From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Jan 5 12:03:56 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2009 12:03:56 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: BRT SUPPORT RALLY- INVITATION In-Reply-To: <20090105052957.19948.qmail@pro-236-179.rediffmailpro.com> References: <20090105052957.19948.qmail@pro-236-179.rediffmailpro.com> Message-ID: <86b8a7050901042233s13893f4fo6390d2a8a72a4e65@mail.gmail.com> FYI and pl do fwd to friends in Delhi best Vinay ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Rajendra Ravi Date: Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 10:59 AM Subject: BRT SUPPORT RALLY- INVITATION Dear Friends, We are organizing a rally in support of BRT Corridor and against Dual policy of the Govt on BRT Corridor On 7th January 2009. The rally will start at 11.00 AM near Rajghat power house behind Rajghat and reach Chief Minister's Office, Delhi Secretariat, I P Estate, New Delhi. We cordially invite you to participate in the rally. We are enclosing detailed invitation in Hindi as well as English. Please circulate the invitation among the friends. We look forward to your support. Rajendra Ravi Bhupendra Singh Rawat Anita Kapoor On behalf of NAPM and many other movement groups Rajendra Ravi INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY AND SUSTAINABILITY 1-A, Goela lane, Underhill road, Civil lines New Delhi 110 054, India Phone: 91 11 23933307 Email: rajendra_ravi at idsindia.net, -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090105/1d6dace5/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: invitation_for_BRT_Corridor_Rally.doc Type: application/msword Size: 29696 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090105/1d6dace5/attachment-0001.doc -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Corridor_A-6_with_date.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 617811 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090105/1d6dace5/attachment-0001.pdf From esg at esgindia.org Fri Jan 9 01:00:20 2009 From: esg at esgindia.org (ESGINDIA) Date: Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:00:20 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] ENVIRONMENT SUPPORT GROUP: Celebrating a decade of engagement with Environmental and Social Justice initiatives Message-ID: <4966544C.5000008@esgindia.org> * * *ENVIRONMENT SUPPORT GROUP * /Celebrating a decade of engagement with Environmental and Social Justice initiatives/ Dear Friends, The Environment Support Group team warmly wishes you a Peaceful and Happy 2009. This year begins on a very happy note for us as we celebrate a decade of our engagement with environmental and social justice initiatives. Many of you have been an integral part of our various initiatives over the years, and we thank each one of you for your continuing support and cooperation. Much as we have many challenges to attend to, life is also about celebration. We will celebrate our decade with the release by Dr. B. K. Chandrashekar, former Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council of our Decadal Report and two fantastic cultural performances - of Kalaripayattu by the Vallabhatta Kalari Sangam, Chavakkad (Kerala) and an Odissi performance by Diya Sen and troupe. ESG's decennium of work will be celebrated on Saturday, 10^th January 2009 and an invitation to the programme is enclosed. We will be very happy if you would join us in this celebration and _request you to please confirm in advance your participation _by calling any of our numbers or emailing us on nandini at esgindia.org and esg at esgindia.org . (Please confirm your participation no later than the evening of 8^th January, Thursday and thus help us organise the programme.) A decade of working with various local communities in Karnataka, across India, and with many organisations and networks across the world, is difficult to review in a brief letter. Our decadal report will soon be available on our website (www.esgindia.org ) and we encourage you to visit our revamped site rightaway. . For your immediate convenience we enclose a brief overview of our work. Intiatives like ESG can only work with your dedicated support and contribution and we hope you would extend your generous contribution, as always. We look forward to your continuing support and cooperation and wish you all peace and happiness in 2009. Warmly and Sincerely, Leo F. Saldanha, Bhargavi S. Rao, Mallesh K. R., Gitanjali Mahanti, Harminder Kaur, Nandini Chami, Dolly Kalita, Divya Ravindranath, Shankari, Sruthi Subbanna, Zeenath, Venkatesh, along with our Trustees Dr. Robert John Chandran and Arthur Pereira, our families, advisors, friends and associates. *Responding responsibly to environmental and social justice challenges* *An overview of a Decade of work of Environment Support Group, Bangalore (January 2009)* *Restoring Commons to the Public:* 2008 has been a very challenging year for us, and yet very satisfying. We remember this year with particular satisfaction because our legal challenge against the privatisation and commercialisation of lakes in Karnataka has met with success. On the direction of the High Court of Karnataka the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of the Karnataka Forest Department filed his fact finding report which endorsed our PIL. Consequently, the Advocate General of Karnataka confirmed in the Court that the State was withdrawing the highly controversial lake privatisation policy, and thus putting an end to further privatisation of lakes. However the State intended to allow the continuation of the leases for the four lakes that have presently been leased out to private parties, such as the leasing out of Hebal lake to the Oberois. We disagreed with this position, and the High Court has now posted for final hearing our case to February 2009. The interim relief is enormously significant on many grounds. Because of our PIL, a long pending case against encroachments of lakes in Karnataka was also heard, and the High Court directed the State to survey each and every lake in Karnataka, demarcate its boundaries and secure them for posterity under the supervision of the Karnataka Legal Services Committee of the High Court. In short, this is one of the most significant decisions in ensuring water and ecological security for all. In addition, this decision puts beyond any doubt the fact that the State has to protect our commons in its role as a Trustee of the commons. This precedent if used innovatively can lead to major gains for social and environmental movements to safeguard against the ongoing trading of our commons such as lakes, forests, grazing pastures, etc. through corporatisation. (More details at http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/lakes/current.html) In a similar way our networked campaign in collaboration with /Hasiru Usiru/ against needless road widening resulted in another PIL initiative before the High Court of Karnataka. In its interim direction, the High Court agreed with all our contentions and directed a committee of experts to review each and every proposal to widen roads and related transport infrastructure in Bangalore after ensuring that public had been involved in decision making, that projects were fully in conformity with law, and ensuring that the effort was economically and environmentally viable. The Court was particularly concerned that the rights of the weak and infirm should not be overlooked and directed the authorities to ensure that projects must be implemented only if the needs of the elderly, the differently able, children, pedestrians, cyclists, street vendors, etc. could be safeguarded. Further, it directed Forest officials to allow felling of avenue trees only as a last resort. Significantly, the High Court made our PIL a framework for decision making and appointed the Karnataka Legal Services Committee of the High Court to step in and resolve disputes as and when they arise. The proposal to widen roads seems deceptively simple and the right way out of congestion. But carefully understood, it forms the most disruptive activity of any urban area, besides being utterly senseless and counter-productive. Widened roads are likely to be filled in with traffic, and thus get congested in no time - in fact in less than 5 years what with 1,500 vehicles being registered daily in Bangalore! This raises serious questions of what actions could then follow? More widening? The current proposal is demonic - it involves widening 100 roads running into a length of approx. 400 km. costs at least Rs. 4,000 crores (for civil engineering works only), and potentially displaces thousands of homes and businesses. The worst environmental disaster of the city would be that at least 40,000 avenue trees will be felled – the real heritage of the city - leaving its population reeling under the merciless heat of the tropical sun and ensuring there would be no space for birds, butterflies, other forms of life and other ways of living in the city. In short, Bangalore will be so fundamentally transformed that its very soul would be sacrificed merely for the comfort of those lobbying for more private transport. More intelligent options exist and we are currently engaged in fighting this arduous battle for people centered, economically viable, socially just and environmentally sustainable development of India's fastest growing metropolis. (Details at: http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/Tree%20felling/Hasire%20Usiru/background.html ) *Power needed, but at what cost?