Author name: GurgaonFirst

Last week, as World Environment Day was approaching, I asked a group of 10-year olds to write a short essay on the topic “less is more”. They were clueless and confused and nonchalantly asked me how less could be more. I took them to my childhood days when sharing clothes and books were common, there was less wastage, and we thought of ingenious ways to recycle things. Those were the days when everything carried a higher “perceived value” and less was indeed more. I went on to explain to them that for every single thing that we produce, we consume some precious resource such as energy, wood, water and others, and that it was high time each one of us took a re-look at our daily living and consumption patterns and made “ethical” and “mindful” choices. Today, it is not economic compulsions, but the plight of our environment that is compelling us to adopt sustainable ways. While we do talk about managing resources wisely, there is still very little focus on reduction of consumption. Buying more things than we actually need seems to give us some sense of security and ownership. So, we end up owning more assets that we need — more cars, bigger homes, more clothes, more food items to stack up our refrigerators. Besides, the more stuff we buy, the more shopping bags and packaging material we bring home. Till recently, we never understood the connect between environment and consumerism. But now we do. We are beginning to realise that our consumption ways are responsible for depleting resources, shrinking forests; and deteriorating air and water quality. How do we make the qualitative shift? At our homes, we need to shift to equipments and processes that consume less energy, recycle waste and conserve water. This could be done through a variety of things such as switching to energy efficient devices such as LEDs, CFLs , energy star-rated appliances, solar power and sunlight during the day, opting for a bucket bath rather than a shower, recycling water, using taps and faucets that conserve water, installing rainwater harvesting systems, and composting kitchen waste and using compost for your kitchen garden. Opting to walk or cycle shorter distances, using public transport and avoiding use of diesel cars are greener choices in transport. There are endless possibilities — all we need is readiness to switch. In fact, new houses and buildings can be designed in a way that conserves resources. Communities including resident welfare associations too can install rainwater harvesting, recycle grey water, switch to solar and reduce reliance on DG sets and undertake community kitchen waste composting. Several retail products ranging from jeans, t-shirts and shoes to fruits and vegetables are available that have been produced using more sustainable products and processes. Clothing from recycling plastic waste too is available. Sustainable choices today may be more expensive or hander to find, but they are the right choices. Sustainable packaging too could be a differentiator when choosing what to buy. As demand for such products increases, consumers will find them easily and cost too will reduce over time. Besides, as a society, we will have to make “sharing of resources” more popular. Carpooling, for instance saves cost and planet’s resources. Technology platforms and mobile applications today have made sharing resources a very viable and practical options. In fact, technology is also enabling people to “work from home” or “freelancing” and it may not be long before physical office spaces may become redundant. In future, cities too would have to be designed in a “hub and spoke” transit manner where residential areas, schools and work places are all in the vicinity of each other. Some innovative concepts that are fast catching up are worth taking a note. A crockery bank of steel utensils run in Gurugram lends free crockery for parties and events, negating the need to buy thermocol or plastic cutlery for one-time use. Feeding India is a non-profit organisation that channelises food from individuals, weddings, restaurants and corporate offices to people who really need it. Other mobile applications too are preventing food wastage by collecting food from hotels and restaurants and distributing it in night shelters and orphanages. Recently, in Suncity, in Sector 54, Gurugram a first-of-its-kind community fridge was inaugurated where residents keep food that can be used by anyone at anytime. More such open fridges are being put up in Gurugram in the coming months. So the next time you feel the urge to buy something, ask yourself if you really need it. Make informed choices and make “sharing resources” your second nature. The children, meanwhile, promised that they will create a “sharing club” in their class to share books and games and buy fewer new things from the market. Way to go!

