Latest news with #UrbanAdda
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Urban Adda 2025: Aravalli collapse will cripple NCR's climate defences, warn experts
As bulldozers inch deeper into the Aravallis and unchecked urban sprawl carves away its ancient ridgelines, experts at Urban Adda 2025 issued a stark warning — the degradation of the Aravalli ecosystem could upend Delhi-NCR's fight against air pollution, water scarcity, and urban heat. Speaking at a panel co-hosted by GuruJal and the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Delhi, environmentalists called the Aravallis not just a green buffer but the region's last line of defence against environmental disaster. 'Creeks and groundwater recharge zones are vanishing,' said Dr Ranjana Ray Chaudhuri of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). 'This is not just biodiversity loss — it's a suicide pact with climate.' The warning is particularly relevant to Gurugram, where encroachments into the protected Aravalli range have intensified. Despite court orders and safeguards under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), large tracts of forest land have been carved up for illegal farmhouses, luxury villas and wedding venues in areas such as Raisina, Gwal Pahari, Sohna, Ghata, and Basai Mev. Entire hillsides have been flattened to make way for private estates, often registered as agricultural land on paper. Activists said the scale of tree-felling and topsoil stripping has triggered aquifer collapse, desertification, and a dramatic loss of native wildlife. Chetan Agarwal, forest analyst and senior fellow at CEDAR, said Delhi-NCR's next Master Plan must integrate natural conservation zones (NCZs) with legal mandates. 'We can't afford another planning document that ignores the ecological spine of this region. The Aravallis are not empty land for exploitation — they're living infrastructure essential for resilience.' Nidhi Madan of Raahgiri Foundation echoed the urgency, calling the destruction 'an irreversible ecological crime'. 'Cities must adapt to the geography they occupy — not bulldoze it. What's happening in the Aravallis is not growth, it is erasure,' she said. The panel called for an empowered Aravalli Conservation Taskforce to crack down on illegal construction, monitor deforestation, and prosecute offenders. They also pushed for a joint conservation pact between Haryana and Rajasthan, backed by the Supreme Court's central empowered committee (CEC), to conduct updated surveys and rehabilitate degraded zones. As Delhi-NCR grapples with rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and worsening air quality, the message at Urban Adda was unequivocal: saving the Aravallis is no longer optional — it's the survival strategy for the capital.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
"Go Electric, Go Now" Message From G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant To Tackle Delhi Pollution
Delhi becomes unlivable for three months a year, noted G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, underlining the severe economic and health burden of air pollution. Speaking at a high-level event (Urban Adda) on World Environment Day, he noted that air pollution is cutting life expectancy by 6.3 years and costing the economy Rs 100,000 crore annually - nearly 3% of India's GDP. Mr Kant laid out a clear and urgent roadmap for Delhi and other urban centres to tackle pollution head-on: * Electrify all 2-and 3-wheelers within a year * Mandate electric for all new taxis and convert current fleets within 24 months * Ensure all school buses are electric or retrofitted in 2 years * Shift all brick kilns to cleaner zigzag technology * Install FGD and DSI units in all thermal power plants * Adopt electric boilers in SMEs, powered by rooftop solar "We must leapfrog to clean energy. Don't waste time or money on legacy technologies. Go electric, go now," he urged. Backing this call, Rajesh Verma, Chairperson of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), revealed how Delhi's infrastructure hasn't kept up with the vehicle explosion. From 1981 to 2021, the number of vehicles in Delhi-NCR rose 21-fold, while road infrastructure only doubled, dangerous imbalance choking the city. Mr Verma stressed that technology must be backed by enforcement and behavioural change, but also pointed to positive developments: * 25% of Delhi's bus fleet is now electric, with 7,600+ e-buses deployed * 'Good' AQI days are up by 30% in the last 7 years * 'Severe' pollution days have fallen by nearly 25% As a major step toward cleaner air, CAQM and Raahgiri Foundation have signed an MoU to create a Resources Lab for dust pollution control. This hub will train urban officials from NCR cities in sustainable road design, dust mitigation, and non-motorized transport providing them the tools and techniques for long-term environmental resilience.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
India wants EVs—but where are they? Experts flag supply gaps
