd Floor, Sheriff Chambers, 14, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052 For more details, visit http://www.cis-india.org/events/internet-transparency-and-politics -- Zainab Bawa Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher Between Places ... http://wbfs.wordpress.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090413/513d024f/attachment.html From esg at esgindia.org Thu Apr 16 13:51:52 2009 From: esg at esgindia.org (ESGINDIA) Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:51:52 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Democracy and the Small Car Message-ID: <49E6EAA0.9040804@esgindia.org> april 4, 2009 Economic & Political Weekly EPW april 4, 2009 vol xliv no 14 5 Democracy and the Small Car The political role of the small car is as important as its environmental impact. The collapse of public transport in the past few decades has been a stark feature of almost all urban areas in India. Significantly though, this matter has only found tangential reference in public discourse through issues like urban air pollution. Independent India has witnessed a sixfold rise in its urban population, and even though urbanisation remains low by the standards of the industrialised countries, close to 300 million of our citizens live in urban areas. It is important to realise that in order to thrive cities are crucially dependent on easy and inexpensive mobility of its residents over its urban space. Unfortunately, like other public infrastructure, public transport has been grossly neglected by city administrators, state and central governments, and this neglect has impacted the urban poor the most. The ability to travel within the city is essential to actualise the economic and cultural potential of the place. Residents need to travel for work, for education, for socialisation and for procuring the needs of daily life. The more the areas of the city are within the easy reach of a particular citizen, the further her potential ability to increase choices of work, residence, consumption and socialisation. Increase in either the time or money required for such travel proportionately reduces the urban citizen’s ability to participate in civic and economic activities of the city and thus impacts adversely on her. As cities have expanded and distances within each urban space have increased manifold, the ability to travel these distances has reduced. The public transport in cities which independent India inherited was slowly allowed to wither away. The older metropolitan areas still retained a rudimentary public transport system based on buses but these were built on truck chassis and were never enough to handle the growing demands on public transportation. The emergent cities and semi-urban areas were largely left to depend on “innovations” which were mostly diesel machines fitted onto a locally assembled chassis of three or four wheels known by different names in different parts of India. All in all, public transport in urban India has been a disaster – overcrowded, slow, unsafe and often, unavailable. It is in this context that one needs to view the growing numbers of private vehicles, both two-wheelers and cars. In 1951 there were five private vehicles for each bus in India but today there are 80 private vehicles for each bus. Not only have municipal administrators and governments neglected public transport, they have actively subsidised private transport through fiscal, administrative and planning measures. Road tax on buses, even when calculated on the basis of passengers carried, is 10 to 12 times that on cars. In a city like Delhi, buses only use 5% of the city’s roadspace but carry close to 60% of its travelling public, while cars and two-wheelers ferry only 20% of its population but hog threefourths of its roads. Ultimately then, the neglect of public transport shows itself as a class issue where investments in urban mobility – flyovers, parking lots, wider roads, smaller pavements, etc – are all focused on easing the mobility of the middle classes in urban India. The orchestrated media campaign against faster and safer bus services through the Bus Rapid Transit corridors only indicates the strength of class interests seeking to mould urban transport systems. It is in this twin context of the centrality of mobility to urban living and the collapse of urban public transport that the popularity of the recently launched Tata Nano should be understood. It is worthwhile to remember Ratan Tata’s oft repeated statement that the inspiration for the Nano was the struggling middle class family perched precariously on a two-wheeler. Such a family, while owning personal transport, would welcome an improved public transport system which would enable them to travel in the city in comfort and safety. By enabling them ownership of a car, the Nano secures this archetypal family firmly to the interests of that class which hogs the privileges of the class-divided road. It would be a mistake to take no notice of this political function of the Nano. The Nano, despite its overt sympathies for the underprivileged road user, will only further skew the class divides which fracture our cities, apart from increasing pollution and congestion, while decreasing general safety on the roads. David Harvey, in a recent essay on the right to the city, says, “The question of what kind of city we want cannot be divorced from that of what kind of social ties, relationship to nature, lifestyles, technologies and aesthetic values we desire. The right to the city is far more than the individual liberty to access urban resources: it is a right to change ourselves by changing the city.” An inexpensive, safe and fast public transport system is essential not only to address the growing problems of congestion, pollution and road safety, it is also central to building a more democratic city which provides equal opportunities of mobility to all its residents. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: esg.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 341 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090416/fc3612f1/attachment.vcf From esg at esgindia.org Mon Apr 20 07:28:56 2009 From: esg at esgindia.org (ESGINDIA) Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:28:56 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Press Release: If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then stop implementing the Zig-Zag alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks Message-ID: <49EBD6E0.5050004@esgindia.org> * * *PRESS RELEASE : 19 April 2009* *If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then stop implementing the Zig-Zag alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks* Dr. Ramachandran, Secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development and Chairman of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. has issued a clarification in response to the ongoing protests initiated by /Hasiru Usiru,/ a network of organisations and individuals concerned about conservation of public commons, open spaces and greenery in Bengaluru, against the alingment of Bangalore Metro through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks. In his clarification, , Dr. Ramachandran states that: "The route alignment of the metro was done after a detailed study and approved by the Central and State governments. The cost of constructing an underground station is an expensive proposition. A metro with a zig-zag alignment is not possible. All decisions were approved well in advance." ('/BMRCL clarifies on Lal Bagh station'/, Deccan Hearald, 19 April 2009). Hasiru Usiru welcomes the clarification from Dr. Ramachandran, in particular the fact that "a metro with a zig-zag alignment is not possible". If this were true, then the elevated track alignments of the Metro through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks is clearly not feasible. A cursory view of the North South alignment of the Metro, in particular from K. R. Road to Banashankari through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks reveals clearly and beyond any doubt that the proposed alignment is infact zig and zag. Here the alignment takes four 90 degree turns in about 4 kms. Such a proposal is unseen in any Metro alignment, anywhere in the world. Clearly, therefore, Dr. Ramachandran must take initiative to ensure that the implementation of the project on this alignment is immediately suspended so that there is no waste of public resource, and destruction of Bengaluru's heritage parks and private properties. Dr. Ramachandran's other statements are rather contradicting, however. It is possible that the Metro project has gone through a series of reviews within the Government. But not once has BMRCL conducted any statutory Public Hearing on the project ever. In fact, the alignment of the Metro has been fixed and realigned largely internally, without any statutory public involvement and largely shaped by political considerations. For instance, the original proposal does not have any extension into Kanakapura Road, and this section was introduced only during the term of the present Government. On the issue of taking the Metro through Lalbagh, BMRCL has always been aware that this involves an amendment to a special law that protects this heritage botanical garden -- Karnataka Parks Preservation Act, amongst others. Even though during the term of this Government there have been at least three Legislature sessions, in a devious and undemocratic process, an ordinance was preferred to take away a portion of this heritage park for a Metro station. Considering that BMRCL has repeatedly stated that its stations would also be Malls, there is no guarantee whatsoever that the stations proposed in Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Park will not be turned into Malls in some future. Such decisions aren't the prerogative of bureaucrats alone and must be debated in the public domain through statutory processes as provided in law. It is widely known that BMRCL has repeatedly stated that wonderful line of trees on the Lakshman Rao Park boulevard will only be pruned, and not cut. However, it has been put beyond any doubt that BMRCL intends to fell all the trees that line this boulevard. Such inconsistent statements do not bode well for developing the wide public's confidence in BRMCL. The fact that the Lalbagh wall has been razed and trees cut without any permission from the Tree Officer is a clear case of BMRCL claiming rights not found in law. We applaud the decision of the new Tree Officer (Bangalore South) in confirming that he would take action against the guilty officials for violating the Karnataka Preservation of Tree Act, while unilaterally cutting trees withing Lalbagh -- a botanical garden. The Metro is a project that will take decades to build. Such a project must therefore be implemented by due and deliberate consideration of public opinion. BMRCL officials, at best, have only visited some clubs and associations to share their proposals, but this does not constitute a statutory public consultation. On 16 March 2009, the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka issued a direction to all agencies involved in management and implementation of urban projects that they would "strictly follow" the provisions of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act (in WP No. 7107/2008, Environment Support and ors., vs State of Karnataka). BMRCL is a respondent to this PIL and the order is binding to the agency. Yet within weeks of this order, trees have been illegally felled over the past two weeks in Lalbagh and also on Lakshman Rao boulevard. Only timely action from /Hasiru Usiru /voluteers has prevented any further felling. The past week's protests have put beyond any doubt the fact that the Southern alignment of the Metro is flawed and unpopular. /Hasiru Usiru /gratefully acknowledges all contestants from the Bangalore South Lok Sabha constitutency who have taken a stand on this issue. In particular we acknowledge Capt. Gopinath (Independent) who has joined the protests, Mr. Santosh Min (Independent) who has consistently expressed his concerns against the project's impact on the city's heritage and Mr. Krishna Byregowda (INC) who has stated that the project should not destroy the city's heritage. We also acknowledge the initiatives and protests of Mr. B. N. Vijayakumar (BJP), MLA from Jayanagar, who has called upon BMRCL to stop work forthwith and conduct public review of this section of the project. Mr. Dinesh Gundu Rao (INC), MLA from Gandhinagar, Dr. Hemachandra Sagar (BJP), MLA from Chickpet and Mr. Narendra Babu, MLA from Mahalakshmi Layout have all joined protest actions of /Hasiru Usiru /against such undemocratic implementation of the Metro in Bengaluru. Unfortunately, because of the continuing undemocratic nature of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, which for two years now does not have an elected council, the citizens have no legitimate forum to aire their grievances. Clearly, the fact that even Legislators have not been consulted is not a good indicator of the quality of governance in Bengaluru. Dr. Ramachandran is a Secretary who has spearheaded several innovative approaches to urban infrastructure development, and is particularly credited for the National Urban Transport Policy. This policy clearly articulates that public transport projects will succeed only when the public is involved in all decisions. BMRCL has no history of such consultation whatsoever. In this context, we protest the statement of Mr. Chavan, PRO of BMRCL, who in a charitable dispensation has claimed that the agency was "willing to arrange for a presentation for NGOs so that it could convince them about the feasibility of alignment already arrived at" (/'BMRCL unrelenting, 1,800 trees in Lalbagh face the axe'/, The Hindu, 19 April 2009). We demand that such efforts notwithstanding, BMRCL must fully take the public into confidence and ensure public involvement in decisions relating to the Metro in full conformance with the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, as directed by the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka. Leo F. Saldanha Vinay Sreenivasan Coordinator Hasiru Usiru Environment Support Group www.hasiruusiru.org a consituent of Hasiru Usiru www.esgindia.org *About /Hasiru Usiru/:* /Hasiru Usiru /is a network of organisations and individuals concerned about conservation of public commons, open spaces and greenery in Bengaluru. Over the past several years, Hasiru Usiru has served as a platform to explore various approaches to resolve urban challenges through a series of efforts including meetings, workshops, campaigns and public interest litigations. A key concern has been to develop sensitivity of implementing agencies involved in urban infrastructural development to involve public in decision making and ensure that projects developed are in conformance with law and equitable benefit all sections of society. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/773edd1f/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: esg.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 341 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/773edd1f/attachment-0001.vcf From umavchandru at gmail.com Mon Apr 20 11:21:17 2009 From: umavchandru at gmail.com (Uma Chandru) Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:21:17 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Urbanstudygroup Digest, Vol 62, Issue 9-how do I get the posts on daily basis versus weekly digest? Message-ID: <37072f990904192251k793a97f7n2ead90e087bbf824@mail.gmail.com> Hi, I was unable to get into the subscribe/unsubcribe link below to change my stetings from weekly digest to daily posts. Please let me how I can change my settings as i am getting the information I need after the events with the weekly digest. Thanks & best regards Uma V Chandru On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 7:29 AM, wrote: > Send Urbanstudygroup mailing list submissions to > urbanstudygroup at sarai.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > urbanstudygroup-request at sarai.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > urbanstudygroup-owner at sarai.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Urbanstudygroup digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Invitation to the launch of www.EmpoweringIndia.org (Zainab Bawa) > 2. Talk on Internet, Transparency and Politics (Zainab Bawa) > 3. Democracy and the Small Car (ESGINDIA) > 4. Press Release: If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then stop > implementing the Zig-Zag alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman > Rao Parks (ESGINDIA) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:27:50 +0530 > From: Zainab Bawa > Subject: [Urbanstudy] Invitation to the launch of > www.EmpoweringIndia.org > To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net, Reader-list > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > *EMPOWERING INDIA* > > *Making Democracy Meaningful* > > > > *Press Institute of India* > > *and* > > Liberty Institute > > *in partnership with the* > > Friedrich Naumann – Stiftung für die Freiheit > > cordially invite you for the launch of a new initiative > > *www.empoweringindia.org* > > a unique website on candidates and constituencies > > By > > *Mr SUDHAKAR RAO * > > *Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka * > > > > *Guest of Honour* > > *Justice SANTOSH HEGDE (Retd.)* > > *Supreme Court of India & Head, Lokayukta, Karnataka* > > > > *DATE*: April 16, 2009 > > *TIME*: 10 am to 2 pm > > *VENUE*: The Crystal Hall > > The Capitol Hotel > > No 3, Raj Bhavan Road, > > Bangalore – 560 001 > > > > RSVP: *Sangeetha Rajeesh*, Editor – Press Institute of India (098410 > 51489) > > > ....................................................................................................................................................................................... > > > > *PROGRAMME*: > > 10.00 am - Registration (tea/coffee + biscuits) > > 10.30 am - Introduction to the programme- *Mr V Murali,* Director – Press > Institute of India, Chennai > > 10.35 am - Welcome remarks – *Mr Subodh Kumar, *Executive – Programmes, > FNF, > New Delhi > > 10.40 am - Launch of Empowering India and inaugural address –*Mr Sudhakar > Rao, *Chief Secretary - Karnataka > > 10.55 am – Special Address by *Justice* *Santosh Hegde, *Supreme Court > India > (retd.) & Head of Lokayukta Karnataka > > 11.10 am - Introduction to > *www.EmpoweringIndia.org > * , *Mr Barun Mitra*, Director - Liberty Institute, New Delhi > > 11.45 am - *PANEL DISCUSSION* – *‘Making Democracy Meaningful’* > > Chairperson – *Mr L C Jain, *Former Member – Planning Commission > > Panellists – *Mr R Srikumar, (*retd) DG, IGP, Karnataka > > - *Mr V N Subba Rao, *Former Chairman, Karnataka Academy > > - *Mr* *Sharat Pottaraju, *Head of Communications , Janaagraha, Karnataka > > 12.55pm – Vote of thanks – *Mr Barun Mitra * > > 1 pm – Lunch > > > > Liberty Institute, C-4/8 Sahyadri, Plot 5, Sector 12, Dwarka, New Delhi > 110078. Tel: 011-28031309. Email: *EmpoweringIndiaMail at gmail.com*, Web > site: > *www.InDefenceofLiberty.org * > > > > Press Institute of India, (address and contact details) > > > -- > Zainab Bawa > Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher > > Between Places ... > http://wbfs.wordpress.com > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090413/9c303d3a/attachment-0001.html > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:53:15 +0530 > From: Zainab Bawa > Subject: [Urbanstudy] Talk on Internet, Transparency and Politics > To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Dear all, > The Centre for Internet and Society organizes a talk on "Internet, > Transparency and Politics". > > Description: The 2009 general elections in India have been preceded by > various initiatives that seek to provide information to the voters about > candidates contesting the elections. The aim of providing this information > is to help voters to make 'informed choices' when casting their votes. This > talk is being organized in the context of the research that CIS-RAW fellow > Zainab Bawa is carrying out on "Internet, Transparency and Politics". Why > has the Internet become an important space for publishing information that > is streamlined for facilitating interaction between citizens and the state? > What is the impact of making such information available to citizens? How > does it transform their relationship with political actors and government > agencies? Simultaneously, how are elected representatives and political > parties responding to these 'transparency' initiatives? > > *Profile of the Speaker:* Barun Mitra is the Director of Liberty Institute, > a think-tank based in Delhi. He has conceptualized EmpoweringIndia.org to > enable voters to cast their votes thoughtfully during the elections and to > use the information on the site to hold their elected representatives > accountable after they have been voted in. Barun Mitra also writes on > issues > of environment, health, trade and democracy in national and international > publications. > > Time and Date: Wednesday, 15th April, 2009; 5.00 - 6.30 PM > > Venue: Centre for Internet and Society, No. D2, 3rd Floor, Sheriff > Chambers, > 14, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052 > For more details, visit > http://www.cis-india.org/events/internet-transparency-and-politics > > -- > Zainab Bawa > Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher > > Between Places ... > http://wbfs.wordpress.com > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090413/513d024f/attachment-0001.html > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:51:52 +0530 > From: ESGINDIA > Subject: [Urbanstudy] Democracy and the Small Car > To: hasiruusiru , Urbanstudy Group > , ECwatch Group < > ecwatch at yahoogroups.com>, > esg_work_team > Message-ID: <49E6EAA0.9040804 at esgindia.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > > april 4, 2009 > Economic & Political Weekly EPW april 4, 2009 vol xliv no 14 5 > Democracy and the Small Car > The political role of the small car is as important as its environmental > impact. > The collapse of public transport in the past few decades has > been a stark feature of almost all urban areas in India. > Significantly though, this matter has only found tangential > reference in public discourse through issues like urban air > pollution. Independent India has witnessed a sixfold rise in its > urban population, and even though urbanisation remains low by the > standards of the industrialised countries, close to 300 million of our > citizens live in urban areas. It is important to realise that in order > to thrive cities are crucially dependent on easy and inexpensive > mobility of its residents over its urban space. Unfortunately, like > other public infrastructure, public transport has been grossly > neglected by city administrators, state and central governments, > and this neglect has impacted the urban poor the most. > The ability to travel within the city is essential to actualise the > economic and cultural potential of the place. Residents need to > travel for work, for education, for socialisation and for procuring > the needs of daily life. The more the areas of the city are within > the easy reach of a particular citizen, the further her potential > ability to increase choices of work, residence, consumption and > socialisation. Increase in either the time or money required for > such travel proportionately reduces the urban citizen’s ability to > participate in civic and economic activities of the city and thus > impacts adversely on her. As cities have expanded and distances > within each urban space have increased manifold, the ability to > travel these distances has reduced. > The public transport in cities which independent India inherited > was slowly allowed to wither away. The older metropolitan areas > still retained a rudimentary public transport system based on > buses but these were built on truck chassis and were never > enough to handle the growing demands on public transportation. > The emergent cities and semi-urban areas were largely left to > depend on “innovations” which were mostly diesel machines > fitted onto a locally assembled chassis of three or four wheels > known by different names in different parts of India. All in all, > public transport in urban India has been a disaster – overcrowded, > slow, unsafe and often, unavailable. > It is in this context that one needs to view the growing numbers > of private vehicles, both two-wheelers and cars. In 1951 there > were five private vehicles for each bus in India but today there are > 80 private vehicles for each bus. Not only have municipal administrators > and governments neglected public transport, they have > actively subsidised private transport through fiscal, administrative > and planning measures. Road tax on buses, even when calculated > on the basis of passengers carried, is 10 to 12 times that on > cars. In a city like Delhi, buses only use 5% of the city’s roadspace > but carry close to 60% of its travelling public, while cars > and two-wheelers ferry only 20% of its population but hog threefourths > of its roads. Ultimately then, the neglect of public transport > shows itself as a class issue where investments in urban > mobility – flyovers, parking lots, wider roads, smaller pavements, > etc – are all focused on easing the mobility of the middle classes > in urban India. The orchestrated media campaign against faster > and safer bus services through the Bus Rapid Transit corridors > only indicates the strength of class interests seeking to mould > urban transport systems. > It is in this twin context of the centrality of mobility to urban > living and the collapse of urban public transport that the popularity > of the recently launched Tata Nano should be understood. > It is worthwhile to remember Ratan Tata’s oft repeated statement > that the inspiration for the Nano was the struggling middle class > family perched precariously on a two-wheeler. Such a family, > while owning personal transport, would welcome an improved > public transport system which would enable them to travel in the > city in comfort and safety. By enabling them ownership of a car, > the Nano secures this archetypal family firmly to the interests of > that class which hogs the privileges of the class-divided road. It > would be a mistake to take no notice of this political function of > the Nano. The Nano, despite its overt sympathies for the underprivileged > road user, will only further skew the class divides > which fracture our cities, apart from increasing pollution and > congestion, while decreasing general safety on the roads. > David Harvey, in a recent essay on the right to the city, says, > “The question of what kind of city we want cannot be divorced > from that of what kind of social ties, relationship to nature, > lifestyles, technologies and aesthetic values we desire. The right > to the city is far more than the individual liberty to access > urban resources: it is a right to change ourselves by changing > the city.” An inexpensive, safe and fast public transport system is > essential not only to address the growing problems of congestion, > pollution and road safety, it is also central to building a > more democratic city which provides equal opportunities of > mobility to all its residents. > -------------- next part -------------- > A non-text attachment was scrubbed... > Name: esg.vcf > Type: text/x-vcard > Size: 341 bytes > Desc: not available > Url : > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090416/fc3612f1/attachment-0001.vcf > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:28:56 +0530 > From: ESGINDIA > Subject: [Urbanstudy] Press Release: If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then > stop implementing the Zig-Zag alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman > Rao Parks > To: Urbanstudy Group > Message-ID: <49EBD6E0.5050004 at esgindia.