* Another significant achievement for collective action in the year was the order of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission on 19 May 2008 advising the Karnataka Government to review its decision to locate a massive coal fired thermal power plant at Chamalapura, near Mysore, on the banks of the Kabini and neighbouring Bandipur and Nagarahole National Parks. ESG worked with the petitioners Mysore Grahakara Parishat in advancing a variety of legal, technical, and environmental concerns - in particular the fact that there was no water in the Kabini to support both the power plant and also downstream water demands. Our submissions were exhaustively relied upon by the Commission in its decision and called to question the veracity of the decision making process advancing the project, advising the State to review the entire proposal taking into account "all the aspects involved in the project such as environment and heritage, Land Acquisition, Fuel linkage, water supply etc." Subsequently, the Karnataka Government has announced its decision that it would not advance with this project. (Details at: http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/Chamalapura/Chamalapura.html) *Diluting environmental decision making standards: A Race to the Bottom* 2007 witnessed ESG making a significant contribution to the debate on environmental decision making in India with its publication /"Green Tapism: A Review of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification – 2006"/. We were compelled to write this book as we witnessed that the Government of India was pursuing with its disastrous policy of diluting environmental clearances standards by pushing ahead with an amendment to the EIA Notification, despite opposition from Parliamentarians and peoples everywhere. Brazenly, the Notification was amended, for the worse, and our publication exposed its consequences so our efforts to regain lost ground are undefeated. (More details at http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/Greentapism/GreenTapism.html) Former Environment Secretary Mr. R. Rajamani reviewed the publication for /The Book Review/ (Volume XXXII Number 8 August 2008) and had this to say: "This book is a must read for policy makers, engineers, scientists, contractors, independent thinkers and even investors who should be sensitive to India's environment. The passionate plea at the end of the book for scrapping this notification and reinstating the 1994 notification minus its deficiencies does not seem to have been heard so far amidst the din and noise of the need for growth and investment, but a heavy price will be paid by future generations of Indians if such cautionary signals emanating from publications such as this are ignored." *ESG's responses to community struggles:* many critical decisions are awaited from the judiciary on the (instead of from the judiciary at the end) During the late nineties, ESG worked with communities in Dakshina Kannada district to stop the location of a dirty coal fired thermal power plant by Cogentrix Inc. of USA. Soon after, we worked with communities in Kadandale, Udupi district, to stop a dirty chemical dyes factory that was built without any clearances whatsoever by M/s Engelhardt Highland Pvt. Ltd. of USA. We continued our work with fishing communities in Dakshina Kannada in their struggles against the pollution and expansion of Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd., a relationship that has has renewed recently in our work with communities directly affected by the Special Economic Zone for Petrochemicals. Needless to state, our role was supportive, and often times, integral to the success of community struggles. Equally, there have been instances of the lack of success, which only egged us to work harder. (Do check our campaigns page at: http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/campaigns.html) By 2000, we were deeply involved in questioning the need for the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project, promoted by a consortium of American and Indian companies under the banner of M/s Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise, touted as an effort to decongest Bangalore. We contested this proposal suggesting instead that developing existing towns between Bangalore and Mysore along with high-speed rail links would be a far more viable and socially inclusive option. The Government disregarded these suggestions to our common peril. Working with farmers groups, social action networks, and a variety of affected communities we have helped expose what has turned out to be the single largest land scam in the history of the state of Karnataka and a project that is anything but in the wider public interest. The project is still languishing in its initial stages, and many, or all, of the questions we originally raised, which were rebutted by the Government then, are now supportively used as arguments by the State against the company implementing the project. Many critical decisions are awaited on the fate of this project from the Judiciary, the affected communities and voiceless ecosystems in the coming months. (More details at: http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/bmic/bmic.html) *Protecting critical ecosystems from certain disappearance:* Our work in the thickly forested district of Uttara Kannada centred initially around the proposal to locate the seventh dam across River Kali – one of the most dammed rivers in the world. We worked to successfully expose that the international consultancy Ernst and Young had plagiarised the EIA for the dam, and subsequently also exposed that the subsequent EIA commissioned from Tata Energy Research Institute was no better. This was the first major /expose'/ of how insidious the rot had set into the process of environmental decision making in the country. (More details at: http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/dandeli/dandeli.html) This brought us to investigate deeper into the quality of the Kali River, polluted as it has been for decades by the West Coast Paper Mills, one of the largest paper mills in Asia. In collaboration with Parisara Samrakshana Kendra, Sirsi, the extensive impact of the pollution on local communities, wildlife and the waters of the Kali was exposed, forcing the Central Pollution Control Board to step in and conduct a review, which was promptly hushed up. Not very surprisingly thereafter, the company announced massive expansion plans, trebling its production illegally with the financial support of International Finance Corporation of the World Bank. We questioned this decision on many grounds, which have never been satisfactorily explained by the Bank, the company or the statutory authorities. We also exposed that the proposal to expand the production was concomitant with the single largest transfer of common lands (termed C and D degraded lands by the Government) to the company to develop captive pulpwood plantation – an area of 68,000 ha. (680 sq. Kms.) in four districts of North West Karnataka. Our efforts continue to ensure IFC backs out of the project and that the State does not surrender common lands to corporate control. More details at: http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/KBA/docs/docs.html Other significant campaign efforts include the networked action to stop the destruction of Handigondi forests and rocks for commercial exploitation masked as a proposal to replace the destruction of Bamiyan Buddha near Bangalore. (More details at: http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/HandiGundi/Handigundi.html) . Prior to this, we helped forge a wide ranging collaboration to stop mining in Kudremukh National Park (http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/kudremukh/kudremukh.html). Our efforts to save India's critically endangered biodiversity continue every day, even as we advance the importance of involving forest dwelling communities in ensuring timeless protection of our natural resources by implementing the Forest Rights Act. *Working with affected communities: Our praxis of engagement* Responding to community requests for support to secure their environmental and social justice provides us immense satisfaction, makes us empathize with their pain, and also helps us learn critically about how we should respond to the growing environmental and social challenges of our society. Our bottom up approach has helped us gain insight into developing systemic approaches to resolve problems confronting our society, and thus benefit the wide public with options that aren't merely short term. To ensure such advantages gain credibility with a wider community of decision makers, planners, elected representatives, academicians, media, etc., ESG constantly engages in various research initiatives. Over time we have worked with United Nations Environment Programme and Indo Norwegian Environment Programme in advancing socially just solid waste management approaches (details at: http://www.inep-karnataka.org/solidwaste.htm). Following up on this we have worked with a variety of partners in an European Union – Asia Pro Eco funded initiative on managing hazardous waste entitled: SACODI (Details at: http://www.esgindia.org/projects/SACODI/docs/docs.html) *Hope is when future generations learn not to repeat past mistakes:* Our campaigns may seem a reaction to what happens now, and our work in its entirety hopes to forestall the degradation of our ecological and social security. A most certain way to ensure hope is in advancing innovative education approaches and building awareness amongst student and affected communities. In this regard ESG has worked to develop a variety of audio visual and print publications. But nothing replaces the satisfaction of engaging with learning opportunities that we do with immense satisfaction with students. The International Honors Programme has been a consistent partner with ESG, and we reciprocate this kind gesture by organising the /"Cities in the 21^st Century" /and /"Health and Community" /courses (www.ihp.edu ). Based entirely on the pedagogy of experiential learning, we encourage students in the discovery of a world unaffected by text book prejudices and guided by direct exposure to learning situations and the way the world is. Such learning has been largely considered life transformative and we work actively with more and more educational institutions to open up to a world full of learning, rather than be caged in the confines of a classroom. (Read more on our education page: http://www.esgindia.org/Educational%20Programs/Educational%20Programs.html) *How do we sustain ourselves?* ESG has worked almost entirely without institutional support. This is not an argument against such support, but merely a statement of our reality – money flow to work such as what we do from foundations and grant giving institutions is very limited, and becoming even more so. This is quite in contradiction to expectations, considering that the world's biggest challenge today and for centuries to come is climate change and its consequences. We remain hopeful of securing greater institutional support in the months and years to come, not merely for our survival, but so that initiatives such as ours, which we consider critical for a socially and ecologically just world, will continue. Over the decade many organizations have helped us by supporting our research projects and educational initiatives, and sometimes our campaigns. We thank International Honours Programme, New World Foundation, Association for India's Development, Green Grants Fund, European Union – Asia Pro Eco and Asia Urbs, Indo Norwegian Environment Progamme, United Nations Environment Programme, Ford Foundation, World Resources Institute, Environmental Law Institute, Oneworld, and many many individual donors for their generosity and support. As we begin a new year, we look forward to newer challenges, even as we celebrate our past successes. We sincerely look forward to your continuing support as we commence our engagement into the next decade on environmental and social justice initiatives. Thank you. Leo Saldanha and Bhargavi S. Rao Coordinators/Trustees Environment Support Group January 2009 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090109/55c0a31b/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ESG_DecenniumCelebration_Invitation_small_10Jan09.