Tamil Nadu, Chennai and urbanisation: some critical perspectives

India’s urbanisation trajectory is still in the lower realms, with much of the infrastructure yet to be built. This is also a time when business and special interests are quietly working to influence the course of urban planning, creating lock-in effects for facilities being planned or built – public buildings, energy, parks and playgrounds, mobility systems such as trains, bus systems and non-motorised transport.

I have a close connection to the urban form, and try to analyse the directions of such planning.

Here are some links to recent articles that I have written on these topics.

How flyovers create more problems than they solve

Looking at nature in cities, this time at butterflies: The lives of butterflies of Tamil Nadu – from tiger reserves to city parks

The DMK government in Tamil Nadu proposes to raise property taxes and other service fees. But it cannot be business as usual on civic governance. Responsive civic governments can pull off higher property taxes

In this article, I look at the poor outcomes of the Miyawaki method of greening the city, since it sharply diverges from the natural course of tree growth. Why sacred groves will work better than Miyawaki forests to make Chennai green

My earlier columns in The Hindu can be accessed here: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai//article54691585.ece

The direction of urbanisation depends crucially on citizen participation. Make your voice heard with your local body representatives, MLAs, MPs and civic agencies to make the future of India’s cities people-friendly!

Motor Vehicles Act amendments revived: Why have States given Centre the advantage?

The NDA govt. has revived the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill in the LS, introducing the proposed changes on July 15.

I am not a votary of States being dictated to by the Centre, but equally, I cannot agree with States maintaining status quo in transport when our economic development and need for new jobs requires an entirely new transport framework. New schemes to encourage small entrepreneurs are needed, on the lines of small retailing is encouraged against giant retailers, and technological modernisation is urgently called for to improve utilisation of investments and aid passengers with information.

The interesting thing is that as per the amendments, the Centre will have powers to make schemes for multi-modal transport, among other things, and to aid mobility and use of transport assets, including through last mile connectivity. This was part of the lapsed Bill too in the earlier NDA regime that has now been revived.

Then again, this requirement is something that State governments have been consistently ignoring, in favour of the expensive Ubers and the Olas. They have stifled growth and instead adopted a narrow view of distributing patronage through unregulated schemes like share autos that are allowed to cannibalise bus routes rather than being asked to serve interior areas of cities as last mile carriages. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against share autos, but I want freedom for anyone to operate a share auto as a feeder carriage, with a licence, not just those who are affiliated to some organisation or other. If encouraging small entrepreneurs is your goal, make it open to all those who are likely to benefit.

Government Estate Metro Station, Chennai. Metro Rail systems have failed to take off in the absence of last-mile connectivity.

Technically, the State governments can also make their own new schemes even now, before the amendments, to aid the above objectives, but this sector has fallen victim to corrupt policy. The traditional public sector operators have been underfunded and prevented from becoming truly modern. Many do not have professional management. So we have bus systems increasingly confined to arterial roads, as in Chennai, and have stopped serving residential communities. I am waiting to see how the MV Act amendments fare.

We badly need a shake-up of policy that will enable expansion of public transport. If the State governments see the writing on the wall, they will work to close the gap by introducing their own schemes even now, preferably using well-run public sector networks, for which they are fully empowered.

Urban Jungle: Chennai is a horror for people on foot

My Urban Jungle column in The Hindu on the difficulty of being a pedestrian in Chennai published today, is here. This column is part of a series on the city, and looks at the many aspects of suburbia from a personal viewpoint.

Beware when you tread on Chennai roads. The footpaths are barely there, and often hold nasty surprises. Photo shows a drain clean-up in progress on Kodambakkam Station Road. Note the various obstacles on the walker’s path.

MTC has not attended any meeting of Transport Regulatory Authority

It is now confirmed that the Metropolitan Transport Corporation has not attended a single meeting of the Transport Regulatory Authority for Chennai. This information is available in reply to a Right To Information petition. “MTC has not attended in the meeting of a newly formed Transport Regulatory Authority in Chennai during 2008-2010” says the Appellate Authority. The DMK government and its partner the Congress should be ashamed about deceiving the people of the city. With such a record, one can imagine the fate of the costly Chennai Metro, if indeed it comes to fruition as planned.