Shobha Surin - Question of Cities

‘Developing countries are struggling to get climate-related finance’

As the global powers work out the finance needed to address devastating climate change impacts in the developing world, for which the developed world is largely responsible, the focus has to be within India too. What kind of resources are…

‘Goa has successful ecological movements but we should not have to keep doing this’

From a languid destination for vacations, Goa has turned into a hotspot for tourism projects, real estate development, and large investments. Village lands, khazan lands, lush forests, and a natural water network have come under intense pressure from massive development…

Eco-friendly festivals are still a dream

Most festivals have a long way to go to become genuinely sustainable even as greenwashing -- claiming false or exaggerated environmental benefits -- takes hold. Knee-jerk reactions such as banning or restricting firecrackers only days before Diwali hardly help. Purposeful…

Zero-fare is women’s ticket to freedom, work, and study

After Delhi rolled out its zero-ticket ride for women in 2019, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana followed. Early reports suggest that it has dramatically increased women’s use of buses, and how and why they commute. It has led to…

‘Keep environmental justice at the core, not mere environmentalism’

India’s economic growth model, which is based on passing costs to the poor and marginalised while the benefits are for another class of people, makes environmental justice urgent. Environmental issues are seen as problems to be solved with technological interventions,…

We, the people, must fight to save our cities and ourselves

Governments and authorities are the custodians of our ecology but, in the past few years, people have resisted and protested actions of their governments to save trees, forests, hills, rivers, creeks, seafronts, wetlands and more. While the prevailing urban development…

‘Resistance is needed for government to perform its basic duties’

Eminent environmentalist Ravi Chopra resigned from the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered committee to supervise the Char Dham road-widening project in 2022 as an act of protest. His advice to limit the road width in the fragile Himalayan terrain had been overruled.…

Pune’s growth story reminds us that nature does not send an invoice

As Pune amalgamates larger non-urban areas into the city limits, expanding in all directions, the frenzy of development has also meant fast-depleting natural areas. The frequent floods and harsh summers are alarms that can no longer be ignored. As the…

‘Maharashtra had 1,500 landslides in 2021, so 1,500 lessons but nothing learnt’

The Wayanad landslides bring back memories of last year’s landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, on the Sahyadri range of the Western Ghats that straddle down to Kerala. Almost 30 percent of Maharashtra is landslide-prone. The recurring landslides have put the…

Why Mumbai should look beyond Chitale Committee report

In the aftermath of the July 2005 flood, the fact-finding committee submitted its report within nine months. The Madhav Chitale Committee report was widely hailed on two counts – for showing Mumbai’s grave deficiencies in flood management and suggesting a…