Declared as the most polluted city in the world last winter, Gurugram will have to take multi-pronged steps to improve its air quality. One relatively easier step it can take is to switch to solar energy. This option is relatively easier because, along with reducing the reliance on polluting gensets, this clean, smoke-free source of energy can also bring commercial gains via the reduction in electricity bills. With the introduction of progressive solar policies of Haryana, presence of large buildings, more than 300 sunny days and the presence of International Solar Alliance as well as the National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram is quite ideally placed to become a solar-powered city. The good news is that about 40MW of solar rooftops have already been installed in the city, up from 25MW achieved till last year. With concerted efforts, the city can easily become a 200-MW solar rooftop city by 2022. Haryana is targeting to add 1,600-MW solar rooftops by 2022. However, only 150-MW rooftops have been installed in the state so far. The potential is huge. However, it is only when households and residential complexes start adopting solar power that the Gurugram would truly become a solar city. With the installation of 350 kwp of solar power, Wellington RWA in DLF-5 has become the largest RWA solar installation in Haryana. At least five more residential complexes, Hewo Apartment-i, Maple Heights, Davinder Vihar, DLF Icon and Bestech Park View Residency, have also been solarised. The not-so-good news is that as solar becomes popular, the 30% subsidy that some solar installers enjoy may soon become a thing of the past. The subsidy will be removed first for institutions such as schools, NGOS etc and then for the households. But with falling costs of solar panel costs and the declining payback periods, there is every merit in switching to solar energy even without subsidies. Consider this. Payback periods are now as low as four years with subsidy and six years without subsidy. This means that one can recover the cost within this period and subsequently enjoy free gains in electricity bills for the next 19-20 years easily, as the life of solar panels is about 25 years. The real “game changer” in making solar energy economical has been the provision of net metering. A solar installer becomes a “prosumer” i.e. both producer and consumer of electricity, using the solar energy produced at his rooftop, and feeding the surplus produced into the grid. Through a bi-directional net meter, electricity can be both taken from and be given back to the grid, and the consumer only pays for the net electricity drawn from the grid. If his rooftop production is more than what he needs, the extra energy can be “banked” in the grid, with the distribution company, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Limited (DHBVNL), and can be drawn back over a period of a year. If his rooftop production is less than what he needs, he only draws the deficit amount from DHBVNL that is charged at a predetermined tariff rate by the distribution company. Haryana may not be a front-runner in solar power as compared to states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh or even the neighbouring Rajasthan, but it has a very attractive solar policy and net-metering policy. The prosumer in Haryana can install a system of the capacity that matches his sanctioned load. The net metering policy of Haryana allows the solar installers to export solar electricity at the “same price” at which he buys conventional power from the grid. Since, consumer’s consumption from the grid reduces due to switching to solar, the consumer shifts to a lower slab in the tariff rate card, and lower slabs ensure lower electricity rates. Besides, as per an order in October 2018, solar users in Haryana can claim a rebate — ₹ 1 per unit for every unit of electricity generated from solar energy. Another ₹ 1 per unit is available for those with battery back-up, which is a slightly expensive system. This rebate is on the gross amount of solar installed at the end of the financial year. Despite these policies, the solar rooftop penetration in Gurugram is still low. There are concerns of high upfront costs ( ₹ 50,000- ₹ 1, 00,000 per kwh), techno-commercial risks, complicated procedures, and lack of time and effort needed to deal with vendors and agencies such as Haryana Renewable Energy Department (HAREDA), for the subsidy, and DHBVNL, for net metering. Greater public awareness can help gain consumers to gain confidence. Solar needs to be viewed as a commodity just like mobile phones. Besides, innovative financing schemes by banks are needed. The HAREDA and the DHBVNL must show greater agility and focus. Solarising not only reduces electricity bills but also control rising pollution. Those who produce solar and pass electricity into the grid are actually reducing the reliance on conventional energy, reducing their carbon footprint and contributing to nation building! Let us tap the good sun on our rooftops for a clean and green future.