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > * * > > *PRESS RELEASE : 19 April 2009* > > > *If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then stop implementing the Zig-Zag > alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks* > > > > Dr. Ramachandran, Secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development and > Chairman of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. has issued a > clarification in response to the ongoing protests initiated by /Hasiru > Usiru,/ a network of organisations and individuals concerned about > conservation of public commons, open spaces and greenery in Bengaluru, > against the alingment of Bangalore Metro through Lalbagh and Lakshman > Rao Parks. In his clarification, , Dr. Ramachandran states that: "The > route alignment of the metro was done after a detailed study and > approved by the Central and State governments. The cost of constructing > an underground station is an expensive proposition. A metro with a > zig-zag alignment is not possible. All decisions were approved well in > advance." ('/BMRCL clarifies on Lal Bagh station'/, Deccan Hearald, 19 > April 2009). > > > Hasiru Usiru welcomes the clarification from Dr. Ramachandran, in > particular the fact that "a metro with a zig-zag alignment is not > possible". If this were true, then the elevated track alignments of the > Metro through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks is clearly not feasible. A > cursory view of the North South alignment of the Metro, in particular > from K. R. Road to Banashankari through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks > reveals clearly and beyond any doubt that the proposed alignment is > infact zig and zag. Here the alignment takes four 90 degree turns in > about 4 kms. Such a proposal is unseen in any Metro alignment, anywhere > in the world. Clearly, therefore, Dr. Ramachandran must take initiative > to ensure that the implementation of the project on this alignment is > immediately suspended so that there is no waste of public resource, and > destruction of Bengaluru's heritage parks and private properties. > > > Dr. Ramachandran's other statements are rather contradicting, however. > It is possible that the Metro project has gone through a series of > reviews within the Government. But not once has BMRCL conducted any > statutory Public Hearing on the project ever. In fact, the alignment of > the Metro has been fixed and realigned largely internally, without any > statutory public involvement and largely shaped by political > considerations. For instance, the original proposal does not have any > extension into Kanakapura Road, and this section was introduced only > during the term of the present Government. > > > On the issue of taking the Metro through Lalbagh, BMRCL has always been > aware that this involves an amendment to a special law that protects > this heritage botanical garden -- Karnataka Parks Preservation Act, > amongst others. Even though during the term of this Government there > have been at least three Legislature sessions, in a devious and > undemocratic process, an ordinance was preferred to take away a portion > of this heritage park for a Metro station. Considering that BMRCL has > repeatedly stated that its stations would also be Malls, there is no > guarantee whatsoever that the stations proposed in Lalbagh and Lakshman > Rao Park will not be turned into Malls in some future. Such decisions > aren't the prerogative of bureaucrats alone and must be debated in the > public domain through statutory processes as provided in law. > > > It is widely known that BMRCL has repeatedly stated that wonderful line > of trees on the Lakshman Rao Park boulevard will only be pruned, and not > cut. However, it has been put beyond any doubt that BMRCL intends to > fell all the trees that line this boulevard. > > > Such inconsistent statements do not bode well for developing the wide > public's confidence in BRMCL. The fact that the Lalbagh wall has been > razed and trees cut without any permission from the Tree Officer is a > clear case of BMRCL claiming rights not found in law. We applaud the > decision of the new Tree Officer (Bangalore South) in confirming that he > would take action against the guilty officials for violating the > Karnataka Preservation of Tree Act, while unilaterally cutting trees > withing Lalbagh -- a botanical garden. > > > The Metro is a project that will take decades to build. Such a project > must therefore be implemented by due and deliberate consideration of > public opinion. BMRCL officials, at best, have only visited some clubs > and associations to share their proposals, but this does not constitute > a statutory public consultation. > > > On 16 March 2009, the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka issued a direction > to all agencies involved in management and implementation of urban > projects that they would "strictly follow" the provisions of the > Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and Karnataka Preservation of > Trees Act (in WP No. 7107/2008, Environment Support and ors., vs State > of Karnataka). BMRCL is a respondent to this PIL and the order is > binding to the agency. Yet within weeks of this order, trees have been > illegally felled over the past two weeks in Lalbagh and also on Lakshman > Rao boulevard. Only timely action from /Hasiru Usiru /voluteers has > prevented any further felling. > > > The past week's protests have put beyond any doubt the fact that the > Southern alignment of the Metro is flawed and unpopular. /Hasiru Usiru > /gratefully acknowledges all contestants from the Bangalore South Lok > Sabha constitutency who have taken a stand on this issue. In particular > we acknowledge Capt. Gopinath (Independent) who has joined the protests, > Mr. Santosh Min (Independent) who has consistently expressed his > concerns against the project's impact on the city's heritage and Mr. > Krishna Byregowda (INC) who has stated that the project should not > destroy the city's heritage. > > > We also acknowledge the initiatives and protests of Mr. B. N. > Vijayakumar (BJP), MLA from Jayanagar, who has called upon BMRCL to stop > work forthwith and conduct public review of this section of the project. > Mr. Dinesh Gundu Rao (INC), MLA from Gandhinagar, Dr. Hemachandra Sagar > (BJP), MLA from Chickpet and Mr. Narendra Babu, MLA from Mahalakshmi > Layout have all joined protest actions of /Hasiru Usiru /against such > undemocratic implementation of the Metro in Bengaluru. Unfortunately, > because of the continuing undemocratic nature of the Bruhat Bengaluru > Mahanagara Palike, which for two years now does not have an elected > council, the citizens have no legitimate forum to aire their grievances. > > > Clearly, the fact that even Legislators have not been consulted is not a > good indicator of the quality of governance in Bengaluru. > > > Dr. Ramachandran is a Secretary who has spearheaded several innovative > approaches to urban infrastructure development, and is particularly > credited for the National Urban Transport Policy. This policy clearly > articulates that public transport projects will succeed only when the > public is involved in all decisions. BMRCL has no history of such > consultation whatsoever. In this context, we protest the statement of > Mr. Chavan, PRO of BMRCL, who in a charitable dispensation has claimed > that the agency was "willing to arrange for a presentation for NGOs so > that it could convince them about the feasibility of alignment already > arrived at" (/'BMRCL unrelenting, 1,800 trees in Lalbagh face the axe'/, > The Hindu, 19 April 2009). We demand that such efforts notwithstanding, > BMRCL must fully take the public into confidence and ensure public > involvement in decisions relating to the Metro in full conformance with > the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, as directed by the Hon'ble > High Court of Karnataka. > > > > Leo F. Saldanha Vinay Sreenivasan > > Coordinator Hasiru Usiru > > Environment Support Group www.hasiruusiru.org > > > a consituent of Hasiru Usiru > > www.esgindia.org > > *About /Hasiru Usiru/:* > > /Hasiru Usiru /is a network of organisations and individuals concerned > about conservation of public commons, open spaces and greenery in > Bengaluru. Over the past several years, Hasiru Usiru has served as a > platform to explore various approaches to resolve urban challenges > through a series of efforts including meetings, workshops, campaigns and > public interest litigations. A key concern has been to develop > sensitivity of implementing agencies involved in urban infrastructural > development to involve public in decision making and ensure that > projects developed are in conformance with law and equitable benefit all > sections of society. > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/773edd1f/attachment.html > -------------- next part -------------- > A non-text attachment was scrubbed... > Name: esg.vcf > Type: text/x-vcard > Size: 341 bytes > Desc: not available > Url : > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/773edd1f/attachment.vcf > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Urbanstudygroup mailing list > Urbanstudygroup at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup > > > End of Urbanstudygroup Digest, Vol 62, Issue 9 > ********************************************** > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/2e59c88f/attachment-0001.html From bijulaal at gmail.com Mon Apr 20 14:31:59 2009 From: bijulaal at gmail.com (Bijulal M.V.) Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:31:59 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Urbanstudygroup Digest, Vol 62, Issue 9 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: May be you all are aware of another incident of cruelty against children from one of the state run MCD school Narela, outer delhi, on 16 April 2009 in Delhi. It is quite painful to see how the 11 year old girl was tortured. For the children of the poor In India ,schools run by the state is the only guarantee. Butthe severity of of punishment itself has led to children being killed, disabled and forced to drop out. This common story for the children in the city and the village tells us how the violent use of power to control dominates in teaching. Many of us would defenitly vouch that some teachers who we saw in Indian schools deserve jail. This fascistic tendency must go. May a time parents of the children are so powerless that they can reach up to the school for raising their concern. Narela inciident is one of the cases where the child is killed. Some of us in delhi should see to it that justice is done. It is very important that we ensure that children of working class and poor study in schools, without fear of death It is time to act, so that some social and legal intervention to this case is done. *What can we do* Get an assurance from the chief minister and the education minister that proper investigation is done and the guilty be punished Follow up the FIR, vigilence enquiry by the Mayor and the NHRC proceedings on the case Visit the family.Do a fact finding and seek more details on similar cases through RTIs Go for a PIL seeking for a guideline to eliminate violence against learners of all forms with immediate effect bijulal On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 7:29 AM, wrote: > Send Urbanstudygroup mailing list submissions to > urbanstudygroup at sarai.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > urbanstudygroup-request at sarai.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > urbanstudygroup-owner at sarai.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Urbanstudygroup digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Invitation to the launch of www.EmpoweringIndia.org (Zainab Bawa) > 2. Talk on Internet, Transparency and Politics (Zainab Bawa) > 3. Democracy and the Small Car (ESGINDIA) > 4. Press Release: If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then stop > implementing the Zig-Zag alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman > Rao Parks (ESGINDIA) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:27:50 +0530 > From: Zainab Bawa > Subject: [Urbanstudy] Invitation to the launch of > www.EmpoweringIndia.org > To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net, Reader-list > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > *EMPOWERING INDIA* > > *Making Democracy Meaningful* > > > > *Press Institute of India* > > *and* > > Liberty Institute > > *in partnership with the* > > Friedrich Naumann – Stiftung für die Freiheit > > cordially invite you for the launch of a new initiative > > *www.empoweringindia.org* > > a unique website on candidates and constituencies > > By > > *Mr SUDHAKAR RAO * > > *Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka * > > > > *Guest of Honour* > > *Justice SANTOSH HEGDE (Retd.)