Idling under the Neem Tree

                                               SDGs in governance Toilets have to be mainstreamed - based on gender, and physical ability have to be designed...like in this public toilet constructed after the Asian Tsunami in Car Nicobar, Nicobar district, Andaman Nicobar Islands.  I Malini Shankar shot this picture in March 2014 in Carnic. By Malini Shankar Digital Discourse Foundation All the ills of modern society that manifest as urban sores, find salvation in Sustainable Development Goals . Be it elimination of poverty and hunger, Climate Change Adaptation, water energy, food and livelihood security, inclusivity for the differently abled, and so on… there are 17 SDGs that will make the difference between satisfaction and aspiration like day and night.    The 17 SDGs include: 1.        Pove...

  Incentivising waste segregation should work By Malini Shankar Digital Discourse Foundation Given Indians’ abysmal record for conscientious public spiritedness and a clear absence of civic duty, perhaps a financial incentive will make it viable for effective solid waste management. It also addresses the need of some incentive driven fiscal formula for rag pickers – the original waste segregators. But it also helps – nay, is necessary, - for effective waste management. Just imagine if civic authorities / Pourakarmikas can pick up segregated wastes… and deliver peat or composted wastes to the public gardens and parks where the greenery serves as lung spaces for present and future generations. Just decomposed leaf litter has a high calorific value – for example. However it remains inalienable that waste material have to be segregated. Equally of critical significance is a waste management legislation and enforceable guidelines. Legislation should be backed up with infrastr...

  Documenting impact of corruption on society… “What is wrong in letting sewage into the storm water drain?”  Illegal A-C connections damage electrical installations in the entire neighbourhood. By Malini Shankar Digital Discourse Foundation Today I will share with you how others bribing officials have impacted me, others in society. My neighbours are owners of a huge piece of ancestral property measuring some 25000 square feet in the heart of Bangalore with more than 100 fruit and flowering trees. Most of their grandchildren or next generation live abroad and the elders could neither pay tax nor maintain the huge property themselves. They divided their property amongst siblings, sold off portions that belonged to deceased siblings, leased some more land for long term, but they were still left with 25000 sq ft. There were three sprawling bungalows in the ancestral property. Some of the bungalows were rented out but they could not raise enough income to maintain their ...

  By  Malini Shankar Digital Discourse Foundation In every society there is crime. Crimes differ in definition and nature of crime, but they occur nevertheless. The could be petty crime of stealing some garden implements or debris in the backyard; it could be breaking in to private property to steal contraptions like taps, or TV remote control devices, cellphone chargers pressure cookers / vessels …. Just anything they can get their hands on. Then there are crimes related to drug peddling and drug syndicates; sexual crimes like rape and molestation; child sexual abuse, or same sex sexual violence. Trafficking in women, children, destitute… Then there is poaching n smuggling of forest produce…protected and endangered fauna, and flora. Sociologists aver that only those who were abused themselves wreck revenge in adult life. Or those who were deprived of what they were deprived of in their growing years seek satisfaction in possessing what they are stealing. These kin...

  Designated areas for markets, shopping centres, Malls, buying and selling consumables and commerce   By Malini Shankar Digital Discourse Foundation By all accounts planning is critical for Smart City Governance. Planning provides for spaces to be designated for Central Business District – including shopping malls, markets, artisanal wares, perishables like milk, fish, vegetables, fruits, green leafy vegetables, educational and research institutions health care infrastructure and so on. Areas can then be centrally air-conditioned complementing essential, minimalist planned architectural provisions for natural air circulation, cross ventilation etc. In another designated area we can have wired back end server space, bandwidth for telecom products, electronic technology. Sensitive electronic wares also need air-conditioning – but it has to be climate change adapted and must sequester Carbon with a Green footprint. Furniture focussed outlets in another sprawling arena ...

                                Avenues trees and urban aviaries.   By Malini Shankar Digital Discourse Foundation Urban tree growth is of such critical significance today! Green belts need to be a factor in Climate Change Adaptation / mitigation by civic administration. Urban avenue trees or green lung spaces sequester Carbon emissions from the automobile and industrial landscapes. Each adult tree not just sequesters Carbon emissions, but also provides all our needs to breathe oxygen! That apart trees provide habitat for urban wildlife like birds, squirrels, reptiles and insects. Water features and geological formations like rocks or Sulphur springs and to the botanical wealth of an area. Urban lung spaces like botanical gardens are difficult to factor in for the Administration given the enormous demand on land as a resource for human development – schools, universities, resear...