Lack of empowered local governance is one the biggest challenges facing Indian cities today. A city like Gurugram, which contributes to more than 70% of Haryana’s revenue, has to depend on the state government for sanction and approval of projects. This is indeed very disempowering. Gurugram put in place its third tier of governance in 2011 by electing 35 councillors and a mayor. However, the fact that these councillors have little power to implement the city’s development agenda also makes its local governance weak. What can empower local governance to a large extent is implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment (CAA). It can make our municipal corporations autonomous and efficient, empower our councillors and mayors, remove the multiplicity of agencies, make ward committees more effective and even attract better local talent to enter politics. Basically, the CAA shifts the control from the state to the city and enhances the city’s ability to use the funds as per its needs. However, despite over 20 years of the legislation becoming effective, state governments have delayed, not implemented the CAA either in full spirit or at all to retain their powers on cities. All the major neighbouring states of Haryana, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, have implemented the legislation, then why is Haryana elusive regarding it? To be sure, this is what the 74th CAA grants — First, there are 18 civic functions that are mentioned in the 74th CAA including sanitation, roads, health care, urban planning, water supply, public parks, street vendors, public transport, street animals etc that must rest with the municipal body. It basically means that the municipal corporation is a complete city government with a constitutionally defined clear mandate. Second, it grants powers to mayors. Mayors of London, New York and even Shanghai run their cities as CEOs. As the mayor of New York City during the terror attack of September 11, 2001, Rudy Giuliani played a vital role, coordinating the efforts of all city departments and making all the key announcements in the media. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on his first official visit to the US, his first meeting was with the mayor of New York. Such is the importance of the mayor. How many of us know who the present mayor of Gurugram is? Are these positions merely ceremonial? Mayors are democratically elected for a period of five years by the people. They should have more powers and accountability since commissioners are bureaucrats who are frequently transferred. Gurugram had seen eight MCG commissioners come and go in a period of four years in the recent past. In a welcome move, however, the Haryana cabinet approved the direct election of mayors last year, which means the voter will cast vote for both the ward councillor and the mayor. Earlier, the councillors, after ward elections, elected the mayor among themselves and there was a lot of horse-trading to garner support. This move also ensures that better candidates from the city will stand independently for the mayor’s post. Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, Yamunanagar and Panipat, which had elections last October, have already benefitted by this move, and so will Gurugram when it goes for elections in a couple of years. The third thing that the CAA ensures is the presence of effective and operational ward committees. Gurugram has in fact hurriedly set up the ward committees in January this year to garner points under the Swachh Sarvekshan Survey. The MCG has set up a 13-member ward committee in each of the 35 wards of Gurugram to oversee sanitation, water supply, parks etc at the ward level. These committees would be chaired by councillors and progressive citizens and members of non-governmental organizations would be members of the committee. One nodal officer from the MCG will oversee the work of these committees in each ward. Creating ward committees is one thing; however making them effective tools of local governance is quite another. Let us hope these committees help in improving citizen’s participation, councillor’s interests and resolution of local civic issues. Because of the lack of implementation of 74th CAA, the MCG has a low threshold for expenditure. Its limit to decide on projects is Rs 25 million. Besides, budgets are often not presented on time. The budgeting quality itself is questionable. Citizen’s participation in budget allocation is non-existent. Robust revenue streams such as stamp duties and entertainment taxes are not devolved fully to the urban local bodies. Since, multiple authorities are involved, the total resources spent on civic projects, such as building roads, is unclear. The 74th CAA if implemented well can help in creating better budgeting and accounting standards, gaining better control of municipal finances, granting more autonomy to municipal corporation to decide on its needs of manpower, and ushering other urban reforms. Decentralised governance is the need of the hour. By creating decentralised platforms of autonomy, we are encouraging the citizen of the land to get interested in local issues, to feel empowered and be engaged in the affairs of the city. There will be a better turnout of voters and more competent and honest people will start contesting elections. We will then have mayors who are good administrators and have a vision for the city. Besides, cities are the fulcrum of our economic growth. They cannot be operated through remote controls. Further, they are not the ATMs of state government that can be milked whenever needed. Certainly Gurugram is not. It has been made what it is today by its people, its industry, its entrepreneurial spirit and its civic society. Implement the 74th CAA in Haryana, and let Gurugram decide its own destiny.