* > > *Supreme Court of India & Head, Lokayukta, Karnataka* > > > > *DATE*: April 16, 2009 > > *TIME*: 10 am to 2 pm > > *VENUE*: The Crystal Hall > > The Capitol Hotel > > No 3, Raj Bhavan Road, > > Bangalore – 560 001 > > > > RSVP: *Sangeetha Rajeesh*, Editor – Press Institute of India (098410 > 51489) > > > ....................................................................................................................................................................................... > > > > *PROGRAMME*: > > 10.00 am - Registration (tea/coffee + biscuits) > > 10.30 am - Introduction to the programme- *Mr V Murali,* Director – Press > Institute of India, Chennai > > 10.35 am - Welcome remarks – *Mr Subodh Kumar, *Executive – Programmes, > FNF, > New Delhi > > 10.40 am - Launch of Empowering India and inaugural address –*Mr Sudhakar > Rao, *Chief Secretary - Karnataka > > 10.55 am – Special Address by *Justice* *Santosh Hegde, *Supreme Court > India > (retd.) & Head of Lokayukta Karnataka > > 11.10 am - Introduction to > *www.EmpoweringIndia.org > * , *Mr Barun Mitra*, Director - Liberty Institute, New Delhi > > 11.45 am - *PANEL DISCUSSION* – *‘Making Democracy Meaningful’* > > Chairperson – *Mr L C Jain, *Former Member – Planning Commission > > Panellists – *Mr R Srikumar, (*retd) DG, IGP, Karnataka > > - *Mr V N Subba Rao, *Former Chairman, Karnataka Academy > > - *Mr* *Sharat Pottaraju, *Head of Communications , Janaagraha, Karnataka > > 12.55pm – Vote of thanks – *Mr Barun Mitra * > > 1 pm – Lunch > > > > Liberty Institute, C-4/8 Sahyadri, Plot 5, Sector 12, Dwarka, New Delhi > 110078. Tel: 011-28031309. Email: *EmpoweringIndiaMail at gmail.com*, Web > site: > *www.InDefenceofLiberty.org * > > > > Press Institute of India, (address and contact details) > > > -- > Zainab Bawa > Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher > > Between Places ... > http://wbfs.wordpress.com > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090413/9c303d3a/attachment-0001.html > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:53:15 +0530 > From: Zainab Bawa > Subject: [Urbanstudy] Talk on Internet, Transparency and Politics > To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Dear all, > The Centre for Internet and Society organizes a talk on "Internet, > Transparency and Politics". > > Description: The 2009 general elections in India have been preceded by > various initiatives that seek to provide information to the voters about > candidates contesting the elections. The aim of providing this information > is to help voters to make 'informed choices' when casting their votes. This > talk is being organized in the context of the research that CIS-RAW fellow > Zainab Bawa is carrying out on "Internet, Transparency and Politics". Why > has the Internet become an important space for publishing information that > is streamlined for facilitating interaction between citizens and the state? > What is the impact of making such information available to citizens? How > does it transform their relationship with political actors and government > agencies? Simultaneously, how are elected representatives and political > parties responding to these 'transparency' initiatives? > > *Profile of the Speaker:* Barun Mitra is the Director of Liberty Institute, > a think-tank based in Delhi. He has conceptualized EmpoweringIndia.org to > enable voters to cast their votes thoughtfully during the elections and to > use the information on the site to hold their elected representatives > accountable after they have been voted in. Barun Mitra also writes on > issues > of environment, health, trade and democracy in national and international > publications. > > Time and Date: Wednesday, 15th April, 2009; 5.00 - 6.30 PM > > Venue: Centre for Internet and Society, No. D2, 3rd Floor, Sheriff > Chambers, > 14, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052 > For more details, visit > http://www.cis-india.org/events/internet-transparency-and-politics > > -- > Zainab Bawa > Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher > > Between Places ... > http://wbfs.wordpress.com > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090413/513d024f/attachment-0001.html > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:51:52 +0530 > From: ESGINDIA > Subject: [Urbanstudy] Democracy and the Small Car > To: hasiruusiru , Urbanstudy Group > , ECwatch Group < > ecwatch at yahoogroups.com>, > esg_work_team > Message-ID: <49E6EAA0.9040804 at esgindia.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > > april 4, 2009 > Economic & Political Weekly EPW april 4, 2009 vol xliv no 14 5 > Democracy and the Small Car > The political role of the small car is as important as its environmental > impact. > The collapse of public transport in the past few decades has > been a stark feature of almost all urban areas in India. > Significantly though, this matter has only found tangential > reference in public discourse through issues like urban air > pollution. Independent India has witnessed a sixfold rise in its > urban population, and even though urbanisation remains low by the > standards of the industrialised countries, close to 300 million of our > citizens live in urban areas. It is important to realise that in order > to thrive cities are crucially dependent on easy and inexpensive > mobility of its residents over its urban space. Unfortunately, like > other public infrastructure, public transport has been grossly > neglected by city administrators, state and central governments, > and this neglect has impacted the urban poor the most. > The ability to travel within the city is essential to actualise the > economic and cultural potential of the place. Residents need to > travel for work, for education, for socialisation and for procuring > the needs of daily life. The more the areas of the city are within > the easy reach of a particular citizen, the further her potential > ability to increase choices of work, residence, consumption and > socialisation. Increase in either the time or money required for > such travel proportionately reduces the urban citizen’s ability to > participate in civic and economic activities of the city and thus > impacts adversely on her. As cities have expanded and distances > within each urban space have increased manifold, the ability to > travel these distances has reduced. > The public transport in cities which independent India inherited > was slowly allowed to wither away. The older metropolitan areas > still retained a rudimentary public transport system based on > buses but these were built on truck chassis and were never > enough to handle the growing demands on public transportation. > The emergent cities and semi-urban areas were largely left to > depend on “innovations” which were mostly diesel machines > fitted onto a locally assembled chassis of three or four wheels > known by different names in different parts of India. All in all, > public transport in urban India has been a disaster – overcrowded, > slow, unsafe and often, unavailable. > It is in this context that one needs to view the growing numbers > of private vehicles, both two-wheelers and cars. In 1951 there > were five private vehicles for each bus in India but today there are > 80 private vehicles for each bus. Not only have municipal administrators > and governments neglected public transport, they have > actively subsidised private transport through fiscal, administrative > and planning measures. Road tax on buses, even when calculated > on the basis of passengers carried, is 10 to 12 times that on > cars. In a city like Delhi, buses only use 5% of the city’s roadspace > but carry close to 60% of its travelling public, while cars > and two-wheelers ferry only 20% of its population but hog threefourths > of its roads. Ultimately then, the neglect of public transport > shows itself as a class issue where investments in urban > mobility – flyovers, parking lots, wider roads, smaller pavements, > etc – are all focused on easing the mobility of the middle classes > in urban India. The orchestrated media campaign against faster > and safer bus services through the Bus Rapid Transit corridors > only indicates the strength of class interests seeking to mould > urban transport systems. > It is in this twin context of the centrality of mobility to urban > living and the collapse of urban public transport that the popularity > of the recently launched Tata Nano should be understood. > It is worthwhile to remember Ratan Tata’s oft repeated statement > that the inspiration for the Nano was the struggling middle class > family perched precariously on a two-wheeler. Such a family, > while owning personal transport, would welcome an improved > public transport system which would enable them to travel in the > city in comfort and safety. By enabling them ownership of a car, > the Nano secures this archetypal family firmly to the interests of > that class which hogs the privileges of the class-divided road. It > would be a mistake to take no notice of this political function of > the Nano. The Nano, despite its overt sympathies for the underprivileged > road user, will only further skew the class divides > which fracture our cities, apart from increasing pollution and > congestion, while decreasing general safety on the roads. > David Harvey, in a recent essay on the right to the city, says, > “The question of what kind of city we want cannot be divorced > from that of what kind of social ties, relationship to nature, > lifestyles, technologies and aesthetic values we desire. The right > to the city is far more than the individual liberty to access > urban resources: it is a right to change ourselves by changing > the city.” An inexpensive, safe and fast public transport system is > essential not only to address the growing problems of congestion, > pollution and road safety, it is also central to building a > more democratic city which provides equal opportunities of > mobility to all its residents. > -------------- next part -------------- > A non-text attachment was scrubbed... > Name: esg.vcf > Type: text/x-vcard > Size: 341 bytes > Desc: not available > Url : > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090416/fc3612f1/attachment-0001.vcf > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:28:56 +0530 > From: ESGINDIA > Subject: [Urbanstudy] Press Release: If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then > stop implementing the Zig-Zag alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman > Rao Parks > To: Urbanstudy Group > Message-ID: <49EBD6E0.5050004 at esgindia.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > * * > > *PRESS RELEASE : 19 April 2009* > > > *If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then stop implementing the Zig-Zag > alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks* > > > > Dr. Ramachandran, Secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development and > Chairman of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. has issued a > clarification in response to the ongoing protests initiated by /Hasiru > Usiru,/ a network of organisations and individuals concerned about > conservation of public commons, open spaces and greenery in Bengaluru, > against the alingment of Bangalore Metro through Lalbagh and Lakshman > Rao Parks. In his clarification, , Dr. Ramachandran states that: "The > route alignment of the metro was done after a detailed study and > approved by the Central and State governments. The cost of constructing > an underground station is an expensive proposition. A metro with a > zig-zag alignment is not possible. All decisions were approved well in > advance." ('/BMRCL clarifies on Lal Bagh station'/, Deccan Hearald, 19 > April 2009). > > > Hasiru Usiru welcomes the clarification from Dr. Ramachandran, in > particular the fact that "a metro with a zig-zag alignment is not > possible". If this were true, then the elevated track alignments of the > Metro through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks is clearly not feasible. A > cursory view of the North South alignment of the Metro, in particular > from K. R. Road to Banashankari through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks > reveals clearly and beyond any doubt that the proposed alignment is > infact zig and zag. Here the alignment takes four 90 degree turns in > about 4 kms. Such a proposal is unseen in any Metro alignment, anywhere > in the world. Clearly, therefore, Dr. Ramachandran must take initiative > to ensure that the implementation of the project on this alignment is > immediately suspended so that there is no waste of public resource, and > destruction of Bengaluru's heritage parks and private properties. > > > Dr. Ramachandran's other statements are rather contradicting, however. > It is possible that the Metro project has gone through a series of > reviews within the Government. But not once has BMRCL conducted any > statutory Public Hearing on the project ever. In fact, the alignment of > the Metro has been fixed and realigned largely internally, without any > statutory public involvement and largely shaped by political > considerations. For instance, the original proposal does not have any > extension into Kanakapura Road, and this section was introduced only > during the term of the present Government. > > > On the issue of taking the Metro through Lalbagh, BMRCL has always been > aware that this involves an amendment to a special law that protects > this heritage botanical garden -- Karnataka Parks Preservation Act, > amongst others. Even though during the term of this Government there > have been at least three Legislature sessions, in a devious and > undemocratic process, an ordinance was preferred to take away a portion > of this heritage park for a Metro station. Considering that BMRCL has > repeatedly stated that its stations would also be Malls, there is no > guarantee whatsoever that the stations proposed in Lalbagh and Lakshman > Rao Park will not be turned into Malls in some future. Such decisions > aren't the prerogative of bureaucrats alone and must be debated in the > public domain through statutory processes as provided in law. > > > It is widely known that BMRCL has repeatedly stated that wonderful line > of trees on the Lakshman Rao Park boulevard will only be pruned, and not > cut. However, it has been put beyond any doubt that BMRCL intends to > fell all the trees that line this boulevard. > > > Such inconsistent statements do not bode well for developing the wide > public's confidence in BRMCL. The fact that the Lalbagh wall has been > razed and trees cut without any permission from the Tree Officer is a > clear case of BMRCL claiming rights not found in law. We applaud the > decision of the new Tree Officer (Bangalore South) in confirming that he > would take action against the guilty officials for violating the > Karnataka Preservation of Tree Act, while unilaterally cutting trees > withing Lalbagh -- a botanical garden. > > > The Metro is a project that will take decades to build. Such a project > must therefore be implemented by due and deliberate consideration of > public opinion. BMRCL officials, at best, have only visited some clubs > and associations to share their proposals, but this does not constitute > a statutory public consultation. > > > On 16 March 2009, the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka issued a direction > to all agencies involved in management and implementation of urban > projects that they would "strictly follow" the provisions of the > Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and Karnataka Preservation of > Trees Act (in WP No. 7107/2008, Environment Support and ors., vs State > of Karnataka). BMRCL is a respondent to this PIL and the order is > binding to the agency. Yet within weeks of this order, trees have been > illegally felled over the past two weeks in Lalbagh and also on Lakshman > Rao boulevard. Only timely action from /Hasiru Usiru /voluteers has > prevented any further felling. > > > The