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 122744 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090109/55c0a31b/attachment-0002.pdf -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ESG_Donations_Request_Card_small.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 4900 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090109/55c0a31b/attachment-0003.pdf -------------- 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/20090109/55c0a31b/attachment-0001.vcf From sebydesiolim at hotmail.com Sun Jan 11 15:19:06 2009 From: sebydesiolim at hotmail.com (sebastian Rodrigues) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:19:06 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Tadi Par as Development Metaphor: Experiences from Goa Message-ID: Hello! Here is my latest writings "Tadi Par as development metaphor: Experiences from Goa". Please visit the links below for further reading: http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/2009/01/tadi-par-as-development-metaphor.html Will be happy to receive your comments, particularly on the idea of 'Metal Sensitivity' that is put forth in the paper. Warmly, Seby _________________________________________________________________ Much more than email – don't miss out on the rest of the Windows Live™. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/ From cugambetta at yahoo.com Sun Jan 11 23:29:06 2009 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2009 09:59:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fw: NIAS Urban Research and Policy Programme Special Lecture by Anant Maringanti Message-ID: <407586.89022.qm@web57405.mail.re1.yahoo.com> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The NIAS Urban Research and Policy Programme is organising a special lecture by Anant Maringanti. All are welcome. Title: Development of anti development: Coming to terms with neoliberal globalization in Hyderabad. Date: Thursday, January 15 Time: 3.30 p.m. Venue: Conference Room # 2, New Faculty Block, National Institute of Advanced Studies (IISc Campus, Bangalore) Abstract: During the 80s and 90s, while western academia was caught in a swirl of debates on development and its eurocentrism, in the developing world itself, academic and popular debates often focused on the ways in which the public sphere was gradually being populated by new actors known as NGOs. These new actors – agents of development action, posed a challenge to bureaucrats, politicians and traditional actors like social movements and political parties. Yet, social scientific literature by and large remained highly ambivalent about the role played by NGOs. In the first decade of the 21st century, however, when the term NGO applies to a bewildering array of institutional entities, normative readings of NGO action is meaningless except when accompanied by elaborate qualifications. Based on a case study of an environmental movement that turned into an urban housing rights NGO in Hyderabad in the last decade, and building on critical ethnographies of NGOs and state led development efforts in India and elsewhere, I chart out some of the dramatic transformations that have occurred in the terrain over which 'development' and opposition to its exclusions are currently articulated. Specifically, I will suggest that the transnational circuits through which discourses of development, anti development, participatory development and citizenship circulate, challenge us to develop new spatial grammars for conducting effective civic action and theorize state-society relations. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dr. Anant Maringanti is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the National University of Singapore. He holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Minnesota. His research interests include globalization, urban development, social movements, transnational networks and subaltern politics. -- 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 -- 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/20090111/34c63e16/attachment.html From abhayraj at aya.yale.edu Mon Jan 12 12:34:39 2009 From: abhayraj at aya.yale.edu (Abhayraj Naik) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:34:39 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Quirk magazine online archive Message-ID: Hi All, I hope that you are well, wherever you may be. For your information, Quirk Magazine (Jan 2005 - August 2006) is archived online here: https://sites.google.com/site/superquirk/ -apologies for cross posting- Regards for a glorious 2009, Abhayraj Naik _________________________________________________________________ See all the ways you can stay connected to friends and family http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/default.aspx -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090112/280b893f/attachment.html From harishpoovaiah at gmail.com Mon Jan 12 17:11:39 2009 From: harishpoovaiah at gmail.com (Harish Poovaiah) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:11:39 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: [invites] "The Living Natural Resource Site for the City" by Mr. Vikram Soni - 14.01.09 - 4.00 PM - 6.30 PM In-Reply-To: <8fef72c70901100326u745d3f62t40a6924d146fe271@mail.gmail.com> References: <8fef72c70901100326u745d3f62t40a6924d146fe271@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: *CIVIC Bangalore ** & Centre for Budget & Policy Studies (CBPS) * Invite you to a talk on *The Living Natural Resource Site for the City: A Ground Level Answer for Climate Change * by *Mr. Vikram Soni * on 14th January 2009, from 4.00 PM to 6.30 PM at Ashirwad, St. Mark's Road Cross, Bangalore 560001 All are welcome ................................* Programme Schedule* 4.00 PM Tea 4.30 PM Welcome and introduction 4.35 PM Live on-line talk by Mr. Vikram Soni 6.00 PM Open discussion 6.30 PM Vote of thanks .....................................* Brief Bio-data of Mr. Vikram Soni * Vikram Soni is a physicist working on the particle physics of dense compact stars like pulsars. He works equally on evolutionary networks and particularly on issues concerned with biodiversity and humanly engineered extinction. In the public domain he has worked on several campaigns to conserve the Delhi Ridge and the Yamuna floodplains. His particular contribution is to provide a knowledge base with creative and non invasive 'Preserve and Use ' schemes for these living natural resources. *The Talk * The talk is on an on-line template to work on the living natural resource of a city. It looks at creative 'Preserve and Use' solutions for living natural resources of a city that can yield billions of dollars of benefit every year. It uses a knowledge base, video films and an ovative ground level mapping as tools. We will start with a film on the non-invasive scheme on the floodplains of the Yamuna river for Delhi to show how this on-line site works and then look at how we can develop such a site for Bangalore. View Front Page at http://www.naturalheritagefirst.org/ *THE LIVING NATURAL RESOURCE SITE( DELHI)* A practical guide to reclaim and sustain nature www.ictp.it/~vsoni/ According to the UN Millennium report, we have taken out a third of the planet's species and close to half of the planet's living natural resources in just 40 years. The loss of such natural resources, which were created over aeons of evolution is immediate and irreversible and much of climate change is due to this loss. Natural resource is tangible and on the ground – it is felt immediately. Natural resource loss has yet to come to the fore in the climate debate and to be clearly seen for what it is on the early warning radar. Indeed, for the huge populations in the developing world it is the rapid loss of living natural resource which will be more critical than climate change. We know that just the loss of forests accounts for almost a quarter of climate change in terms of sequestered carbon but what of the loss from the lack of good water and the transport of such a vital element over large distance, the loss of nutrients in soil , dust and pollution of the city air where more and more people gather - and the health costs this will bring?The surest way to avoid climate change on the ground, then, is to preserve such natural resource. We have yet to learn the value of the tropical rainforest that is cut or our living waters that are polluted. Nature's production system has evolved over aeons and we are its latest product. With a history of co-evolution, nature has arranged all the right bacteria for digestion of natural food - which is why organic food goes well with our digestive tracts whereas tech food grown with fertilizer and genetic modification does not. Live natural resource can never be substituted by technology. It is for this (main reason) reason that we simply have to conserve our fast vanishing natural resource be it forest or water, tigers or elephants. This site is about reforming our scheme of living to preserve and use such natural resource. This on-line site is one of a kind - a comprehensive site on urban natural resources. It details and maps areas of great living natural resource value and equips the citizen to understand. visualise and evaluate them. It gives new, creative, perennial and non invasive solutions to secure the water, air, and forest of cities, worth billions of U.S. 'dollars' per year. All these resources could last forever, but once lost are lost forever. This site provides a ground reality answer to climate change. Section 1 is a knowledge section< http://mail.google.com/mail/public_html/public_html/section1/section1.htm >which gives creative solutions to preserve and use natural resources non - invasively. It explains the resource and sets economic value on it. It will equip citizens to have a knowledge base to start working on preservation. It has material which has been published in reputed journals on Delhi's natural resources. Section 2 is a visual knowledge< http://mail.google.com/mail/public_html/public_html/section2/section2.htm >section which is more in the public domain. It has films and video clips on the ridge and the floodplains. It has power point presentations on Integral Heritage – which treats natural and built heritage on an equal and complimentary footing. It has also has power point presentations on how to put these issues into a political agenda and in an educational setting. Section 3 is a detailed ground level mapping of two major resources , the Ridge Forest and the Yamuna River Floodplain using Google Earth maps with a tool for computing area on the screen itself. The maps are : 1. The Delhi Ridge 2. The Yamuna Floodplain in Delhi and are accessed by clicking on the Download Map Viewer Application of the site. In the light of the violation of the protected areas of great natural resource value, this equips citizens, schools , colleges, foundations, organizations and individuals to mark out an area of these invaluable resources they can adopt for protection from pollution and encroachments. This also puts on record the status on the ground that cannot be disputed by people, courts or government. Though, this site and its preserve and use solutions are made for the Delhi region it would be of great value to use it as a template for other cities and districts on the planet. It is the one way – preserve and use this resource- to secure a sustainable future for the cities and their citizens. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Too many mails? To get only one consolidated mail a day send a mail to invites-digest at yahoogroups.com To leave the group send a mail to invites-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com with a copy to invites-moderator at yahoogroups.com To discuss this and other issues, come to invitesplus at yahoogroups.com Please ensure that this information is used. Share it widely... and ALWAYS check before you go. 'Reply' goes to the person who posted only. So please check email ID before sending (especially for forwarded messages) openspace at in.com is an unmonitored email ID; mails to it will not be answered. Ask others to join by sending a mail to invites-subscribe at yahoogroups.com Post directly to invites at yahoogroups.com (attachments are automatically removed by yahoogroup setting) to contact the moderators send mail to invites-moderator at yahoogroups.com Status:: 1 January 2009:: 4422 subscribers, 95 bouncing War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today. -John F. Kennedy, 35th US president (1917-1963) And the folks at yahoo gently let us know that:Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/invites/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/invites/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:invites-digest at yahoogroups.com mailto:invites-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: invites-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- Harish Poovaiah -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090112/a2febbd2/attachment-0001.html From elkamath at yahoo.com Thu Jan 15 09:16:33 2009 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:46:33 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: Invitation to Bangalore launch of SacredSecular Message-ID: <124447.29378.qm@web53601.mail.re2.yahoo.com> FYI Neha Jain Marketing Taylor & Francis Books (I) Pvt. Ltd 912 Tolstoy House 15–17 Tolstoy Marg, New Delhi 110 001 Tel.: 011 2371 2131 Fax.: 011 2371 2132 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090114/f19eba9a/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 165455 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090114/f19eba9a/attachment-0002.jpe -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 307177 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090114/f19eba9a/attachment-0003.jpe From rkamath.research at gmail.com Thu Jan 15 21:29:53 2009 From: rkamath.research at gmail.com (Ranjan Kamath) Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:29:53 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Cellular Silence Day _ 30th January 2009 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <24b9c2a0901150759g1e66e757g5f2952e0086aeb07@mail.gmail.com> Dear Friend The collective amnesia of the captains of Indian industry, Messrs.Tata, Mittal and Ambani embracing Narendra Modi and endorsing his candidature as future PM of India , disturbed me immensely. This petition is my humble effort to engage the conscience of corporate India and make it known to them that the Indian citizen is not to be trifled with.Just as we can vote for or against the poitician, we can pinch the corporate bottom-line in order to engage their attention to mend their ways. It is not an easy task for us to keep our cell phones and Blackberries switched off for an entire day on January 30th,- the 61st anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. However, it ought to be sufficient to get the message across to corporate India that we will not tolerate the endorsement of fascists as future Prime Ministers. May I request you visit the link below to sign and thereafter circulate the petition below, if you feel as strongly about this matter sincerely Ranjan Kamath The petition title is: *Cellular Silence Day_30th January 2009.* The petition URL is: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/30JAN09/petition.html The petition is directed to: India Inc. The start date is: ..January 15th, 2009 The end date is: ..January 30th, 2009 The petition statement says: Dear Messrs, Ratan Tata, Sunil Mittal and Anil Ambani I am one of a billion Indian citizens. I am somewhere in the middle of that pyramid that you wish to give voice - from bottom to top - through wealth creation. I am proud of the brands you represent that have made India proud. I am one of the burgeoning Indian middle-class that share your aspirations of mutating India from indolent elephant to thundering tiger. It ends there... I have hitherto been accused of being indifferent and apathetic, simply because I am overawed and felt overwhelmed in a system replete with Goliaths. But when I saw you embrace the fascist mastermind of state sponsored genocide as a future Prime Minister and endorse the Modi-fication of India, it was disappointingly apparent that the brands that aspire to make India rich shall continue to languish in ethical poverty. While I am filled with revulsion at your endorsement of Narendra Modi, I must respect your right to do so as a fellow citizen. In writing this petition I am a mere David amongst the mightiest corporate Goliaths but I feel empowered to address your collective amnesia - through recollection of the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 - by the true Goliath among Gujaratis in particular and Indians in general - Mohandas Gandhi. All those who sign this petition will switch off their Tata Indicomm, Airtel and Reliance cellular phone and broadband connections from midnight on January 30th 2009. It is eminently possible that I might be the one voice in a billion who will observe the 61st death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on as Cellular Silence Day. Then again, there might be close to a billion who could join me on January 30th, 2009 expressing their solidarity and silently insisting that the captains of India Inc adopt an ethical, compassionate path to wealth creation rather than the single-minded pursuit of the bottom-line. We shall know that by the end of 30th January, 2009 ______________________________________________________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090115/90236211/attachment.html From esg at esgindia.org Sat Jan 17 08:12:34 2009 From: esg at esgindia.org (ESGINDIA) Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:12:34 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] EIA Notification amended again: Indian Prime Minister accelerates race to the bottom Message-ID: <4971459A.800@esgindia.org> Dear All, The Indian Prime Minister, who is also the Union Minister for Environment and Forests, has cowed down to pressure from investors, industrialists, builders, etc., and proposed a further dilution of the EIA Notificaiton 2006. In a Press Release that was put out by the PMO on Friday evening (copy enclosed) it was claimed that the amendment requires " Promoters to make Public Environmental Pollution Status of Project: Draft Notification Proposes Simplification of Procedure and Societal Vigil for Enforcement". However, the very last para of the release states: " Adoption of non-polluting technologies and processes which do not increase the pollution load and conservation of natural resources is sought to be promoted by liberalising existing provisions. Projects for modernisation and expansion using such technologies and processes are exempted from the purview of the EIA Notification. Biomass based power plants up to 50MW capacity and prospecting of minerals are proposed to be exempted from the purview of the notification. _Further, in view of the delay being caused to expansion and modernisation projects due to several states not having constituted their EIA authorities yet, it is proposed to exempt a certain category of projects from scoping for three years._" (emphasis added) The PMO is lying to the public at large - there is no other way to see this. The 1994 EIA Notification, the precursor to the one in force, involved Local Government representatives (even if merely decorative) in environmental decision making. The 2006 version rather than building and improving on this item, threw local government involvement out of the window, and even ensured that public involvement in environmental decision making was subject to the notorious interpretation and discretion of the executive. It is small wonder then that the past two years have witnessed a significant increase in conflict, including a sharp increase in violence, in many districts across India where project decisions required environmental clearances. The 2006 notification, given its undemocratic provisions, was by itself a disaster. This was comprehensively evaluated in the book: "Green Tapism" (Details at http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/Greentapism/GreenTapism.html) Additionally, the Right to Information Act is quite cross cutting in providing access to government documentation, and requires agencies to share information /suo moto/. When this provision exists, all it required regulatory agencies to do was to extract a fee from the investor and use that for advertising the import of clearance decisions, rather than leave it to the investor's convenience to advertise... and give room for needless proclamation of one's good intentions (CSR). The current proposal to further weaken the Notification is largely a result of acute pressure from various large investors, especially those intending to expand power generation facilities, extractive industries, large manufacturing sectors, etc., who are piqued by the gap that has been created with the States not creating the State Environmental Appraisal Committee and State Environment Impact Assessment Authority. In such situations, projects go for clearance (in the interim) to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. MoEF lacks capacity to review the normal stream of projects, and for the past two years has been burdened onerously (with hundreds of projects pending environemntal and forest clearance) by the cruicifix it created for itself by way of the EIA Notification 2006. The way out now is to grant amnesty for all expansion projects (there is no clear categorisation or specification, so the worst must be assumed) for the next three years. A lot of damage can be done across India in three years. Dams can increase their height (and thus submergence, if forest clearance is not involved), mines can expand (in any case mining is expanding illegally in quite a few areas), airports can expand, under