The Swachh Sarvekshan 2020 is currently on. It assesses the cleanliness standards of various cities. While there is a visible buzz in Gurugram with cleanliness and awareness drives at key markets and city events, I hope the fervour does not die down after the survey is over. Recently, I was at an awareness drive where I asked young participants a simple “waste quiz”. One of my questions was what do the 3Rs mean, and while the answer came back in a jiffy, I feel we as individuals can still do a lot to adopt the “reduce-reuse-recycle” mantra in our daily lives. Allow me to remind you of a word called “kifayat” that is commonly used in our parlance. It means to have a simple, moderate “mindful” lifestyle with no extravagance or frugality. Perhaps, there is no matching word for it in the English dictionary. “Prudent” is close, but does not fully describe it. Indians have been known to be “kifayati” people. This quality has helped us to not only save our pockets and keep away from mental stress, but also the pressure on the environment. Remember how in our childhood our mothers reinvented another use of an item before relegating it to the waste basket. And, we were so happy when passed down with clothes and books from our cousins and friends. Somewhere down the line, smart advertising and rising affordability has compelled us to become over-the-top consumers. The “new” allures us — new models, new versions, and a lesser new thing is now outdated. Let’s admit it, flaunting new acquisitions gives us an ego boost. Moreover, thanks to social media, there is an unsaid pressure of not repeating dresses at social events that forces us to load our wardrobes unnecessarily. What’s more, the mega sales are “cheeky” enough to make us buy more than what we need. We buy three bottles of ketch-up just to get the fourth one free. I have always noticed that I somehow spend more time and money when I shop for my monthly supplies at big stores in malls, vis-à-vis when I buy from a local kirana shop. As a result, wastages are common. We no longer feel the guilt in single use and throw. And, our landfills continue to pile up. Sadly, it suits all and nobody complains. More buying fuels the economy and makes the government and the manufacturing, packaging and retail companies happy. What it does hurt most is the environment. Wasteful consumption leads to wasteful production that plunders natural resources. What we must not forget is that while we have a limitless right to our money, we do not have a limitless right to our natural resources. The planet’s natural wealth — forest, water, and air — cannot be taken for granted any more. Besides, social inequities are increasing. Someone has dozens of sweaters to choose from and another has not even one to save himself/herself from the harsh winters. For all these reasons, it’s high time we became “mindful” consumers. We can reduce our electricity usage through use of efficient appliances and lighting systems, solar energy and optimally using daylight. We can save water by opting for bucket bath instead of shower bath, recycling grey water, reusing RO water and installing rainwater harvesting systems at our homes. We can send less waste to the landfills by using our kitchen waste to make compost for our plants and gardens. We can save fuel by car pooling, walking, cycling and using public transport. Most plastic materials are single-use; plastic used in packaging, cutlery, water bottles, straws can be easily avoided. Carrying our own cloth bag for shopping and a metal water bottle when moving out of home is a small habit change that does not hurt much. And, we can start making sharing “cool” again. I do see some positive changes around. A friend recently announced at her birthday party that she will not buy anything for herself for a year. Another friend is quitting online shopping completely as she finds it needlessly impulsive. Some youngsters I know have reduced or stopped ordering food online as it comes with heavy packaging. Parents feel happy to announce that their child birthday party is a “green” party where no plastic cutlery or plastic decoration has been used. A few satsang groups in the city have started borrowing utensils from the city’s crockery bank. People have started saying “no” to gifts and instead urging their invitees to donate for causes and charities they espouse. Having a kitchen garden and growing vegetables at home has become fashionable. So friends, knowing about 3Rs is good; but what we need is to put it in practice. It may be too much of a stretch to adopt all sustainable practices in one go. Let’s start by being “mindful” and adopting one practice at a time. And let’s flaunt minimalism and make it infectious, even fashionable. After all, we need to inspire others to grow the minimalistic tribe till it becomes a mass movement.