past week's protests have put beyond any doubt the fact that the > Southern alignment of the Metro is flawed and unpopular. /Hasiru Usiru > /gratefully acknowledges all contestants from the Bangalore South Lok > Sabha constitutency who have taken a stand on this issue. In particular > we acknowledge Capt. Gopinath (Independent) who has joined the protests, > Mr. Santosh Min (Independent) who has consistently expressed his > concerns against the project's impact on the city's heritage and Mr. > Krishna Byregowda (INC) who has stated that the project should not > destroy the city's heritage. > > > We also acknowledge the initiatives and protests of Mr. B. N. > Vijayakumar (BJP), MLA from Jayanagar, who has called upon BMRCL to stop > work forthwith and conduct public review of this section of the project. > Mr. Dinesh Gundu Rao (INC), MLA from Gandhinagar, Dr. Hemachandra Sagar > (BJP), MLA from Chickpet and Mr. Narendra Babu, MLA from Mahalakshmi > Layout have all joined protest actions of /Hasiru Usiru /against such > undemocratic implementation of the Metro in Bengaluru. Unfortunately, > because of the continuing undemocratic nature of the Bruhat Bengaluru > Mahanagara Palike, which for two years now does not have an elected > council, the citizens have no legitimate forum to aire their grievances. > > > Clearly, the fact that even Legislators have not been consulted is not a > good indicator of the quality of governance in Bengaluru. > > > Dr. Ramachandran is a Secretary who has spearheaded several innovative > approaches to urban infrastructure development, and is particularly > credited for the National Urban Transport Policy. This policy clearly > articulates that public transport projects will succeed only when the > public is involved in all decisions. BMRCL has no history of such > consultation whatsoever. In this context, we protest the statement of > Mr. Chavan, PRO of BMRCL, who in a charitable dispensation has claimed > that the agency was "willing to arrange for a presentation for NGOs so > that it could convince them about the feasibility of alignment already > arrived at" (/'BMRCL unrelenting, 1,800 trees in Lalbagh face the axe'/, > The Hindu, 19 April 2009). We demand that such efforts notwithstanding, > BMRCL must fully take the public into confidence and ensure public > involvement in decisions relating to the Metro in full conformance with > the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, as directed by the Hon'ble > High Court of Karnataka. > > > > Leo F. Saldanha Vinay Sreenivasan > > Coordinator Hasiru Usiru > > Environment Support Group www.hasiruusiru.org > > > a consituent of Hasiru Usiru > > www.esgindia.org > > *About /Hasiru Usiru/:* > > /Hasiru Usiru /is a network of organisations and individuals concerned > about conservation of public commons, open spaces and greenery in > Bengaluru. Over the past several years, Hasiru Usiru has served as a > platform to explore various approaches to resolve urban challenges > through a series of efforts including meetings, workshops, campaigns and > public interest litigations. A key concern has been to develop > sensitivity of implementing agencies involved in urban infrastructural > development to involve public in decision making and ensure that > projects developed are in conformance with law and equitable benefit all > sections of society. > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/773edd1f/attachment.html > -------------- next part -------------- > A non-text attachment was scrubbed... > Name: esg.vcf > Type: text/x-vcard > Size: 341 bytes > Desc: not available > Url : > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/773edd1f/attachment.vcf > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Urbanstudygroup mailing list > Urbanstudygroup at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup > > > End of Urbanstudygroup Digest, Vol 62, Issue 9 > ********************************************** > -- BIJULAL HUMAN RIGHTS & LAW UNIT INDIAN SOCIAL INSTITUTE LODI ROAD, NEW DELHI 110003 24622379 (O) 99 68 16 10 12 (MOB) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/3dfe5b97/attachment-0001.html From bawazainab79 at gmail.com Mon Apr 20 18:40:59 2009 From: bawazainab79 at gmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:40:59 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Back issues of Civil Society Magazine Message-ID: Dear all, I am carrying out research on transparency, politics and the Internet. I need four back issues of Civil Society Magazine which is published from New Delhi. Their online archive contains issues from 2007 onwards. The four issues were published in 2004. Unfortunately, I am unable to track down the volume number, but the issues have the following cover stories: 1. Taxman's burden 2. A CM's activism 3. NGOs in Politics 4. Gurgaon wants to vote Number 1, 2 and 3 are consecutive issues while number 4 is the 5th issue after number 3. If any of you have copies of any/all of these issues, kindly get in touch. Cheers, Zainab -- Zainab Bawa Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher Between Places ... http://wbfs.wordpress.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/971e5e26/attachment.html From cugambetta at yahoo.com Tue Apr 21 01:56:38 2009 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:26:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Urbanstudygroup Digest, Vol 62, Issue 9-how do I get the posts on daily basis versus weekly digest? In-Reply-To: <37072f990904192251k793a97f7n2ead90e087bbf824@mail.gmail.com> References: <37072f990904192251k793a97f7n2ead90e087bbf824@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <215027.81824.qm@web57408.mail.re1.yahoo.com> Dear Uma (and all): As a reminder, if you ever run into a problem such as this and you have tried doing it through the site, I can change your settings for you. Just email: urbanstudygroup-owner at sarai.net Warmly: Curt ________________________________ From: Uma Chandru To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 12:51:17 AM Subject: Re: [Urbanstudy] Urbanstudygroup Digest, Vol 62, Issue 9-how do I get the posts on daily basis versus weekly digest? Hi, I was unable to get into the subscribe/unsubcribe link below to change my stetings from weekly digest to daily posts. Please let me how I can change my settings as i am getting the information I need after the events with the weekly digest. Thanks & best regards Uma V Chandru On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 7:29 AM, wrote: Send Urbanstudygroup mailing list submissions to urbanstudygroup at sarai.net To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to urbanstudygroup-request at sarai.net You can reach the person managing the list at urbanstudygroup-owner at sarai.net When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Urbanstudygroup digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Invitation to the launch of www.EmpoweringIndia.org (Zainab Bawa) 2. Talk on Internet, Transparency and Politics (Zainab Bawa) 3. Democracy and the Small Car (ESGINDIA) 4. Press Release: If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then stop implementing the Zig-Zag alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks (ESGINDIA) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:27:50 +0530 From: Zainab Bawa Subject: [Urbanstudy] Invitation to the launch of www.EmpoweringIndia.org To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net, Reader-list Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" *EMPOWERING INDIA* *Making Democracy Meaningful* *Press Institute of India* *and* Liberty Institute *in partnership with the* Friedrich Naumann – Stiftung für die Freiheit cordially invite you for the launch of a new initiative *www.empoweringindia.org* a unique website on candidates and constituencies By *Mr SUDHAKAR RAO * *Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka * *Guest of Honour* *Justice SANTOSH HEGDE (Retd.)* *Supreme Court of India & Head, Lokayukta, Karnataka* *DATE*: April 16, 2009 *TIME*: 10 am to 2 pm *VENUE*: The Crystal Hall The Capitol Hotel No 3, Raj Bhavan Road, Bangalore – 560 001 RSVP: *Sangeetha Rajeesh*, Editor – Press Institute of India (098410 51489) ......................................................................................................................................................................................... *PROGRAMME*: 10.00 am - Registration (tea/coffee + biscuits) 10.30 am - Introduction to the programme- *Mr V Murali,* Director – Press Institute of India, Chennai 10.35 am - Welcome remarks – *Mr Subodh Kumar, *Executive – Programmes, FNF, New Delhi 10.40 am - Launch of Empowering India and inaugural address –*Mr Sudhakar Rao, *Chief Secretary - Karnataka 10.55 am – Special Address by *Justice* *Santosh Hegde, *Supreme Court India (retd.) & Head of Lokayukta Karnataka 11.10 am - Introduction to *www.EmpoweringIndia.org * , *Mr Barun Mitra*, Director - Liberty Institute, New Delhi 11.45 am - *PANEL DISCUSSION* – *‘Making Democracy Meaningful’* Chairperson – *Mr L C Jain, *Former Member – Planning Commission Panellists – *Mr R Srikumar, (*retd) DG, IGP, Karnataka - *Mr V N Subba Rao, *Former Chairman, Karnataka Academy - *Mr* *Sharat Pottaraju, *Head of Communications , Janaagraha, Karnataka 12.55pm – Vote of thanks – *Mr Barun Mitra * 1 pm – Lunch Liberty Institute, C-4/8 Sahyadri, Plot 5, Sector 12, Dwarka, New Delhi 110078. Tel: 011-28031309. Email: *EmpoweringIndiaMail at gmail.com*, Web site: *www.InDefenceofLiberty.org * Press Institute of India, (address and contact details) -- Zainab Bawa Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher Between Places ... http://wbfs.wordpress.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090413/9c303d3a/attachment-0001.html ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:53:15 +0530 From: Zainab Bawa Subject: [Urbanstudy] Talk on Internet, Transparency and Politics To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Dear all, The Centre for Internet and Society organizes a talk on "Internet, Transparency and Politics". Description: The 2009 general elections in India have been preceded by various initiatives that seek to provide information to the voters about candidates contesting the elections. The aim of providing this information is to help voters to make 'informed choices' when casting their votes. This talk is being organized in the context of the research that CIS-RAW fellow Zainab Bawa is carrying out on "Internet, Transparency and Politics". Why has the Internet become an important space for publishing information that is streamlined for facilitating interaction between citizens and the state? What is the impact of making such information available to citizens? How does it transform their relationship with political actors and government agencies? Simultaneously, how are elected representatives and political parties responding to these 'transparency' initiatives? *Profile of the Speaker:* Barun Mitra is the Director of Liberty Institute, a think-tank based in Delhi. He has conceptualized EmpoweringIndia.org to enable voters to cast their votes thoughtfully during the elections and to use the information on the site to hold their elected representatives accountable after they have been voted in. Barun Mitra also writes on issues of environment, health, trade and democracy in national and international publications. Time and Date: Wednesday, 15th April, 2009; 5.00 - 6.30 PM Venue: Centre for Internet and Society, No. D2, 3rd Floor, Sheriff Chambers, 14, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052 For more details, visit http://www.cis-india.org/events/internet-transparency-and-politics -- Zainab Bawa Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher Between Places ... http://wbfs.wordpress.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090413/513d024f/attachment-0001.html ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:51:52 +0530 From: ESGINDIA Subject: [Urbanstudy] Democracy and the Small Car To: hasiruusiru , Urbanstudy Group , ECwatch Group , esg_work_team Message-ID: <49E6EAA0.9040804 at esgindia.