When cities go under
Mumbai is closer to finalising its 20-year development plan, from 2014 to 2034. The plan might be hiding more than it reveals, writes Darryl D'Monte.
THE NEWS IN PROPORTION
23 July 2017
Poverty : Urban Poor
MUMBAI'S WOES
When cities go under
When cities go under
DOMESTIC WORKERS
Can we do something for those we cannot do without?
In an upper to middle income household a domestic help and her services are indispensable. Yet, she is not given the diginity, living wages and other benefits one gets in the organised sector. Pushpa Achanta talks to the activists working for the domestic workers' rights to find what it will take to recognise these rights in our society.
TOILETS FOR ALL
India’s sanitation puzzle: Missing the complete picture?
The focus on ending open defecation and ensuring a toilet in every home is a limited one. Lasting success will require a much larger focus on sanitation, writes Aditya Bhol.
DEVELOPMENT OF AHMEDABAD
How ‘smart’ is Ahmedabad?
As the Prime Minister launches his vision for cities in the country, it is pertinent to ask what his record has been in the largest city of the state where he was Chief Minister before becoming PM. A recent study finds many pluses, and some minuses. Darryl D'Monte reports.
TALES FROM THE STREET
The invisible makers of the city
Homeless, vulnerable in equal measure to the vagaries of nature and human whims, and deprived of any form of social security, street dwellers often provide critical services, helping to sustain themselves and also the city. Pushpa Achanta meets some of them in Bengaluru and finds out more about their existence.
THE URBAN VISION
Are there smarter ways to run our cities?
The ruling government has allocated 7,060 crores of rupees for smart cities, but do our realities allow for westernised ICT-driven smart cities? Darryl D’Monte dwells on what would really make our cities smart, based on deliberations at the second Urban Age conference. 
INTERNAL MIGRANTS
Could Aadhaar be the game changer for footloose labour?
Several recent studies bring out the abysmal deprivation from entitlements among India’s vast internal migrant population. Shambhu Ghatak throws light on the problems faced by migrants and explores if the UID can indeed live up to its promise of making mobility a smoother process.
URBAN INEQUALITY
What future for the cities within our cities?
Generalised policies that draw up uniform plans for cities also end up marginalising millions among the urban poor.
Shirish Khare
emphasises the
need for more inclusive and participatory development if India is to meet the huge urbanisation challenge that lies ahead.
ENVIRONMENT
Panipat power plant pollutes with impunity
It has been happening for several years under the nose of the Haryana adminstration.
The nation's top government auditor has issued multiple indictments. And yet they have polluted
recklessly.
Himanshu Upadhyaya
tells the tale.
ENDLESS STRIFE
Awakening the somnolent state
The common thread between our external and internal security predicaments is our approach to time. Most security issues are long-standing
and seemingly interminable. If we understood why this is so, we can change it, writes
Firdaus Ahmed.
Firdaus Ahmed OP-ED Economic Issues Government opinions Health Laws and Governance RTI Law and Policy Creative Media opinions Land ORGs Exposes RTI opinions Society Films and Books Business Women opinions Women's Representation HARYANA HIMACHAL Politics Health Interviews People Agriculture opinions Literacy Tourism Profiles Environment opinions Subcontinental Musings
URBAN POVERTY
Street-side story
Though the homeless exist in large numbers, society tries to render them invisible, says a recent study on homelessness in four Indian cities.
Arpan Tulsyan
reports on the findings.
Wages of old age: Chingrajpara's elderly
The senior citizens of Chingrajpara slum in Bilaspur are unable to benefit from the largesse of the many government departments in New Delhi. In this fifth article in our
SLUM DIARIES series, Ashima Sood notes that they go begging in the alleys of the slum, depending instead on their more reliable humble neighbours.
Municipal budgets and poverty
As poverty in Karnataka acquires a larger urban face,
municipal administrations must reorient themselves to meet basic
needs, says
Kathyayini Chamaraj.
India Together offers an excellent forum for people from diverse fields of expertise to present their views, share their experiences and raise questions about where our country and society are headed in the future.
Amitabha Basu
- Retired Scientist
- National Physical
- Laboratory
- India Together reader
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From Aug 2013, published with support from Oorvani Foundation, a champion of public-funded media for the new India.
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