A few days ago, the news that Gurugram was the world’s most polluted city in 2018, as per the data released by IQAir Visual and Greenpeace, hit the headlines. (Ghaziabad stood at number two, Faridabad at number four; seven Indian cities were among the world’s top 10 polluted cities). Clearly, as a country, we have set our priorities for development wrong. What is most disappointing is that even with the general elections just around the corner, the issue of pollution is nowhere being publicly discussed by political parties in their election manifestos. As one of the fastest growing cities of north India, Gurugram has paid a high price for development. We must be fools to not realise that pollution will eventually impact Gurugram’s ability to attract investment and talent. From what I hear from my friends in corporate roles, conversations about moving corporate offices out of Gurugram are not uncommon. More aware citizens, especially those who have lived outside India, have been shouting from the rooftops about the deteriorating air quality on social media groups for a while now. Affected families with children are also saying goodbye to the city. The ‘liveability index’ of the city is certainly at its lowest ebb. Pollution is a complex problem to tackle especially in India, which has democratic structures aligned to populist politics and diverse stakeholders’ priorities. Unless there is political willingness to take drastic steps, nothing much will change. Besides, authorities need to back the policies with stringent enforcement. Last but not the least, citizens have to be fully engaged as drastic steps and enforcement will mean some pain for the larger good of a cleaner environment. After all, we must remember that progressive cities are those that have quality integrated public transport, walking and cycling tracks, are low on emissions, adopt solar energy, make sustainability and inclusiveness their priority. These are certainly not cities that thrust more and more cars on their roads, then build more roads and flyovers to accommodate these cars and, soon enough, have choking roads. So, where do we start? Planning to fight pollution is as important as fighting it. We need to have a national action plan with clear short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. In each city, a multi-disciplinary high-level committee (with citizens’ involvement) must review the problem on a regular basis. Gurugram currently has only two air quality monitoring stations, at Gawal Pahari and Vikas Sadan. A city of its size must have at least eight air monitoring stations. And the city should have regular analytical assessments on the causes and trends of the problem. The high-power pollution committee in Gurugram must focus on one or two immediate ‘actionables’ to set it on a course of correction. The main culprits of pollution are dust, vehicular emissions, and waste burning and dumping. To control dust, construction sites that flout construction norms should be duly covered need to be monitored closely. Besides, C&D waste cannot be allowed to be thrown. Trucks carrying construction material should also be covered well. Water sprinklers can also be used. Vehicular emissions can be controlled by better pollution checks, avoiding traffic jams, encouraging e-rickshaws, improving public transport and last-mile connectivity, as well as introducing non-motorised infrastructure. Decentralised waste solutions will reduce transportation costs and congestion of over-loaded trucks of garbage going to and fro to landfills. In all this, enforcements by authorities will play a key role — we need strict penalties for non-compliance at construction sites, waste burning, C&D waste dumping and tree-felling. Citizens’ education and awareness will play a key role in creating vital checks in neighbourhoods. Fighting pollution is also about raising collective consciousness at an individual and community level. Can we limit ownership of multiple cars, not buy luxury SUVs/diesel cars, opt for car-pooling, go ‘car-free’ once a week, compost our kitchen waste, switch to solar energy, and plant trees? The beauty of embarking on the sustainable trip is that different steps all integrate at one level and one positive cycle builds the other. If we improve the waste cycle, we will see both water and air cycles improve as well. So, if we start solidly somewhere, it won’t be long before we start seeing synergistic gains elsewhere. Recently, Gurugram scored a poor 83 ranking (among 99 cities in its category) in 2019’s Swachh Survekshan. It may not be misplaced to say that had our Swachh Survekshan rankings been better, that would have reflected well on our pollution scorecards as well. We have all heard the story of how the greedy farmer cut his goose that lays golden eggs in the hope of getting all the eggs in one stroke. Gurugram is the golden goose of Haryana. Let’s not exploit it to the point of no return!