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" april 4, 2009 Economic & Political Weekly EPW april 4, 2009 vol xliv no 14 5 Democracy and the Small Car The political role of the small car is as important as its environmental impact. The collapse of public transport in the past few decades has been a stark feature of almost all urban areas in India. Significantly though, this matter has only found tangential reference in public discourse through issues like urban air pollution. Independent India has witnessed a sixfold rise in its urban population, and even though urbanisation remains low by the standards of the industrialised countries, close to 300 million of our citizens live in urban areas. It is important to realise that in order to thrive cities are crucially dependent on easy and inexpensive mobility of its residents over its urban space. Unfortunately, like other public infrastructure, public transport has been grossly neglected by city administrators, state and central governments, and this neglect has impacted the urban poor the most. The ability to travel within the city is essential to actualise the economic and cultural potential of the place. Residents need to travel for work, for education, for socialisation and for procuring the needs of daily life. The more the areas of the city are within the easy reach of a particular citizen, the further her potential ability to increase choices of work, residence, consumption and socialisation. Increase in either the time or money required for such travel proportionately reduces the urban citizen’s ability to participate in civic and economic activities of the city and thus impacts adversely on her. As cities have expanded and distances within each urban space have increased manifold, the ability to travel these distances has reduced. The public transport in cities which independent India inherited was slowly allowed to wither away. The older metropolitan areas still retained a rudimentary public transport system based on buses but these were built on truck chassis and were never enough to handle the growing demands on public transportation. The emergent cities and semi-urban areas were largely left to depend on “innovations” which were mostly diesel machines fitted onto a locally assembled chassis of three or four wheels known by different names in different parts of India. All in all, public transport in urban India has been a disaster – overcrowded, slow, unsafe and often, unavailable. It is in this context that one needs to view the growing numbers of private vehicles, both two-wheelers and cars. In 1951 there were five private vehicles for each bus in India but today there are 80 private vehicles for each bus.. Not only have municipal administrators and governments neglected public transport, they have actively subsidised private transport through fiscal, administrative and planning measures. Road tax on buses, even when calculated on the basis of passengers carried, is 10 to 12 times that on cars. In a city like Delhi, buses only use 5% of the city’s roadspace but carry close to 60% of its travelling public, while cars and two-wheelers ferry only 20% of its population but hog threefourths of its roads. Ultimately then, the neglect of public transport shows itself as a class issue where investments in urban mobility – flyovers, parking lots, wider roads, smaller pavements, etc – are all focused on easing the mobility of the middle classes in urban India. The orchestrated media campaign against faster and safer bus services through the Bus Rapid Transit corridors only indicates the strength of class interests seeking to mould urban transport systems. It is in this twin context of the centrality of mobility to urban living and the collapse of urban public transport that the popularity of the recently launched Tata Nano should be understood. It is worthwhile to remember Ratan Tata’s oft repeated statement that the inspiration for the Nano was the struggling middle class family perched precariously on a two-wheeler. Such a family, while owning personal transport, would welcome an improved public transport system which would enable them to travel in the city in comfort and safety. By enabling them ownership of a car, the Nano secures this archetypal family firmly to the interests of that class which hogs the privileges of the class-divided road. It would be a mistake to take no notice of this political function of the Nano. The Nano, despite its overt sympathies for the underprivileged road user, will only further skew the class divides which fracture our cities, apart from increasing pollution and congestion, while decreasing general safety on the roads. David Harvey, in a recent essay on the right to the city, says, “The question of what kind of city we want cannot be divorced from that of what kind of social ties, relationship to nature, lifestyles, technologies and aesthetic values we desire. The right to the city is far more than the individual liberty to access urban resources: it is a right to change ourselves by changing the city.” An inexpensive, safe and fast public transport system is essential not only to address the growing problems of congestion, pollution and road safety, it is also central to building a more democratic city which provides equal opportunities of mobility to all its residents. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: esg.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 341 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090416/fc3612f1/attachment-0001.vcf ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:28:56 +0530 From: ESGINDIA Subject: [Urbanstudy] Press Release: If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then stop implementing the Zig-Zag alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks To: Urbanstudy Group Message-ID: <49EBD6E0.5050004 at esgindia.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" * * *PRESS RELEASE : 19 April 2009* *If Metro Cannot go Zig-Zag, then stop implementing the Zig-Zag alignment through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks* Dr. Ramachandran, Secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development and Chairman of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. has issued a clarification in response to the ongoing protests initiated by /Hasiru Usiru,/ a network of organisations and individuals concerned about conservation of public commons, open spaces and greenery in Bengaluru, against the alingment of Bangalore Metro through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks. In his clarification, , Dr. Ramachandran states that: "The route alignment of the metro was done after a detailed study and approved by the Central and State governments. The cost of constructing an underground station is an expensive proposition. A metro with a zig-zag alignment is not possible. All decisions were approved well in advance." ('/BMRCL clarifies on Lal Bagh station'/, Deccan Hearald, 19 April 2009). Hasiru Usiru welcomes the clarification from Dr. Ramachandran, in particular the fact that "a metro with a zig-zag alignment is not possible". If this were true, then the elevated track alignments of the Metro through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks is clearly not feasible. A cursory view of the North South alignment of the Metro, in particular from K. R. Road to Banashankari through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks reveals clearly and beyond any doubt that the proposed alignment is infact zig and zag. Here the alignment takes four 90 degree turns in about 4 kms. Such a proposal is unseen in any Metro alignment, anywhere in the world. Clearly, therefore, Dr. Ramachandran must take initiative to ensure that the implementation of the project on this alignment is immediately suspended so that there is no waste of public resource, and destruction of Bengaluru's heritage parks and private properties. Dr. Ramachandran's other statements are rather contradicting, however.. It is possible that the Metro project has gone through a series of reviews within the Government. But not once has BMRCL conducted any statutory Public Hearing on the project ever. In fact, the alignment of the Metro has been fixed and realigned largely internally, without any statutory public involvement and largely shaped by political considerations. For instance, the original proposal does not have any extension into Kanakapura Road, and this section was introduced only during the term of the present Government. On the issue of taking the Metro through Lalbagh, BMRCL has always been aware that this involves an amendment to a special law that protects this heritage botanical garden -- Karnataka Parks Preservation Act, amongst others. Even though during the term of this Government there have been at least three Legislature sessions, in a devious and undemocratic process, an ordinance was preferred to take away a portion of this heritage park for a Metro station. Considering that BMRCL has repeatedly stated that its stations would also be Malls, there is no guarantee whatsoever that the stations proposed in Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Park will not be turned into Malls in some future. Such decisions aren't the prerogative of bureaucrats alone and must be debated in the public domain through statutory processes as provided in law. It is widely known that BMRCL has repeatedly stated that wonderful line of trees on the Lakshman Rao Park boulevard will only be pruned, and not cut. However, it has been put beyond any doubt that BMRCL intends to fell all the trees that line this boulevard. Such inconsistent statements do not bode well for developing the wide public's confidence in BRMCL. The fact that the Lalbagh wall has been razed and trees cut without any permission from the Tree Officer is a clear case of BMRCL claiming rights not found in law. We applaud the decision of the new Tree Officer (Bangalore South) in confirming that he would take action against the guilty officials for violating the Karnataka Preservation of Tree Act, while unilaterally cutting trees withing Lalbagh -- a botanical garden. The Metro is a project that will take decades to build. Such a project must therefore be implemented by due and deliberate consideration of public opinion. BMRCL officials, at best, have only visited some clubs and associations to share their proposals, but this does not constitute a statutory public consultation. On 16 March 2009, the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka issued a direction to all agencies involved in management and implementation of urban projects that they would "strictly follow" the provisions of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act (in WP No. 7107/2008, Environment Support and ors., vs State of Karnataka). BMRCL is a respondent to this PIL and the order is binding to the agency. Yet within weeks of this order, trees have been illegally felled over the past two weeks in Lalbagh and also on Lakshman Rao boulevard. Only timely action from /Hasiru Usiru /voluteers has prevented any further felling. The past week's protests have put beyond any doubt the fact that the Southern alignment of the Metro is flawed and unpopular. /Hasiru Usiru /gratefully acknowledges all contestants from the Bangalore South Lok Sabha constitutency who have taken a stand on this issue. In particular we acknowledge Capt. Gopinath (Independent) who has joined the protests, Mr. Santosh Min (Independent) who has consistently expressed his concerns against the project's impact on the city's heritage and Mr. Krishna Byregowda (INC) who has stated that the project should not destroy the city's heritage. We also acknowledge the initiatives and protests of Mr. B. N. Vijayakumar (BJP), MLA from Jayanagar, who has called upon BMRCL to stop work forthwith and conduct public review of this section of the project. Mr. Dinesh Gundu Rao (INC), MLA from Gandhinagar, Dr. Hemachandra Sagar (BJP), MLA from Chickpet and Mr. Narendra Babu, MLA from Mahalakshmi Layout have all joined protest actions of /Hasiru Usiru /against such undemocratic implementation of the Metro in Bengaluru. Unfortunately, because of the continuing undemocratic nature of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, which for two years now does not have an elected council, the citizens have no legitimate forum to aire their grievances. Clearly, the fact that even Legislators have not been consulted is not a good indicator of the quality of governance in Bengaluru. Dr. Ramachandran is a Secretary who has spearheaded several innovative approaches to urban infrastructure development, and is particularly credited for the National Urban Transport Policy. This policy clearly articulates that public transport projects will succeed only when the public is involved in all decisions. BMRCL has no history of such consultation whatsoever. In this context, we protest the statement of Mr. Chavan, PRO of BMRCL, who in a charitable dispensation has claimed that the agency was "willing to arrange for a presentation for NGOs so that it could convince them about the feasibility of alignment already arrived at" (/'BMRCL unrelenting, 1,800 trees in Lalbagh face the axe'/, The Hindu, 19 April 2009). We demand that such efforts notwithstanding, BMRCL must fully take the public into confidence and ensure public involvement in decisions relating to the Metro in full conformance with the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, as directed by the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka. Leo F. Saldanha Vinay Sreenivasan Coordinator Hasiru Usiru Environment Support Group www.hasiruusiru.org a consituent of Hasiru Usiru www.esgindia.org *About /Hasiru Usiru/:* /Hasiru Usiru /is a network of organisations and individuals concerned about conservation of public commons, open spaces and greenery in Bengaluru. Over the past several years, Hasiru Usiru has served as a platform to explore various approaches to resolve urban challenges through a series of efforts including meetings, workshops, campaigns and public interest litigations. A key concern has been to develop sensitivity of implementing agencies involved in urban infrastructural development to involve public in decision making and ensure that projects developed are in conformance with law and equitable benefit all sections of society. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/773edd1f/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: esg.