the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Deal our nuclear power facilities for 'civilian' use can expand capacity, thermal power stations can double or treble capacity (for which the Power Ministry has anyway been pushing for exemptions), .. the list can be endless. Read this with the fact that automobile lobbies and large urban infrastructure development lobbies secured a major omission for their project from conformance with the EIA Notification (such is the way we get ready for climate change.) Simply stated, the proposed amendments exacerbate the violation of the basic principles on which the Environment Protection Act is located, and violate significantly many judge made laws: Polluter Pays Principle, Intergenerational Principle, Public Trust Doctrine, to name but a few. I am enclosing a series of articles that have appeared in today's papers on this issue. We need to ensure this amendment is defeated and begin the process for repealing the EIA Notification 2006 and force the emergence of a stronger and deeply democratic EIA Law in India. Leo Saldanha Environment Support Group Bangalore INDIA www.esgindia.org Deccan Herald *»* National *»* Detailed Story http://deccanherald.com/Content/Jan172009/national20090116113013.asp Move on to exempt projects from EIA DH News Service, New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office on Friday proposed a new amendment to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), 2006 granting exemption to "certain projects" from environmental clearance for the next three years in states where no EIA authorities have been formed so far. But the move is expected to trigger reactions from environmentalists, who claim that all sorts of industrial projects may be allowed under the garb of this notification without caring a hoot for the well being of the environment. "In view of the delay being caused to expansion and modernisation projects due to several states not having constituted their EIA authorities yet, it is proposed to exempt a certain category of projects for up to three years," the PMO said. "Since the nature of the exemption was not specified, anything from power plant and paper mills to collieries and foundries may be allowed without the green clearance. The notification is an anti-thesis to the spirit of the EIA," activist Leo Saldanha from Bangalore-based Environment Support Group told Deccan Herald. "First you create an EIA, which states can not implement because of the draconian nature of the law. Then you bypass the EIA process arguing that no authorities have been set up. It's like abandoning the entire environmental regulatory system," he said. Last July Kerala had rejected EIA questioning the real purpose of the assessment system. Tamil Nadu too had taken up the issue back in 2006. "Deliberate expulsion of the specificity (in the list of projects to be exempted) means anything can get through," said Saldanha who worked on the EIA norms since the last eight years. Till the time of filing the report, the detailed notification is neither available on the website of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest nor on the PMO site. Projects for modernisation and expansion using non-polluting technologies and processes which do not increase the pollution load are exempted from the purview of the EIA Notification. Biomass based power plants up to 50MW capacity and prospecting of minerals are proposed to be exempted from the purview of the EIA notification. Officials, however, claim that the notification aimed at improving the environmental vigil by making it compulsory for project proponents to make public the terms of the environmental clearance. They are to insert advertisement in at least two local dailies giving the details of the terms and condition behind the eco-clearance. Also local administrations -- the municipality of panchayat -- have to be kept in the loop. The activists argue that these options are already available in the EIA norms and the new notification is nothing but an "eyewash" to grant bigger industrial and infrastructure projects with foreign funding without the necessary eco-clearance. * Posted: Fri, Jan 16 2009. 11:34 PM IST *Pollution assessment norms for builders to be changed* A draft notification on amendments to the Environmental Impact Asssessment Act, 2006, would be put up soon to invite public comments, says PMO Jacob P. Koshy New Delhi: The government will soon make key changes in the way companies report the environmental impact of their construction projects. The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Friday that a draft notification on amendments to the Environmental Impact Asssessment Act, 2006, would be put up soon to invite public comments. Key changes: The Prime Minister's Office has said that a draft notification on amendments to EIA Act would be put up soon. Kamal Singh / PTI Key changes: The Prime Minister's Office has said that a draft notification on amendments to EIA Act would be put up soon. Kamal Singh / PTI Key modifications proposed include making it mandatory for companies to publicize their environmental clearance, exempting projects that employ non-polluting technologies from environmental impact asssessments (EIA), and fast tracking modernization projects in states that have yet to constitute EIA boards. If modifications take effect, they will significantly impact the way EIAs are conducted and cleared. 'Mint' has previously reported instances of companies presenting shoddy reports, often with glaring instances of plagiarism, as environmental clearances. Government officials say a growing pile of projects needing clearance, as well as understaffed approval committees, are the main reasons that impede thorough and accurate assessments of reports submitted by companies. 'Mint' had also reported last year on the likelihood of amendments to the EIA. "As of now, there are 700 industrial projects waiting to be put on the agenda of the clearance committee. It is a welcome move because infrastructure projects need to be put on the fast track," said K.P. Nyati, head, environment policy division at industry lobby group Confederation of Indian Industry. "...if the project has already been inspected once, then there is no need to re-scrutinize it." Environmentalists say compulsory disclosure of EIA is welcome, but are worried about easing laws for project modernization and expansion. "This is a critical issue," said Leo Saldanha, coordinator, Environment Support Group, an activist group. "The Chennai airport is being modernized and expanded, and there is a lot of protest. The expansion will dislocate a lot of people as well as affect a neighbouring river, which would involve a clearance." Copyright © 2007 HT Media All Rights Reserved http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=46766 **PRESS RELEASE Friday, January 16, 2009** **Prime Minister's Office** ** ** Promoters to make Public Environmental Pollution Status of Project: Draft Notification Proposes Simplification of Procedure and Societal Vigil for Enforcement ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *16:22 IST * Government of India has initiated the process of further rationalizing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2006 with the issue of a draft notification inviting comments. These revisions have been made in view of experience gained in the last two years. The proposed changes seek to make the notification more comprehensive, simplify procedure where required and also enhance powers of states with respect to certain types of clearances. For the first time it proposes to proactively provide for increasing societal vigil on environmental projects by making it compulsory for project proponents to make public the terms of the environmental clearance. The draft notification provides for the project proponent to compulsorily make public at their cost the terms of the environmental clearances obtained by them by advertising in two local newspapers of the district/state where the project is located. In addition, copies of the environmental clearances will also have to be made available by the sanctioning authorities to the local bodies whether panchayats or municipal bodies where the project is located and to relevant government offices at the local level. The Central and State authorities would also place the environment clearances on their websites. These steps are intended to ensure that the conditions of environmental clearances are strictly complied with by the project proponents and in case of any lapse, this could be brought to notice by the local population or its representatives. This is expected to remedy situations where the enforcement is dependent on enforcement authorities on whom citizens cannot mount any pressure in the absence of their knowledge of the provisions of the environmental clearances. It is also expected that this will move the environmental protection agenda into the public domain and would be in keeping with the spirit of disclosure involved in the Right to Information Act. Adoption of non-polluting technologies and processes which do not increase the pollution load and conservation of natural resources is sought to be promoted by liberalising existing provisions. Projects for modernisation and expansion using such technologies and processes are exempted from the purview of the EIA Notification. Biomass based power plants up to 50MW capacity and prospecting of minerals are proposed to be exempted from the purview of the notification. Further, in view of the delay being caused to expansion and modernisation projects due to several states not having constituted their EIA authorities yet, it is proposed to exempt a certain category of projects from scoping for three years. ***** *RCJ/HS/LV* http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=/ogYj9ci/qY= /By Navya and Imran 15 Jan 2009 11:35:00 AM IST/ Eviction to render 87,500 families homeless BANGALORE: The recent revelation that forest land in Karnataka has been encroached upon has raised many a demand for reclaiming of the land. However, seen through the encroacher's lens, the story changes colour. An eviction process means that the more than 87,500 families that occupy around 57,000 hectares of forest land would be rendered hapless. In Bangalore alone, 2,100 families will be evicted, including 1,600 from the Bannerghatta National Park and the Kanakapura Wildlife sanctuary limits. *Regularisation* Of the over 19,000 families that were approved for regularisation as per a Government Order in 1995, only 7,172 have been regularised/ rehabilitated so far. While approval for around 7,500 families is pending, around 4,600 cases were rejected. According to Chief Conservator of Forests Devaiah, the delay in regularisation is due to difficulty in motivating and mobilising encroachers to settle outside the forest area. "To make sure that encroachers do not go back to the forest, a lot of planning and funds