GCC Citizen Matters, Chennai

A makeover is planned for 14 Corporation schools. Here’s what will change

October 13, 2020 Laasya Shekhar

Children will be pleasantly surprised to see the change when they return to school post COVID. But will it make a difference in the long run?

Private disinfection services step in to fill Chennai Corporation’s gaps; how can you avail the service?

July 20, 2020 Bhavani Prabhakar

Overburdened GCC workers are unable to keep up with demands for sanitising homes and properties exposed to the COVID-19 infection. This has provided an opportunity to private players.

Let’s go to Spring Potato beach; sorry, we mean Besant Nagar beach

December 8, 2019 Mahesh V

Besant Nagar beach is unrecognisable to old timers, thanks to over a hundred Spring Potato shops. What do they sell? Do they get any customers? Don’t they need permission to operate in a public space? What’s it doing to the beach? Many questions, few answers..

New e-tricycles to make garbage collection easy for conservancy workers

December 4, 2019 Arun Joy

A batch of electric tricycles have been procured by the Greater Chennai Corporation for collection of waste. The tricycles are expected to reduce the physical burden on conservancy workers and enable swifter collection of waste.

‘We don’t want any trees in Chennai’

October 24, 2019 Meenakshi Ramesh

No one says we don’t want trees, but it appears that trees have no friends left among the various civic authorities in Chennai, as they go about brutally hacking, cutting and uprooting carefully nurtured trees.

Chennai Buzz: NE monsoon worries | Dengue scare in city | Metro stations go solar

October 9, 2018 News Desk

Key talking points from your city over the past week — all in one place, in case you haven’t been tracking the headlines.

Chennai budget raises many questions, but whom should we ask?

March 28, 2018 Mahesh Kumar S T

For the second year in a row, a bare-bones statement of accounts was passed through a secretive exercise. While the figures themselves raise many questions, more alarming is the fact that there is no elected body of representatives for citizens to approach.

Tired of your road being laid and relaid? Don’t be silent!

January 3, 2018 Raghukumar Choodamani

Lack of coordination between government departments is at the root of many civic problems, most notably the condition of roads. An angry citizen calls for action by the people to get such issues solved.

Solving civic problems, with just a phone camera!

December 11, 2017 Bhavani Prabhakar

If you live in Mylapore, you must have passed C R Balaji on his bike at least once, clicking pictures to highlight civic problems in the area. Bhavani Prabhakar speaks to the man, an inspiration for every Chennaiite.

Will stray cattle continue to hold up traffic in ‘Smart’ Chennai?

December 4, 2017 Laasya Shekhar

Cattle owners continue to bribe officials to prevent their wandering cattle from being impounded, while the Chennai Corporation is yet to adopt a firm strategy to curb stray cattle menace on its streets.

This women’s initiative wants to transform Chennai, one ward at a time

October 14, 2017 Meenakshi Ramesh

Civil society group Voice of People has designed a survey for residents of Zone 13 of the GCC, findings of which will be used to create a manifesto and submitted to the councillor of each ward in the zone. Read about the group and their initiatives.

Mandatory segregation? Great idea, but how can we implement it?

September 15, 2017 Meenakshi Ramesh

The reported move of the GCC to make segregation at source mandatory is music to the ears of many waste champions in the city, but they know that a lot more needs to be done to make the mission a success on a city-wide scale.

Rs 2000 or Rs 15000? No transparency in conservancy fees for use of public spaces

September 4, 2017 Akshatha M

Organisers had to shell out Rs 15000, as against the Rs 2000 initially quoted, for each of two concerts held on Besant Nagar during the Marghazi Festival this year, but have since been trying in vain to substantiate the official basis for these charges.

Chennai to focus on overall service parameters in new SWM contract: GCC Commissioner

August 18, 2017 Akshatha M

Under new system, contractor payments will be based not on quantity alone but on more holistic indicators such as segregation, collection and cleanliness of bins and streets, says Commissioner D Karthikeyan in a freewheeling chat with Akshatha M.

Legal battles looming as Chennai plans to regularise 10000 buildings

August 14, 2017 Akshatha M

Under guidelines issued by the Urban Development Department, all unauthorised buildings built before July 1 2007 can be regularised upon payment of a penalty.