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 341 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/773edd1f/attachment.vcf ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Urbanstudygroup mailing list Urbanstudygroup at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup End of Urbanstudygroup Digest, Vol 62, Issue 9 ********************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090420/cf6eba8b/attachment-0001.html From cugambetta at yahoo.com Tue Apr 21 22:52:46 2009 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:22:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] new towns Message-ID: <566292.86001.qm@web57412.mail.re1.yahoo.com> Hi all: a fragment of a discussion strain on h-urban that I thought was of interest, if nothing for bringing to light the consequences of large infrastructure projects and urban renewal on the practice of planning/urban design as well as the shift away from planning of new towns in the US (what he doesn't mention is that New Urbanism re-introduced the practice in states such as Florida, at least until the downturn). I am interested to see what the long term consequences are of current urban renewal efforts (anything but monolithic enterprises... they seem to have their own hydra like qualities!) in India. It would be interesting to know what the field of politics looked like in the time Campanella is referring to, in terms of actors, interests, techniques of communication etc... I wonder what it might share with the political field that infrastructure projects and new towns enter into or construct today in India. (And one cannot forget the making of industrial townships in India as a parallel history... on this I remember a Sarai fellow doing research on Jamshedpur, and there is a DN Dhar book on industrial housing in the tropics (from the 50's?), as well as Geddes' Indore report, to name a few earlier examples.) -curt ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Nancy Kwak To: H-URBAN at H-NET.MSU.EDU Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 7:10:02 PM Subject: Re: Research on American New Towns From: Thomas Campanella The dearth of studies on new towns in recent years is largely due to the fact that Americans stopped building new towns by the end of the 1970s. This was related to a more general collapse of faith in 'big plans' triggered by the excesses of federally-funded urban renewal and highway building schemes in the 1950s and 1960s. This grassroots backlash was itself part of the larger countercultural movement of the time, that questioned so many of the values and ideals that had shaped America in the post-World War II years. It was also, more directly, a function of Jane Jacobs' immensely influential book, 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities,' a treatise on the essential, messy vitality of old neighborhoods and the plannerless city. All this caused the urban planning profession in the United States, which had mostly been about urban design and physical planning until then (and was a key enabler of urban renewal), to undergo a period of soul searching and transformation. The field distanced itself from architecture and urban design and edged closer to the social sciences; planners gave up their drafting tables to become experts in public policy, socioeconomics, political science, citizen advocacy and so forth. Urban design was effectively left to the architects and landscape architects. Only in recent years has the planning profession begun to re-value, and recover, this lost professional terrain. This is all quite different, as you well know, from urban planning in China, which is still mostly about urban design and where immense scale and outsized ambition are still the order of the day (or were until the current economic meltdown). I am working on a history of one of the last American new-town planning efforts, Soul City, North Carolina, an extraordinary intentional community planned and partially built in the 1970s by civil-rights leader Floyd B. McKissick. It will not, however, be finished for several years. Best wishes, Tom Campanella -- Thomas J. Campanella, PhD Associate Professor / Guggenheim Fellow Department of City and Regional Planning University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill H-Urban: http://www.h-net.org/~urban/ (including logs & posting guidelines) Posting Address: h-urban at h-net.msu.edu / mailto:h-urban at h-net.msu.edu (Click) From yanivbin at gmail.com Wed Apr 22 10:44:36 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:44:36 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Tree tracking goes hi-tech-----Mumbai plans to map trees, check irregular felling Message-ID: <86b8a7050904212214s43f30d9bm3dd4c7e252691482@mail.gmail.com> http://www.livemint.com/2009/04/21182246/Tree-tracking-goes-hitech.html *Tree tracking goes hi-tech* Armed with GPS-based technology, a team of botanists in Mumbai plans to map trees, check irregular felling Namitha Jagadeesh Mumbai: The last time environmentalist Ramesh Madav conducted a tree census for the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, his team of botanists carried with it sheaves of forms to ink in individual details of the 1.9 million trees it counted in the city. Not only did the voluminous data have to be manually compiled, the geographical location of each tree was, at best, approximate and restricted to the street name. The hitch in this method was that a lack of accurate data made it difficult to track illegal tree felling.[image: Ambitious plans: Terracon CEO Ramesh Madav (right) uses the GPS device in a tree census. Kedar Bhat / Mint]Ambitious plans: Terracon CEO Ramesh Madav (right) uses the GPS device in a tree census. Kedar Bhat / Mint So while the census could show there were, say, 50 *gulmohar *trees on Peddar Road, there was no way to map the specifics. “When there is (infrastructure) development in cities, someone gets permission to fell two trees and even if they chop a hundred, it can’t be tracked,” rues Madav, who founded Terracon Ecotech Pvt. Ltd four months ago to address the issue by providing precise and accurate data. This time around, Terracon’s botanists will be out on the field with equipment that can determine the exact location of a tree using global positioning system, or GPS, a satellite-based technology typically used in vehicle navigation and location-based information search. Each unit, costing around Rs85,000, records the latitude and longitude of a tree, achieving an accuracy of within 5m. In addition, the botanists will record other details such as the height, canopy and condition of each tree in digital format, all of which will be transferred to a master information system that will plot the data on maps. This will make it easier to audit data and regulate illegal or irregular tree felling. Terracon claims it is the first in the country to deploy such sophisticated tools to count trees. The company has signed a contract with Thane’s municipal corporation to conduct a tree census for the district over the next few months. Talking about the importance of a tree census, Madav explains, “Creating an inventory (not only) helps track changes easily, it (also) helps people understand the trees in their city better and make them more environmentally conscious.” The last tree census in Mumbai, which took around a year and was completed in December, showed 336 species of trees in the city, including two *rudraksha* trees, which are considered sacred by Hindus. It also showed the woeful inadequacy of foliage in most parts of the city. Ideally, a place should have two trees for every three people, says the company. In the popular Colaba area, Terracon’s data show this ratio to be as low as one tree for every 21 persons. Madav, who ran the Environment and Biotechnology Foundation, a non-governmental organization, prior to starting Terracon, is an evangelist of the census. In 2002, he discovered that the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, required all municipal corporations to conduct a tree census in their respective areas once every five years. He spent a lot of time pointing out the clause to local authorities across Maharashtra, and has conducted eight censuses in places such as Mumbai, Nashik and Kalyan. “In some cities, I have approached the commissioner who didn’t even know such a census had to be done,” he says. The company is currently building a proprietary software platform called Vruksha Sharad to map and analyse the tree data more effectively. It also wants to increase its current team of 60 field officers, each a qualified botanist, to around 200. Terracon expects to complete its first GPS-driven tree count in Thane before the monsoon begins this year, and is in talks with the municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Chennai and Bangalore for similar projects. In the long term, however, Madav has far more ambitious plans for the tree census. “If we can cover the top 50 cities over the next 10 years or so, we can have a master plan for the whole country.” -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090422/e076b303/attachment.html From jeebesh at sarai.net Wed Apr 22 12:50:29 2009 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:50:29 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Timebook Message-ID: <63B8D036-7B10-4AC2-AE2A-A21BB82E3785@sarai.net> dear All, We want you all to enjoy this book. Timebook by Raqs Media Collective Timebook is a vade mecum without words, a guide for all those perplexed by the way that the ground constantly shifts beneath their feet. It may be consulted by opening at random, and by reading the patterns made by heat and time as signs with which to navigate the elusive present. http://www.onestarpress.com/Time-Book The book is best "read" in double page PDF view. Hope you enjoy them. warmly Jeebesh -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090422/f0148d33/attachment.html From carol.upadhya at gmail.com Wed Apr 22 14:34:27 2009 From: carol.upadhya at gmail.com (Carol Upadhya) Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:34:27 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Post doc position in urban studies at NIAS In-Reply-To: <4b84e4260904220203y35c4b768o149fc479d318d688@mail.gmail.com> References: <4b84e4260904220203y35c4b768o149fc479d318d688@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4b84e4260904220204q5b7ecf7bs34386e8278a275b9@mail.gmail.com> Please circulate this on the urban study network. Thanks, Carol Dear friends, > > As you may know, NIAS has launched an Urban Research and Policy Programme. > We are looking for a young and creative person to work in this programme for > two years as a post-doc. Below are the requirements. The official ad has not > yet been put out by NIAS, which will come out shortly and will include > details of salary etc, but I wanted to send out this notice informally. > Please circulate and ask anyone you know who might be interested to get in > touch with me. > > Thanks, > Carol > > > > *Post-Doctoral Fellow Position in Urban Research and Policy Programme* > > NIAS is offering a post-doctoral fellowship in the area of urban studies/ > urban policy, under its new Urban Research and Policy Programme. We are > looking for a recent Ph.D. in urban studies, urban planning, geography, > sociology, anthropology or related disciplines. > The right candidate would have a multi-disciplinary orientation, strong > field research skills with an emphasis on ethnography, research experience > in India, good teamworking ability, and a good knowledge of planning and > policy issues and everyday practices on the ground. S/he will be expected to > help initiate and participate in the planned research, advocacy and outreach > activities of the programme, in addition to formulating and carrying out his > or her own research and writing projects. > > The focus area of the programme in the first two years will be on urban > governance and poverty; candidates who have experience or strong research > interests in these areas will be preferred. Excellent English writing and > communication skills are required and a working knowledge of Kannada or > other local languages is desirable. For fresh Ph.D.s, the position will be > for a period of two years, beginning in June 2009. > > Contact: Carol Upadhya > carol.upadhya at gmail.com > > > > > > > > > > -- > Dr. Carol Upadhya > Fellow, School of Social Sciences > National Institute of Advanced Studies > Indian Institute of Science Campus > Bangalore 560012 > India > > office: +91 80 2218 5000/ 5141 (ext) > cell: +91(0) 97408 50141 > > carol at nias.iisc.ernet.in > carol.upadhya at gmail.com -- Dr. Carol Upadhya Fellow, School of Social Sciences National Institute of Advanced Studies Indian Institute of Science Campus Bangalore 560012 India office: +91 80 2218 5000/ 5141 (ext) cell: +91(0) 97408 50141 carol at nias.iisc.ernet.in carol.upadhya at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090422/09069ec3/attachment-0001.html From aditi_surf at hotmail.com Fri Apr 24 09:34:25 2009 From: aditi_surf at hotmail.com (Aditi Mittal) Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:34:25 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Government of India has an online Grievance forum In-Reply-To: <1239854477.S.14273.60181.f5mail-148-102.rediffmail.com.1240405612.44303@webmail.rediffmail.com> References: <1239854477.S.14273.60181.f5mail-148-102.rediffmail.com.1240405612.44303@webmail.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: Dear All, Government of India has an online Grievance forum at http://www.pgportal.gov.in Can you imagine this is happening in INDIA ? The govt. wants people to use this tool to highlight the problems they faced while dealing with Government officials or departments like 1) Railways 2) Posts 3) Telecom (incl. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) & Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) 4) Urban Development (Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Land & Development Office (L&DO), Central Public Works Department (CPWD), etc) 5) Petroleum & Natural Gas 6) Civil Aviation (Air India, Airports Authority of India, etc) 7) Shipping, Road Transport & Highways 8) Tourism 9) Public Sector Banks Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Industrial Development Bank of India Ltd, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, Small Industries Development Bank of India, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of India, State Bank of Indore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore, Syndicate Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, United Bank of India, Vijaya Bank 10) Public Sector Insurance Companies GIC of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India National Insurance Company Ltd., The New India Assurance Company Ltd., The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., United India Insurance Company Ltd. 11) National Saving Scheme of Ministry of Finance 12) Employees' Provident Fund Organization 13) Regional Passport Authorities Regional Passport Office – Ahemadabad, Regional Passport Office – Amritsar, Regional Passport Office – Bangalore, Regional Passport Office – Bareilly, Regional Passport Office – Bhopal, Regional Passport Office – Bhubaneswar, Regional Passport Office – Chandigarh, Regional Passport Office – Chennai, Regional Passport Office – Cochin, Regional Passport Office – Coimbatore, Regional Passport Office – Dehradun, Regional Passport Office – Delhi, Regional Passport Office – Ghaziabad, Regional Passport Office – Goa, Regional Passport Office – Guwahati, Regional Passport Office – Hyderabad, Regional Passport Office – Jaipur, Regional Passport Office – Jalandhar, Regional Passport Office – Jammu, Regional Passport Office – Kolkata, Regional Passport Office – Kozhikode, Regional Passport Office – Lucknow, Regional Passport Office – Madurai, Regional Passport Office – Malappuram, Regional Passport Office – Mumbai, Regional Passport Office – Nagpur, Regional Passport Office – Patna, Regional Passport Office – Pune, Regional Passport Office – Raipur, Regional Passport Office - Ranchi, Regional Passport Office – Shimla, Regional Passport Office – Srinagar, Regional Passport Office – Surat, Regional Passport Office – Thane, Regional Passport Office – Trichy, Regional Passport Office – Trivandrum, Regional Passport Office – Visakhapatnam 14) Central Government Health Scheme 15) Central Board of Secondary Education 16) Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan 17) National Institute of Open Schooling 18) Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti 19) Central Universities 20) ESI Hospitals and Dispensaries directly controlled by ESI Corporation under Ministry of Labour Many of us say that these things don't work in India . Couple of months back, the Faridabad Municipal Corporation laid new roads in his area and the residents were very happy about it. But 2 weeks later, BSNL dug up the newly laid roads to install new cables which annoyed all the residents. A resident used the above listed grievance forum to highlight his concern. To his surprise, BSNL and Municipal Corporation of Faridabad were served a show cause notice and the guy received a copy of the notice in one week. Government has asked the MC and BSNL about the goof up as it's clear that both the government departments were not in sync at all. So use this grievance forum and educate others who don't know about this facility. This way we can at least raise our concerns instead of just talking about the 'System' in India . Invite your friends to contribute for many such happenings. PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE IF U WANT OUR INDIA TO HAVE A BETTER TOMORROW & FORWARD THIS MAIL TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE. With thanks & regards, SUYOG MARATHE Connect with friends all over the world. Get Yahoo! India Messenger. _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live Messenger. Multitasking at its finest. http://www.microsoft.com/india/windows/windowslive/messenger.aspx -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090424/8c1f9a3d/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: suyog marathe Subject: Fw: Can you imagine this is happening in INDIA ? Date: no date Size: 13434 Url: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090424/8c1f9a3d/attachment.mht From esg at esgindia.org Fri Apr 24 10:04:14 2009 From: esg at esgindia.org (ESGINDIA) Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:04:14 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Support an Appeal to Stop, Consult and Redesign Bangalore Metro Message-ID: <49F14146.8080203@esgindia.org> *Support an Appeal to Stop, Consult and Redesign Bangalore Metro * 23 April 2009 Dear Friends, As India votes for a new Central Government, the city of Bangalore has been demonstrating democracy's true potential by coming out in large numbers protesting the destruction of the world renowned Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks by the insensitivity and lack of care for progressive planning by the Bangalore Metro authorities. Pictures of the protests can be accessed at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jace/sets/72157616949941876/ /Hasiru Usiru/, a network of organisations and individuals focussed on conserving public commons, open spaces and greenery in Bangalore, has successfully initiated a popular movement against the destruction of Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao boulevard by the Metro. Over the past week protestors have come out in large numbers throughout the week to demand public involvement in redesigning the Metro. More details at: www.hasiruusiru.org and www.esgindia.org All Lok Sabha candidates of Bangalore South constituency have endorsed their support for this stand. Pressed by public protest, Mr. R. Ashok, Karnataka Transport Minister has categorically stated he would instruct the Bangalore Metro officials to stop work forthwith. He has also assured that there would be no tree felling on the note that the Government would be willing to consider realigning the southern reach of the Metro. However, the Bangalore Metro authorities have intensified work on this reach, in total disregard of the Minister's assurances to the public. The Metro is about serving the public for now and into the fuure. The public have had no role whatsoever in shaping the process of Metro design, alignment and development. This is in blatant violation of various laws and policies that mandate public involvement in decision making. If the Bangalore Metro, a mega Rs. 9,000 crores project (i.e., per latest revised estimates approx. USD 2 billion), should truly serve the public, it has to be sensitive to public concerns about its adverse impacts on the city. To press for such transparent and wise approach, /Hasiru Usiru/ has initiated a signature campaign for an appeal to be presented to the Chief Minister of Karnataka. We request you to kindly endorse this appeal by emailing esg at esgindia.org or endorse online at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savelalbaghfrommetro/index.html. Thank you, Leo F. Saldanha, Coordinator, Environment Support Group - a part of the /Hasiru Usiru /network and Vinay Sreenivasa, Volunteer, /Hasiru Usiru/ Mr. B. S. Yeddyurappa Chief Minister of Karnataka Respected Sir, In the week before the General Elections - 2009, large numbers in Bangalore have come out in protest against the construction of an elevated track for the "Namma Metro" through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks. I/We join these protests, initiated by /Hasiru Usiru,/ and demand that the Government suspend all work on the southern reach of the Metro till such time it has duly consulted the wide public on viable and environmentally friendly alternatives. All political candidates contesting the Bangalore South Constituency for the Lok Sabha have endorsed the position that Lalbagh should not be destroyed in any manner, considering its heritage status and unique features as a botanical garden. This is a welcome sign. Again because of the mounting protests, Mr. R. Ashok, Karnataka Minister for Transport, has stated in the media that he has asked the Bangalore Metro authorities to suspend all work on the Southern Reach of the Metro, including tree felling. He has further assured that the Government is open to realigning the Metro keeping in view public opinion after the elections. This is welcome sign. Despite such assurances at the highest levels of the Government, Bangalore Metro officials have categorically stated that they will not suspend work, and would continue with business as usual. Dr. Ramachandran, Secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development and Chairman of the "Namma Metro" has confirmed that there cannot be any change now in alignment as all approvals have been obtained from the State and Union Governments. He has also said that a zig-zag Metro is not feasible. There are many disturbing aspects to these statements, and I/we wish to highlight these: 1. _Undemocratic approach to issue Ordinance_: It is a fact that the Government of Karnataka took a very undemocratic step of issuing an ordinance on 22 November 2008 to amend the Karnataka Parks Act to allow a portion of the world famous Lalbagh gardens to be used for a Metro station. Such an issue should have been first debated in public and also in the Legislature. There have been four Legislative Sessions since June 2008, and not once was this issue tabled for discussion. To instead choose to issue an Ordinance on such a sensitive issue is nothing short of a betrayal of democratic traditions and the right of the people to know and participate in decision making. 2. _If zig-zag alignment is not feasible, then why have a zig-zag alignment at all_: Dr. Ramachandran's statement that a Metro line is not feasible if it goes zig-zag is contradictory to the defense of Zig-Zag alignment for the southern reach of the Metro. As now proposed, the southern reach from K. R. Road runs through Vani Vilas Road, Lalbagh/R. V. Road, Lakshman Rao boulevard and then Banashankari, all this within four kms and involving four zig-zag 90° turns. This will substantially slow down the Metro, increase wear and tear and make maintenance a costly affair. If this zig-zag alignment is not feasible, I/we demand to know how this alignment was at all approved in the first place. 3. _Elevated Metro and its long term consequences_: All things considered, an elevated Metro will remain for all time to come. There are many instances where Elevated Metros and transport corridors have been pulled down (Eg. Boston) and put underground as they have caused various negative impacts including depressed neighbourhoods and local economies, increase in crime rates, increase in noise pollution, decrease in availability of road space, etc. None of the Metro stations on this reach have any parking zones, and it is more than likely that in the near future more acquisition will take place to create parking areas -- with Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Parks becoming easy targets. It is well known that the Metro also proposes to use its stations as Malls, so there is no guarantee that this will not happen to the Metro line proposed through Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao parks. It is also very much in the realm of possibility that in order road space lost to the Metro track to accomodate increased vehicular density, existing roads may be widened in time to come, and this could result in further displacement of communities and loss of parks and open spaces. 4. _Alternatives not explored_: Much against the claim of "Namma Metro" there has been no statutory public consultation whatsoever in consonance with applicable law (in particular the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act). This has denied those directly affected with the right to Prior and Informed Consent and caused serious disruptions in their lives and livelihoods. Equally serious has been the impact on parks and open spaces, with the Bangalore Metro authorities arrogating to themselves the right to apportion such lands to the Metro without due public consultation or adopting a transparent approach. Keeping in view all of these concerns, I/we demand the following: 1. The Government of Karnataka must immediately instruct "Namma Metro" authorities to stop work on the southern reach. 2. Such a move is in order as all candidates contesting the Bangalore South consituency have supported the stand that Lalbagh should be protected as a sacred space for all time to come responding to popular sentiment.The Executive must bow down to the will of the people. Consequently, the Government must allow the Ordinance issued to acquire Lalbagh for the "Namma Metro" to lapse on 22 May 2009. 3. The possibility of taking the Metro underground or through alternate alignments without causing much loss of greenery and property must be publicly explored. This must be done with due dispatch and in total conformance with law. Funds for this are easily available if only the Government stops investing in the elitist High Speed Rail Link project, which costs nearly Rs. 5,000 crores, and caters to the needs of only 30,000 air travellers. That money should instead be invested in the Metro to take it underground and thereby serve the interest of lakhs of people now and into the future. 4. The High Court of Karnataka in its order of 16 March 2009 in PIL 7107/2009 (Environment Support Group and ors. vs. State of Karnataka) has directed all urban infrastructure development agencies, including Bangalore Metro, to "strictly follow" the provisions of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act and Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act while implementing projects. The Government must ensure strict compliance with this direction. 5. The National Urban Transport Policy has many progressive and futuristic perspectives and ideas that needs to be adopted for Bangalore. Only such actions will serve in providing the right mix of public and private transport options, while also protecting the rights of pedestrians (especially elderly, children and the disabled), cyclists, and livelihoods of urban poor. I/We hope that you support these progressive initiatives and immediately suspend the Metro authorities to stop work on the southern reach of "Namma Metro". Not only would such action be popular now, but would also prove to be regarded by future generations. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090424/b8875de9/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: esg.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 341 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090424/b8875de9/attachment-0001.vcf From arshadrizvi at developmentlinks.org.in Fri Apr 24 20:49:44 2009 From: arshadrizvi at developmentlinks.org.in (Arshad Rizvi) Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:49:44 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] InfoDev April 2009 issue Message-ID: <73F78D569E8644729696D2A74FB8E0EB@ArshadPC> Dear Friends and well wishers Please find attached with this email, our News Letter "InfoDev" for month of April 2009 along with a supplement awareness pamphlet on segregation of waste,. This month's issue of InfoDev focuses on enormous quantities of waste being landfilled and its impact. Thanking You Warm Regards Thanking you Sincerely Arshad Rizvi Director an Vice President Development Links Foundation 20, Basement Masihgarh, sukhdev Vihar New Delhi 110025 Telefax: +91-11-41320294 M: 09868612627 Web: developmentlinks.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090424/de1c673c/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Arshad.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 91 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090424/de1c673c/attachment-0001.vcf -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: InfoDev22ndApril 2009.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 996547 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090424/de1c673c/attachment-0002.pdf -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Infodev April Supplement.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 31874 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090424/de1c673c/attachment-0003.pdf