James Cameron, the director of the globally acclaimed film Avatar, once said that his film was a lesson for humankind to stop damaging the environment. But blockbuster movies such as Avatar, the stark evidence of climate change around us, and green awareness campaigns have still not made us realise that we cannot any longer mess with our environment and that the human race must formulate strong policies to protect the environment. But we continue to pollute our skies, our oceans and rivers, denude our forests and exhaust our natural resources in the name of development. If the life-sustaining systems of our planet get choked, who will be left to enjoy the fruits of this so-called development? It will be a hopeless future for us and our children. For landlocked areas especially, forests are the most vital life-sustaining systems. They do much more than provide a green canopy. They purify the air, bind the soil, prevent floods, help in water recharge, and are home to some rare species of flora and fauna. Perhaps that is why they are called the healing forests. For a city like Gurugram, where air pollution is high, porous ground surface is negligible and green belts are few and far between, the presence of the Aravallis is the lifeline for the city’s residents and the last vestige of hope for the city’s fast-degrading environment. Gurugram sadly is also a city where hungry real-estate developers are vying to grab every any inch of land for construction and profiteering. This mountain range of India that majestically lines the skyline of the city has been under a constant threat. A few activists have been trying to save this precious cover through petitions and court orders. But they find themselves up against a powerful lobby. Recently, in a blatantly irresponsible move, the 118-year-old Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), which legally protects and preserves the Aravallis, was amended in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, opening room for uninhibited construction in the Aravallis. Environmentalists are calling this amendment nothing short of an “ecological disaster”. The Act protects areas ‘not notified’ under the Indian Forest Act as reserve or protected forest in Punjab and Haryana. In effect, the PLPA in Haryana extends protection to forests and trees on private lands, community lands, panchayat and municipal lands in both the Aravallis in South Haryana and the Shivaliks in North Haryana. The amendment accords unlimited powers to the government to classify land as it pleases. This will legalise all the illegal transactions, mining and construction undertaken on these lands. At risk are 16,000 plus acres of forest in Gurugram and 10,000 plus acres of forest in Faridabad, as well as 10,000 acres of Shivalik hills around Chandigarh. Natural forests, such as the Aravallis and the Shivaliks, should be permanently protected for all times to come. After all, forest land cannot simply be treated as surplus land available to be utilised for expanding cities, mining or being cut up to build roads. The Aravallis help restore environment by being our green lungs that fight pollution. The cracks and fissures in its hills act as the only large-scale groundwater recharge zone. This is a region that has limited rainfall, and the groundwater extraction rate in Gurugram is 300% over the recharge rate. Besides, the ranges act as a watershed for nullahs and lakes such as Badhkal, Dhauj and Damdama lakes. It confines in itself 400-plus species of native trees, herbs and shrubs and eight types of eco-systems that exist in dry conditions. It has 200-plus bird species, including native and migratory birds, and a rich wildlife, comprising leopards, jackals, hyenas, neelgais and reptiles. It is also an archaeological site with ancient remnants. Aren’t these priceless advantages that should encourage us to fortify our forests? The Aravalli land is protected by 20-30-year-old notifications under the PLPA. The Aravalli area notified under the PLPA has been treated as forest by the Supreme Court, which has time and again, through various judgments, reiterated the need to protect this area. What needs to be done is to fortify this protection by re-notifying these areas. Instead, we are exposing this treasure trove to private profiteering. The PLPA amendment is an out-and-out regressive move. All of us, including the forest animals, birds and plants, have a fundamental right to live in a clean and healthy environment. Politicians, beware! Citizens will not sit easy and will do all in their might to force the withdrawal of the amendment. These protests can soon take shape of ‘jan andolan’. It will be not long before right to clean air and water security will become key issues on which elections are fought and won. Are the politicians listening?

