Environmental, Social Justice & Governance Initiatives
Read the report of a workshop ESG organised to introspect how Bengaluru metropolis’ blue green commons can be reclaimed & transformed into healthy, sylvan, inclusive and accessible spaces.
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ESG invites you to a public workshop on:
“Reclaim and Turn Inclusive Bengaluru and its Blue-Green Commons” on Saturday, 4th February, 2023 at SCM House, 2nd Cross Road, CSI Compound, Mission Road, Sampangi Rama Nagar, Bengaluru, 01:30 pm to 07:00 pm.
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Leo F. Saldanha, the coordinator of the non-profit Environment Support Group, which has been litigating for lake preservation for over two decades, says,
“All these were natural agricultural wetlands. But while putting up buildings, planners should have ensured space for water to collect and interlinkages to lakes downstream if they overflowed. It was a very simple thing to do, but we ignored it and the citizens are paying the price—as we all experienced in the recent floods.”
The concretising didn’t stop with roads; like a cancer it spread across to pavements, as paved regions into parks, and even into urban forests like Turahalli where, thankfully, public resistance stopped it. But the phenomenon is so widespread now, that it shows up in satellite imageries, and when it rains, the city floods in no time as there is simply no open ground for water to percolate. And in summer ‘heat islands’ result, desiccating what little greenery is left.
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A conversation to discuss what caused 2022 Bengaluru Floods, and how this is a recurring phenomenon.
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The city needs granular administrative and planning responses to help identify the poor who are forced to live in flood prone areas out of sheer necessity. They cannot be evicted and thrown to the streets.
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Bengaluru witnessed torrential rains and floods that created a disastrous impact. As a result, a large part of #Bengaluru was underwater.
The New Indian Express spoke to experts to understand the cause and effect of this concerning issue.Experts go on to state that rapid construction, encroachment, and corruption are behind the crisis.
How did the city manage such flooding, being the epicentre of India’s science & technology prowess? Were the software giants located along the city’s Outer Ring Road aware of the risks? Could they have worked on mitigating and managing it better?
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The IT Capital of India which was well on the path of becoming the second Silicon Valley of the world couldn’t wait for carefully and inclusively planned Bengaluru.
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For over two decades, ESG has focussed on emerging urban environmental and socio-economic challenges and worked with multiple communities, government agencies, academia, media, etc. in attending to these issues and conflicts.
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At a time when the meeting of minds is so very rare, this effort by the All Saints Church congregation, BMRCL, Government of Karnataka, and various supporters of the cause, including ESG, stands out as representative of the enormous possibilities of democratic engagement. The conciliation mechanism organised by EIB helped in this process. This also helped ensure that the contestations did not end up in Court, burdening further the judiciary, and without a clear outcome in sight.
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The IPCC sixth assessment report released early April notes that climate misinformation can jeopardise climate action and weaken public demand for mitigation and adaptation measures. The report acknowledges the role of misinformation in fuelling polarisation, saying, “Together with the proliferation of suspicions of “fake news” and “post-truth”, some traditional and social media contents have fuelled polarisation and partisan divides on climate change in many countries.”
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While the effort in consulting the public priorly is appreciated, several concerns have emerged about the process.
Read moreThe All Saints Church, a 152-year-old heritage structure is under threat as construction for the Benglaluru metro is set to begin in its premises.
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Leo Saldhana in conversation with Revathi Rajeevan of New 18 on the recent flooding in North Bengaluru
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Download the Bengaluru’s Climate Action Report by ESG India. Available for download in English & Kannada.
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Week 9 of “Bengaluru’s Climate Action Plan: Making it Participatory and Inclusive”An initiative of Environment Support Group, Bengaluru Background Earlier
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The outcome of this final session would include voices from all sector and sections of the city that will assist the city in developing its Climate Action Plan to benefit present and future generations, in an intergenerational perspective, and inspired by Vasudaiva Kutumbakam.
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The ‘smart city’ projects have skewed relationships between intent and impact, with massive investments being made in gentrified neighborhoods to the neglect of most other areas of the metropolis. Meanwhile, investments in essential social, education and health infrastructure remain stagnant and are even declining. Would turning planning and development into deeply democratic and decentralised processes and promoting self-sufficient neighborhoods be the answer to reducing the carbon footprint of the metropolis and adapting Bengaluru to climate change impacts?
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“Environmental justice, transportation justice, street justice are all deeply political matters, and to see it merely from a technical perspective will not give us the answers…It is also important to try and create a network where it doesn’t become a government-driven system alone. As consumers we have power. As consumers, we are not effectively networked to propel the transformation that is essential”
Read moreThank you to those of you who have joined us in the ongoing webinar series “Bengaluru’s Climate Action: Making it Participatory and
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Everyone pays a very high price for mobility in Bengaluru. Incredible traffic snarls cost precious time, money, infrastructure and public health, and substantially erode the ‘salubrious’ quality of the metropolis. With an astonishing 0.8 to 1 vehicle to population ratio, Bengaluru metropolitan area is amongst the most fossil fuel dependent urban spaces globally. Air quality is significantly deteriorating, resulting in severe health impacts, especially for the poor and marginalised.
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“Is it possible to keep this city running with this pattern of consumption and demand for energy? How are BESCOM and KPTCL sustaining this supply? What are the challenges of the petrochemical sector in supporting fuel demands? Is there a way that we could shift to more sustainable sources, such as renewable energy, and can those transitions be just for all involved? Will such just transitions require Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Authorities to imagine futures that are based on sustainable energy systems, in contrast with the prevailing extractive and unsustainable systems? And can we ensure all homes (be they of rich, poor or middle classes), institutions, offices, government buildings will find ways to consume less power and shift to alternate forms of locally generated power?”
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Date: 26th April 2021, Monday, 6:00 PM India on Zoom Pls note: Registration is not required if you have already
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“Commons bring people of the city together. It gives an opportunity to mix people from various communities…In a public park you will find people from a diverse set of communities; people from across caste and class economic status and so on and that is important for us to broaden our minds also. Otherwise we are just limited and living in our own silos”
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