are required during rehabilitation. Fifty per cent of the posts in the Forest Department are vacant, making the process slower," he says. Even those rehabilitated on the fringes of the forest suffer from several problems, according to NGOs. "The houses built for these families do not have water, electricity, sanitary facilities or land for cultivation. With land, families lose their livelihood and are forced to work in construction or other industries, where they are ill-treated and exploited. The social support system and cultural ties in the community are also broken. But the government doesn't consider these issues," says Liyakhat, a researcher with the NGO, Equations. *Tribals issue * Worse still is the plight of tribals, who are displaced when an area is declared a national park or a sanctuary. There are five national parks and 21 wildlife sanctuaries in the state now. When the Nagarhole forest was declared a National Park, thousands of tribal families were evicted, while only a few were rehabilitated, says Srikanth, a member of the NGO DEED. "According to the Wildlife Protection Act, when an area is declared a National Park, the inhabitants there should be identified and protected. Now there are around 1,550 families staying within the Nagarhole park and the government plans to displace them by giving them a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. This won't benefit tribals as they are likely to be exploited. They should be given land instead, which will ensure their security and livelihood," he says. Ruling on two cases to protect tribal rights - one filed by DEED in the High Court and another by the Nagarhole Rights Restoration Committee in the Supreme Court - are pending. There are also some who believe that eviction may not always be necessary. "Illegal mining activities, unrestrained conversion of forest lands for commercial purposes and government projects have destroyed more forests than the underprivileged settlers have. The government should get the cooperation of forest dwellers before taking a decision on rehabilitation," says Leo Saldanha ,member of the NGO Envi ronment Suppor t Group. © Copyright 2008 ExpressBuzz -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090117/4aa9741a/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/pjpeg Size: 13653 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090117/4aa9741a/attachment-0001.bin -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090117/4aa9741a/attachment-0005.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 122 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090117/4aa9741a/attachment-0006.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 121 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090117/4aa9741a/attachment-0007.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 256 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090117/4aa9741a/attachment-0008.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 1669 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090117/4aa9741a/attachment-0009.gif -------------- 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/20090117/4aa9741a/attachment-0001.vcf From elkamath at yahoo.com Wed Jan 21 10:48:16 2009 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:18:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fw: Bangalore Cycling Inclusive Planning Workshop 30, 31 Jan 2009 Message-ID: <106845.56584.qm@web53612.mail.re2.yahoo.com> FYI Workshop details can be seen at: http://rideacycle.org/?page_id=53 On Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 8:02 AM, Pradeep B V wrote: Dear Friends, I hope this email finds you well. RideAcycle Foundation is pleased to invite you to participate in the Bangalore Cycling Inclusive Planning Workshop on the 30th and the 31st of January 2009. The workshop will be held at the KSRTC central office on KH Double Road, Shanthinagar, Bangalore. Cycling Inclusive Planning Workshop Bangalore - Why, What and How WHY Bangalore is a city with progressive transport policies and has institutions like the BMLTA which are focused on integrating land use and transport to make for a more livable city. Yet, Bangalore is plagued by problems of congestion and pollution. In a city of 5.7 million, there are 298 vehicles registered per thousand people, with motorization increasing at 10-20% per annum. However, the private vehicles account for only 38% of the trips in the city - 40% of daily trips by public transport and walking and cycling account for 17% of trips. Traffic studies cite poor condition of pavements (30% of Bangalore's road network is in that shape), low travel speeds (down to 10-12 km/h), high intersection delays, and poor or non-existent parking facilities. Traffic accidents are high at about 50 per 10,000 registered vehicles in Bangalore and Chennai, respectively, with about 800 fatalities per year. High pollution levels have made Bangalore citizens prone to respiratory diseases like asthama. These problems cannot be resolved by traditional supply enhancing short-term measures like road widening, one-way streets and flyovers. There is a need to rethink the entire paradigm of transportation in a manner which is sustainable and inclusive. The first step for that is to encourage and plan for low-energy, less-space consuming and zero-pollution modes like cycling. Bangalore wants to not only be a cycle friendly city, but, be a model for other cities in India to emulate. WHAT The objectives and goals of the workshop are to: 1. Understand the current International and Indian discourses on cycling friendly cities in order to formulate a base awareness of the issues involved, among the various stakeholders 2. To reach an informed consensus together with all stakeholders as to what approach would work best for the city of Bangalore 3. To formulate a base structure for capacity building of the city of Bangalore and outline a plan for inputs needed to make the city self-sufficient to implement plans on cycle inclusive transport systems. 4. To put together an action plan and get commitment from the stakeholders to their roles in its implementation HOW Workshop Design: The first day of the workshop will provide data that will help in the workshop sessions. 1. The video of "cycling friendly cities" outlines the steps taken by various cities in Europe and Latin America to make their cities cycle inclusive. 2. Dr. Geetam Tiwari will present the conclusions of a study which discusses the position of cycling in Asia. This presentation highlights best practices from Asian cities and the trends of cycle use and planning. A thematic focus will highlight the planning, design, health, gender and poverty aspects of cycle inclusive planning in India. 3. Case study presentations on 3 levels of cities in India will be made to highlight methods and practices of cycle inclusive planning in Indian cities. Dr. Tiwari will present the case of Delhi, Sujit Patwardhan, the case of Pune and Pradeep Sachdeva will present the case of Nanded. 4. The next session will focus on the initiatives and context in Bangalore city to set the stage for Bangalore specific needs and approaches 5. A technical session by Dr. Anvita Arora and Dr. Vijay Kovalli will illustrate the specific issues and tools needed to plan for cycling at the road design and operation level. 6. The day will close with a SWOT analysis of the situation of cycling in Bangalore. This will form the basis of creating an action plan the next day The second day of the workshop will focus on Action planning and commitment by the city of Bangalore: 1. The first step will be to identify issues and starting points for different stakeholders. This will be in the form of focused group discussions and presentations on the conclusions reached by the different groups. 2. The second step will be to design a Cycling Action Plan (CAP) for Bangalore city with identification of methods, timelines and people/organizations involved. 3. A Pilot exercise will be identified from that Cycling Action Plan and the roles and commitments of different players will be delineated 4. A final discussion at the end of the day will focus on achieving commitments towards the CAP in general and the Pilot in specific with timelines. If you have any questions please feel free to email me. Sincerely, Pradeep B V RideACycle Foundation www.rideacycle.org Bangalore -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090120/ad463673/attachment.html From rkamath.research at gmail.com Fri Jan 23 14:03:26 2009 From: rkamath.research at gmail.com (Ranjan Kamath) Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:03:26 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] [C+ive _ Civic Society On The Web] _ A Civic Society That Never Sleeps In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <24b9c2a0901230033m2c37ab05od12d24d8a609daa2@mail.gmail.com> In the wake of the overwhelming response to the 'Cellular Silence Day_30th January' petition, please find below a letter of introduction to the draft of the C+ive Charter attached. The objective is to capitalise on the citizen energy generated with the above petition above, to achieve long term goals. If you wish to register for and participate in this initiative, then please do one of two things: 1) Send an email to citizen.positive at gmail.com with Inquiry or Registration in the 'subject' line. 2) If you are an e-group, then please 'invite' citizen.positive at gmail.com to your group, and we shall respond. You are most welcome to copy the contents to your blogs, with due acknowledgement. regards Ranjan Kamath _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Friend and Fellow Citizen The Indian citizen has been incessantly buffeted and bullied over decades by the political and corporate class of the country. Over sixty years we have mutated from citizen to mere consumer. We have been reduced to a herd of cattle, milked frequently off votes, while we are prodded to further nourishment on a diet of consumerism. As a consequence we citizens have been anaesthetised into apathy and indifference. Our minds have been progressively dulled by apparent prosperity into shirking our duties and responsibilities as citizens while the nexus of political and corporate establishments arrogantly pursue their machinations. We are being marginalised within our physical, psychological and most importantly civic spaces, fed on an illusion of the greatest good for the greatest number while the contrary is happening. We are terrorised from without and within our borders, expected to follow diktats on who is Indian and who is not, who is a patriot and who is not, who is secular and who is not, what we can read and see and what we cannot, what is and is not our heritage, who should and should not be our Prime Minister while the perils of the global economy keep us busy eking a livelihood. It is time we proved our strength on the floor of the country by giving ourselves a much needed vote of confidence, proving our majority and using the same with responsibility to the greatest benefit of all. In striving for that majority we citizens must conceive, design and implement strategies that are non-violent in word and deed; engage in dialogue and relentlessly pursue the path of conflict resolution towards consensus in a world replete with combative language and violent deeds. In times of moral and ethical poverty in all walks of life we require to engage the conscience of fellow citizens and work towards a consensus no matter how cumbersome and insurmountable the task might appear. We might not wish to engage in active politics for myriad reasons but we can easily restore to ourselves a citizens' democracy built on the foundation of transparency, ethics and compassion. -- Posted By Ranjan Kamath to C+ive _ Civic Society On The Webat 1/23/2009 09:49:00 AM -- 75, 17e main VI Block Koramangala Bangalore 560095 Land: 9180 25631847 Cell: +91 9341 944490 Cell: +91 98203 22988 (Mumbai) -- 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/20090123/32ffa318/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: C+ive_Draft Charter.