Finally, the verdict has come. Seven years after the December 16 gang rape and subsequent death of the woman, death warrants were issued against the four perpetrators recently. The verdict is not just a vindication of a long legal battle fought by her parents, but also a strong signal that such heinous crimes will be treated with zero tolerance. In many ways, the case was a turning point in bringing women’s safety centre stage in India; the huge public outcry compelled the government to re-look at laws to protect women. But, have we really learnt our lessons? It does not seem so. Rapes, physical assaults, molestations continue to be reported from all parts of the country. One can argue that these incidents may be increasing as more cases are now being reported because of heightened public awareness. While an increase in numbers is good from this perspective, what is worrisome is that neither are we working to bring deep-rooted attitudinal shifts in our society nor improving our infrastructure improvements to help women feel safer. Let us revisit some of issues. The fact that the Nibhaya incident took place in a private bus underscores the need for safe and reliable public transport system. Private transport is invariably non-regulated and may employ unregistered, ad hoc drivers and conductors. The drivers are not well-trained and often fail to produce driving licence, when checked. On the other hand, public transport buses have registered drivers and conductors with permanent jobs, which may act as an incentive against misconduct towards women. Private means of transport proliferate when the public transport system is inadequate. It is high time that cities boost their public transport system, and make them accessible and reliable. Women need to move out of their homes/safe spaces at odd hours for a variety of reasons. They may need to travel for work late at night or early in the morning, to catch a flight, to buy emergency medicines/groceries or just for entertainment. On December 16, 2012, the woman, too, was returning late in the evening after watching a movie with a friend. One cannot restrict women from stepping out at night. Cities need to make public places safer by ensuring there are proper pavements and lighting. The more we use public spaces, the more vibrant and safer they become. Cases of misdemeanour can be checked before they spiral; police intervention or medical aid can be sought faster; there is a greater probability of eye-witnesses all of which help build a strong case. Prevention needs to start from an early age. Very few schools have adequate age-appropriate gender sensitisation programmes on an ongoing basis, starting from an early age right up to late teens. Therefore, gender conversations must begin at home and reinforced within informal communities. Fathers, mothers, sisters must talk to their sons and brothers about gender equality and respecting women. Children must be encouraged to talk about their feelings within the family. A vigilant family will catch the early signs of unwarranted behaviours and attitudes and nip it at the bud. Underlying societal values need to be challenged Clearly, just education and pro-women laws are not enough to prevent such crimes. We need to identify the underlying basis of patriarchy, masculinity and gender stereotypes in our society and address them appropriately. A study conducted a few years ago by the International Centre for Research on Women and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, revealed that the average Indian man is “convinced that masculinity is about acting tough, freely exercising his privilege to lay down the rules in personal relationships and, above all, controlling women”. Such a warped sense of gender identity often becomes the basis for violent crimes. Besides, negative influence of movies and easy access to questionable content on the internet makes things worse. The Indian film industry is notorious for propagating certain inappropriate behaviours as “cool”. Rape cases must be dealt with expeditiously Despite the December 16 case trial being handled by a fast-track court and while it being a seemingly open-and-shut case, it took seven years to deliver the verdict. The government has set up over 1,000 fast-track courts in the country for disposal of rape and child sexual offence cases. Hopefully, this should help in quick clearance of cases. Due to delays, the perpetrators may feel that they have a good chance of evading persecution. Take for instance, the recent Hyderabad case, where four accused of gang raping and murdering a veterinarian were killed in a police encounter when they allegedly tried to run away, was hailed by many as “immediate justice”. This sets in a wrong precedence and makes people lose faith in the judicial process. To sum up, the December 16 gang rape verdict is not an end in itself. It should continue to inspire us to keep working towards building a safe and just society that respects women and treats citizens as equals. That will be the greatest tribute to the woman’s dream cut short.