Urbanisation isn't a threat—it's a launchpad for innovation, equity, and sustainability, said MP and former Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Wednesday, as speakers at Urban Adda 2025 weighed in on how Indian cities can become future-ready and inclusive. But as urban centres expand, the conversation quickly turned to one of the key transitions underway: the commercial shift to electric vehicles (EVs). In a dedicated session, entrepreneurs and mobility experts flagged how the momentum is being slowed by infrastructure and policy bottlenecks, as well as missteps in India's push for localisation. They agreed that there is demand for commercial EVs, but the supply has been inadequate. Chanpreet Singh, co-founder of Bushwitz, said cost parity remains a major barrier for fleet operators. 'The cost difference between traditional and electric vehicles is around 50-400%, but operating cost is one-third or one-fourth. Logistics owners want to switch, but they've been working in a plug-and-play system they understand. EVs still suffer from inconsistent charging ports, patchy infrastructure, and restricted supply,' he said. Singh also warned against copying internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle formats in the EV segment. 'We should allow mature global products to enter and let Indian players develop independently. Rushing to localise without readiness risks eroding both performance and customer trust,' he said. Neha Jain of JSW MG Motors argued that sustainability is not enough of a market driver on its own. 'No Indian buyer is going to pay more simply because a vehicle is made locally. The push for localisation will follow scale, not the other way around,' she said. IV Rao, distinguished fellow at TERI, said the old assumption that localisation automatically leads to lower costs may no longer hold. 'With highly automated manufacturing for key components like battery cells already established in China, India's cost advantage isn't as straightforward as before,' he said. Organised by Raahgiri Foundation in collaboration with the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and GuruJal at the India Habitat Centre, the three-day Urban Adda brings together voices in mobility, public space, sustainability, and governance. Hindustan Times is the media partner for the event. The day closed with a session celebrating the arts as a cornerstone of inclusive urban design. Artists, designers and city storytellers discussed how culture can stitch together fragmented urban experiences, preserve heritage, and foster civic identity. On the sidelines, Gurujal and Xebia also announced a new water neutrality project in Jaipur's Smriti Van, focusing on rejuvenating water bodies and wastewater reuse.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
No more excuses: Experts urge enforcement to tackle Gurugram waste
In Gurugram, the waste is everywhere, but solutions remain scattered — garbage burns in backyards, landfills spill over, and plastic clogs the streets. The problem isn't just a pile-up anymore; it's a slow burn on the city's edges. On Day Two of Urban Adda, sectoral experts didn't mince words: the city's waste crisis is no longer about awareness. It's about action, enforcement, and political will. The session, co-hosted by Gurgaon First and the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), brought together city planners, environmentalists, urban practitioners, and corporate leaders to reimagine how cities manage waste. The ongoing Urban Adda series is organised by the Raahgiri Foundation, with HT as media partner. Delivering the keynote, Shyamala Mani, senior advisor for WASH and waste management at the Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC), said India already has progressive frameworks — the Solid Waste Management Rules (2016) and Extended Producer Responsibility guidelines for plastic — but poor enforcement has stalled impact. 'Cities like Gurugram must lead in implementing what already exists,' she said. Mani stressed the urgent need for municipalities to activate regulatory provisions, empower their enforcement units, and create real-time tracking systems to monitor waste flows. 'The tools are already out there — decentralised composting, waste-to-energy integration, digitised collection. What's missing is trained manpower, committed budgets, and political backing,' she said. Gurugram, despite being one of India's leading economic hubs, has repeatedly drawn criticism for its inadequate solid waste infrastructure. With two choked landfill sites, unregulated dumping in vacant plots, rampant burning of mixed waste, and irregular door-to-door collection, the city's waste problem has become symbolic of its broader urban mismanagement. 'This is no longer just a sanitation issue — it's a crisis of health, planning, and environmental justice,' said Shubhra Puri, founding director of Gurgaon First and moderator of the panel. 'Gurugram's failure to adopt decentralised, community-driven solutions is glaring. We need a complete rethink — built not just on infrastructure, but on behaviour change and design.' Bidisha Chattopadhyay, faculty at SPA and expert in urban infrastructure, pointed to systemic gaps in city planning. 