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 27743 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090123/32ffa318/attachment-0001.pdf From anant_umn at yahoo.co.uk Sun Jan 25 06:22:31 2009 From: anant_umn at yahoo.co.uk (anant m) Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:52:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] two day w/s conference on critical scholarship and activism in kathmandu Message-ID: <563971.67670.qm@web23004.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Dear all, below is a note on a workshop conference being organized by a couple of graduate students from the University of Minnesota in Kathmandu in the last week of June 2009. It will be of interest to people who are juggling their roles as scholars and activists all the time. The workshop is mostly of a self organizing variety so there is no formal funding of any kind. But organizers will provide provide lodging and boarding to participants once they reach Kathmandu. Feel free to forward the message to others who may be interested. For further details or if you have suggestions on the proposed program please email . --------------------------------------- “Scholars and Activists as Social Critics: Towards an Engaged South Asia” Conference on Scholar-Activism in South Asia – Kathmandu, June 26-28, 2009 Introduction: This conference is an attempt to build on the unique traditions of scholar-activism in South Asia to explore the nexus between academic knowledge production and sociopolitical change in the region. The conference will bring together a small group of committed scholar-activists including writers, researchers and publishers to reflect on two interrelated questions from the rapidly changing global, national, sub-national and geopolitical realities in which transformative agendas are now set. • What new constraints are imposed on the traditional channels of communication between scholars and sociopolitical formations? • What new opportunities are now available for forging new connectivities among researchers, activists and communities? Rationale: These are not new questions. They have been addressed in a variety of intellectual and political contexts. Many of the pathways charted by these previous iterations continue to be relevant and yet they need to be revisited in light of the dramatic changes that have taken place in state-society relationships in South Asia such as the advent of neoliberalism, increased socio-economic inequality, rise of Hindu fascism, appropriation of feudal structures by capital and many other factors which have been courageously countered by workers struggles, assertions by religious and caste minorities, gender-rights struggles, and numerous progressive peoples movements. These various social movements however would further advance their struggles if they were to increase engagement with each other in as pluralistic a manner as possible. It is hoped that the collective that comes out of this workshop will be a small step in that direction. Focus and Action-Plan: The proposed Kathmandu conference taking place in June 2009 will explore the above questions through theme-based sessions and workshops over three days. Nepal represents a particularly important historical juncture with the recent victory of the democratic people’s struggles and progressive movements in 2006, and hence provides an ideal setting for a conference of this nature. We hope that the conversations in the conference will lead to the formation of a broader collective of researchers, writers and publishers through which new projects may emerge. These might include, but are not limited to: (1) Writing regularly in the South Asian mass media and development/activist media (2) Building a foundation of solidarity with activist movements on the ground by offering writing/research support for their campaigns (3) Disseminating scholarship and writing in multiple languages across the region through a network of publishers and publications. In the long-term, it is envisioned that annual conferences (starting with a much larger one in 2010) will be a constant feature of this collective focusing on scholar-activism and concrete actions. Furthermore, as the broad forum and collective solidifies, it is envisaged that it will lead to the incubation of a journal, primarily dealing with theoretical questions on radical and progressive politics in South Asia. It is hoped that this journal will slowly help in building progressive theories and strategies that are rooted in local objective conditions in South Asia, and connect to other regions of the Global South. Potential Themes: • Indigenous movements and how they relate to intellectual endeavors, especially those that have incorporated strenuous class-analysis with specific South Asian conditionalities like caste, religious oppression, gender, oppressed nationalities and numerous other issues. • Historically marginalized people and spatial discrimination in the region • Panel discussion on scholar-activism and how it can inform and be informed by social movements • Global South – North (and other spatial) divisions in academic knowledge production and how these divisions get reflected and reinforced in the actual products of intellectual labor. What is the material reality of this division and how can it be broken? • Genealogy and present status of contemporary left political movements (parliamentary and non-parliamentary)in South Asia From yanivbin at gmail.com Sun Jan 25 19:57:15 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:57:15 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] =?windows-1252?q?Look=2C_who=92s_giving_Tughlaq_a_ru?= =?windows-1252?q?n_for_his_money!_JNNURM_in_Mysore?= In-Reply-To: <86b8a7050901250108m2f19ec8dmb84376530f885409@mail.gmail.com> References: <86b8a7050901250108m2f19ec8dmb84376530f885409@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <86b8a7050901250627j638387b7h936777d4e24b5db3@mail.gmail.com> Look, who's giving Tughlaq a run for his money! By churumuri http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/ayyo-bjp-gives-mohammed-bin-tughlaq-new-lease/ *E.R. RAMACHANDRAN* writes: There is much happening in Mysore but it's all mostly topsy-turvy. They are trying to convert a bus-stand into a park, and a park in to a bus stand, all because a lot of money is flowing through the *Jawaharlal Nehru* National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) or some such. It has upset everybody and no wonder *Ajji* is most furious. She threw the *Praja Vani* she was reading in disgust. "*Ideno anyaya*! Why don't they let things be? Because they are getting money from Jawaharlal Nehru should they break everything at sight and build it all anew?" "*Ajji*, Nehru is not giving any money. He died long back. In his name they have started a mission and money is coming from the mission." I tried to calm her down. "I don't know why these *misshine*s are breaking each and everything. Why do they want to build a bus stand in place of a park?" she demanded. "So, that there is more space for buses to move around." "Don't people need parks to walk around? And they want to convert the bus stand which is centrally located into a park. What kind of logic is this? Are we going back to *Mohammed bin Tughlaq* days?" she thundered. I marveled at the memory of the 90+ woman, considering she barely went to school before she was married. "*Ajji*, you are right. These days Tughlaq- style development seems to have become popular again." "*Yenopa*! *Nanage ondu artha vagolla*. *Alla*! If they want both the bus stand and the park, it is available at one place. Why don't they consider it?" Here was a googly from *Ajji* which beats the best of *doosra*s from *Muthaiah Muralidharan*. "Where is it available, *Ajji*? If our CM or *Shobha Karandlaje* likes your plan, you will surely get a Rajyothsava award later this year." "*Avasara padabedvo*, *Ramu*. They want to save the palace. Don't they?" she gave me a *Karan Thapar*–style stare which unnerves most of his interviewees. "Yes." I tried to avoid her eyes. "They also want a good park there. Right?" "Absolutely. Is there such a place *Ajji*?" "The palace, the palace itself. Where else will you find a nice park and a splendid building for a bus stand?" I couldn't believe what I'd heard. It was preposterous of an idea, if there was one. "*Ajji! Ninge thale sariyagi ideya*? Have you gone crazy? How can you make Mysore Palace a bus stand although I agree to the bit of a park surrounding the Palace?" "If you can make a bus stand out of Peoples' Park, why is this not feasible? More over it is very easy; the building already exists. All you have to do is put some stone benches for people to sit next to their luggage. Convert a room into a military hotel, have some kind of announcement blaring continuously, with buses moving in reverse to the bay overseen by a whistling conductor, you have a bus stand all set ready to go. Our traffic police will try some experiments like "No Entry to northbound vehicles from south gate and vice versa." All you need are a few more things like boards giving the time table, a ticket counter and a tea stall that sells newspapers It's so easy. You can return the money to Jawahar Lal Nehru Masshines'. "Ajji! It is JNNURM or you can say 'NURM'." "*Nurmu, gurmu* I don't understand. But this is feasible compared to the Tughlaq Plan." "Ajji, what about foreigners who flock to see Palace? What about Dasara?" "Tourists will love sitting in the park eating *sippe kadalekay*i watching buses come and go. As for Dasara they can shift the 10-day programme to the exhibition grounds." "What about the world-famous Dasara exhibition there?" "Don't worry Ramu. By that time they will take money from Nurm or some Drum and build an Exhibition centre in Bannimantap," said *Ajji*. Ajji is sending her proposal to the Government. I am waiting to see if she gets a Rajyotsava Award for her 'out-of-the-box' thinking. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090125/d6d9ba5c/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Jan 26 16:07:50 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:07:50 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Cyclists demand dedicated track Message-ID: <86b8a7050901260237wf332880o5d9e7b05d4b09ccb@mail.gmail.com> Cyclists demand dedicated track By Our Correspondent http://www.deccanchronicle.com/bengaluru/cyclists-demand-dedicated-track-983 Jan 26 2009 Jan. 25: Riding a bicycle on Bengaluru's busy roads is a difficult task. But if dedicated lanes are provided, many enthusiasts may be ready to use them. The death of a cyclist after being mowed down by a car on Saturday, has prompted people to ask for a separate track for cyclists. They say people want to switch over to a bicycle for health reasons but are worried for their safety. Cyclists constitute 15 per cent of the traffic on roads and organisations promoting cycling are positive that more people will take it up if some space is made available to them. "Unlike other Indian metros, cycling in Bengaluru is easy due to moderate weather conditions and lesser average distance between residential areas and offices when compared to other metros," said Pradeep Banavara, trustee of Ride a Cycle Foundation. The foundation and other like-minded groups are now planning to demand that the government provides a dedicated lane to them. "The government could provide dedicated lanes for buses to encourage more people to take buses and not personal vehicles. This is the only way the government can make space for cyclists," Mr Banavara said. According to urban planner H.S. Sudhira, major cities abroad encourage bicycle riding to decongest traffic. "In India too, efforts to rope in more cyclists is underway but we need to go a long way. When a city like Bhubaneswar can have dedicated tracks for cyclists why not Bengaluru?", Mr Sudhira said. Organisations in Bengaluru are now planning to hold an awareness rally to make more people use bicycles. "There are some who use a bicycle on all days of the week while there are others who use it on alternative days. The passion for cycling is picking up in the city and this is the right time for the government to provide a dedicated track," said Prashanth M., member of an online community promoting cycling on roads. ------------------------------ *Source URL:* http://www.deccanchronicle.com/bengaluru/cyclists-demand-dedicated-track-983 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090126/a3f67b6d/attachment.html From rowansue at u.washington.edu Tue Jan 27 00:16:24 2009 From: rowansue at u.washington.edu (Rowan S Ellis) Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:46:24 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Metropolis and Micropolitics Conference Message-ID: Hello All, Please see the attached call for abstracts for a conference to be held at the University of Washington in Seattle this May. The conference is titled "Metropolis and Micropolitics: South Asia's Sutured Cities". The conference has already attracted some exciting keynote speakers from institutions in India, Pakistan, UK, and US. For more information, please respond to the attached invite, or visit the conference website at: http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/projects_conferences_metropolis_micropolitics_0809.htm Kindest Regards, Rowan Ellis Rowan Suzanne Ellis Dept. of Geography/South Asia Studies University of Washington Box 353550 | Smith 430 Seattle, WA 98195 USA rowansue at u.washington.edu -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Metro and micro call for abstracts.doc Type: application/rtf Size: 37376 bytes Desc: Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090126/8e50aca7/attachment-0001.rtf From debsinha at gmail.com Wed Jan 28 01:05:04 2009 From: debsinha at gmail.com (Deb Ranjan Sinha (Gmail)) Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:35:04 -0500 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fw: Small grants for non-academic groups on cities and social cohesion Message-ID: <8E14B8A431D64F119089CE213BE0F3A0@PAGOL> Dear Colleagues and Friends, SOCIAL POLIS (7th Framework Programme) is now announcing the CALL for STAKEHOLDER CONTRIBUTIONS. All non-academic groups and organisations from NGO, community, private and, policy sectors are invited to apply for a small grant (up to 3,000 €) to produce a contribution to the research, policymaking, or urban practice in the areas relevant to ‘Cities and Social Cohesion’. Successful applicants will be invited to present their contributions at the large scale SOCIAL POLIS Stakeholder Conference in Vienna (11-12 May 2009). Proposals might include: - research papers and reports; - multimedia formats (presentations, films, installations); - exhibitions. Contributions may be focused on various issues related to cities and Social Cohesion referring to the SOCIAL POLIS Focused Research Agendas, Existential Fields (please see: http://www.socialpolis.eu), or other topics which have not yet been included in the activities of the platform. 1. Two SOCIAL POLIS Focused Research agendas share the following themes: 1) Producing urban social cohesion in the face of global changes, migration, and increasing diversity of cities. 2) Developing a plural economic approach to tackle the urban economic divide, social exclusion, and fragmentation of cities. 3) Rethinking cities and urban discourses in the ecological age. 4) Understanding urban practices: social participation, socially creative strategies and neighbourhood development. 5) Governing cities as a whole. 2. SOCIAL POLIS Existential Fields: EF 1: Welfare and Social Services; EF 2: Labour Markets and Economic Development; EF 3: Housing, Neighbourhood, and Health; EF 4: Mobility, Telecommunications, Security; EF 5: Urban Ecology and Environment; EF 6: Governance; EF 7: Education and Training; EF 8: Social and Spatial Inequalities on Urban and Regional Level; EF 9: Diversity and Identity; EF 10: Creativity and Innovation; EF 11: Neighbourhood Development and Grassroots Initiatives; EF 12: Social Cohesion and the City as a Whole. 3. Other topics related to Cities and Social Cohesion not addressed by SOCIAL POLIS yet, which may among others include: • The socio-spatial production of tolerance. (Napoli) • Evaluation of effectiveness of policies towards social cohesion in cities: factors contributing to success/failure of urban policies as to social cohesive outcomes. (Milan) • Integrating policies of urban restructuring, development and social inclusion as a determinant of social cohesion. (Napoli) • Telecommunication systems and social cohesion in Europe. (Geoff) • The impact of changing welfare infrastructure in East European cities. (Stuart) Proposals should include the following: • name(s) and contact information for all applicants; • the title of the paper or multimedia contribution; • abstract (500-600 words); • a brief justification of the proposed topic and format (200 words); • plans for dissemination (100 words); • short statement on the particular benefits of the proposed contribution for SOCIAL POLIS, as well as for the research, policy, or action agenda in the area of ‘Cities and Social Cohesion (100 words). • budget (which must not exceed 3,000 €). For more information on this call for stakeholder contributions please contact us directly. If you wish to discuss an idea for your contribution, please contact Frank Moulaert at frank.moulaert at skynet.be Proposals are due 10 February 2009. They should be submitted electronically to Dr Stuart Cameron at s.j.cameron at newcastle.ac.uk Please forward this call for contributions to anyone who may be interested. Looking forward to hearing from you, Frank Moulaert Jean Hillier Andreas Novy Stuart Cameron Konrad Miciukiewicz From yanivbin at gmail.com Sat Jan 31 20:12:48 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:12:48 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] India Expert Committee on estimating investment -----Meeting on Urban Transportation Message-ID: <86b8a7050901310642s10be7990kc3711249877ec2f2@mail.gmail.com> High Powered Expert Committee Meeting on Urban Transportation http://www.niua.org/upcoming%20seminars/hpec/hpec_transport/hpec_transport.htm *T*he High Powered Expert Committee (HPEC) on estimating investment requirements in urban infrastructure met on January 20, 2009. Focus of this meeting was on urban transportation. It was chaired by Dr. Isher Ahluwalia. Mr. Anil Baijal, Former Secretary (UD) and Mr. O.P.Agarwal, Executive Director, IL&FS, were special invitees to this meeting. Mr. O.P.Agarwal made a presentation on, "Investments needed for Sustainable Urban Transportation in India". He brought out various issues, initiatives taken and possible approaches for improved urban transportation system in India. The focus of the National Urban Transport Policy is moving people and not vehicles. This will require that public transport should be more attractive to use. Working Group Report on Urban Transport for XIth Five Year Plan has estimated investment requirement of Rs. 1,32,50,00 crore (including modern buses). Challenge for improved bus transport is to provide good quality service at an affordable price. It is important to evaluate alternative public transport technologies in the context of city characteristics. The public transport options vary between low cost buses to high cost rail metros. He said that several initiatives have been taken in India: - Many cities have prepared Comprehensive Mobility Plans; - 15 cities have planned to introduce modern bus services; - Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) is coming up in 11 cities; - Six City Planning new metro rail systems; and - Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities have been set up in two cities. There is need for undertaking a major capacity building program in the sector. Moreover, the present initiatives have overlooked that simple low cost traffic improvement measures can improve the traffic situation. In addition, improvement or modernization of the existing bus systems as well as improved facilities for pedestrian and cyclists are missing. He added that bus systems can be improved through provision of better buses, improved information system and prioritization of bus flows through dedicated bus lane. The key message from the review of urban transport sector in India is that the proposed approach has to be comprehensive and serve a range of human needs. Finally, urban transport planning is more an art than science. There was extensive discussion on the subject after the presentation. Chairperson said that the presentation and discussions will help HPEC in addressing the issues of urban transport. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20090131/a4c0dd56/attachment.html