'Our master plans don't account for waste. There's no space allocated for compost pits, dry waste centres, or e-waste drop-off points,' she said. 'Unless we redesign cities for waste resilience, we'll continue to rely on outdated centralised systems that collapse under pressure.' Adding a ground-level perspective, Bhairavi Joshi, director of BYCS India and founder of Trrayaam, shared success stories of zero-waste neighbourhoods, community composting units, and informal recycling groups. 'The pieces are in place — but the government needs to scale and support them. If MCG partners with these efforts and integrates them into formal systems, replication becomes possible,' she said. Sanjar Ali from WRI India flagged the air quality impact. 'Our studies show landfill fires and open burning significantly worsen PM2.5 and black carbon levels. Waste management is a health emergency, not just a civic one.' Offering the private sector view, Rajneesh Kumar, vice-president of Sustainability and ESG at MakeMyTrip, said national policies were well framed but patchy in implementation — especially in Tier 2 and 3 cities. 'Private players must support local bodies — through sustainable packaging, reducing single-use plastics, and funding green waste zones,' he said. MakeMyTrip, he added, is exploring eco-hospitality solutions in cities like Gurugram. The panel concluded with a call to shift from a waste disposal mindset to a circular economy approach — minimising waste generation, maximising resource recovery, and redesigning urban systems for long-term resilience. The path forward, they agreed, must rest on four pillars: policy coherence, community participation, decentralised infrastructure, and corporate collaboration.
Time of India
4 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Urban Adda conference discusses Vision Zero accessible cities and road safety measures
New Delhi: Highlighting 'Vision Zero', a global movement aiming to completely eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries, Geetam Tiwari, professor emeritus at the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme, IIT-Delhi, on Tuesday underlined the crucial role that speed plays in controlling road accidents. Speaking at Urban Adda, a three-day conference aiming to bring together ideas and successful demonstrations of work on sustainable and equitable cities, Tiwari said, "According to global studies, when speed exceeds 30 kmph, the chances of serious injury and death are more than 85%. When we are designing urban arterials for a speed of 60 kmph, we need separate pedestrian and bicycle paths. But when the speed is maintained at 30 kmph or below on lower category roads, we don't need separate paths. " She added that for roads with school zones, the speed must be lower than 20 kmph. The event is being hosted by Raahgiri Foundation and co-hosted by GuruJal and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). During the panel discussion on 'Vision Zero: An Approach Towards Zero Traffic Deaths and Serious Injuries', Rajesh Kumar Mohan, DCP (traffic), Gurgaon, said, "We use integrated command and control centres to issue postal challans, but now we have gone a step further. We are using smart matrices to identify daily commuters who do not violate traffic rules. So far, we found six such individuals, and we will soon felicitate them as 'traffic warriors'. " Another session was held on 'User Experience Accessibility and Inclusion by Design' in which four volunteers shared their experience after spending five minutes in the life of a person with a disability. Two volunteers navigated the room in wheelchairs, one was blindfolded, and the fourth was made to walk on crutches. Noting it was hard to navigate the room, the volunteers stressed on the need to be empathetic towards persons with disabilities. Stuti Kacker, former secretary, ministry of social justice and empowerment, said, "In the early days of the Accessible India campaign, people would ask us a question: where are persons with disabilities? We realised that they are generally isolated and not willing to come out much. Therefore, there is a need to create more visibility around that." Kacker said that after 10 years of the Accessible India campaign, there is more awareness about the needs of persons with disabilities. But, she added, "We still have a long way to go to ensure accessibility for all." During the panel discussion, Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, corporate communications, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, said Delhi Metro was among the first public transport systems to incorporate accessibility features, including tactile strips, audio announcements and ramps for elevators. "Persons with disabilities can call the station master at any metro station to ask for crutches or wheelchairs. The staff guides them to the platform," Dayal said, adding that in lifts, buttons are placed at a low height and there are seats for persons with disabilities in each train set. "We constantly try to improve and take feedback from the passengers. We try to adopt models from across the world," he said.