Last week, a friend who is settled in Hong Kong for the last 23 years, asked me if India was safe enough for a single woman like her to return to and live a “full” life. I knew what she meant by a “full” life — having an independent career, being able to go for hiking, biking and trekking sojourns, and being able to hang out with friends. I didn’t have a firm answer for her. Nevertheless, I encouraged her to take a leap of faith. Women safety is an issue we are grappling with in daily lives in our cities. While at one level, it involves preconditioning, unconscious biases, stereotypes and values we impart to our children, at another level, it needs appropriate urban structures for women to move around comfortably. There is also a lack of consensus on the key enablers to women’s safety. Leave alone men, even women with progressive mindset often talk about “half-baked” and “ill-conceived” ideas for enhancing women’s safety. Given our conditioning and societal biases, women themselves are often unclear about their true roles and identities. Education sadly does not teach the right approach on women-centric issues. How else would you explain highly educated women in social settings talking about how a good-looking girl is more likely to get molested or stalked? We need to educate our communities through interactions, awareness and more community engagements of what are the right frameworks to build a safe society. Much of the work begins at home. We need guiding principles for parents on how they can create a gender-sensitive environment at home. Creating the right infrastructure for safe public spaces is also important. There certainly needs to be adequate streetlights on roads and streets both in terms of quality and quantity. Very often, street lights do not work or streets are poorly lit. Besides, certain vibrancy on roads — including vendors, pedestrians etc — to ensure enough eyes on the road is a must. Broken and uneven pavements add to the feeling of insecurity. What we need is smooth and well-maintained pavements for pedestrians and well-defined, well-lit walk paths. Women feel highly unsafe in deserted and dingy paths or sub-ways. Proper signage and directions on the roads also add to their sense of safety. Creating public spaces is one thing, how well they are being used by the city-dwellers is quite another. Gurugram has a few public spaces, but these spaces do not attract diverse multi-gender crowds. City residents have to make greater use of these spaces by organising informal meets, picnics, music events around them and not restricting their meets to malls and coffee shops. Another important facet of safety is having a robust, reliable public transport system. It is safer for women to travel in public. Also, the entire police force, traffic police included, needs to be sensitised and responsive to women-related issues and crimes, rather than limiting the accountability to women-only police stations and women police/traffic officers. In corporate life too, women have to deal with not-so-subtle gender discrimination and fight off stereotyping tendencies. Expectant women or those will small children are often not considered for challenging roles. Very few are able to make it to leadership positions. Sometimes, women do not get support from other women in the office. One of the most insidious ways in which a woman is impacted is sexual harassment. Thankfully, since December 2013, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place Act 2013 is in place that has created legitimate structures within organisations to prevent and redress this issue. Still, much has to be done in spirit to create a healthy work environment for women to feel safe and empowered within organisations. So, to my dear friend, I can say that India has progressed to some extent on gender sensitivity. Gender issues are being highlighted, talked about, written about, and debated; families are becoming more conscious of what they talk to their children, both the genders are being sensitised to the need for the uplift of women. Enterprises are “beginning to think and act” on bringing true gender equality and empowerment. Still a lot remains to be done. Nevertheless, this is a good time to return to India, albeit not without skepticism. Returning to India not only adds to the community of progressive women in the country, but also helps in breaking stereotypes.

Gurugram experienced an unusually wet winter this time. Rain god obliged and the city had decent rainfall that helped reduce pollution somewhat. Hopefully, all the rainwater did not run off and some did percolate down to raise the groundwater level. Had there been enough means to store this water in the city, it could have served us well in the crunch months of summer. About 60 -70 years back, Gurugram was replete with water bodies that merrily captured both the rainwater and the water flowing downhill from the Aravallis slopes. As per a first-of-its-kind study done by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), the district had some 644 small and large water bodies. Three main data sources — the revenue record of 1956, the Survey of India map 1976 and the world view satellite imagery of 2012 — were used to ascertain this number. Some water bodies were confirmed through only one data source, some through two, but a good 124 water bodies were confirmed in all three data sources. Sadly enough, of the 644 water bodies, 153 have vanished beyond recovery. Another 53 bodies face severe threat due to intentional landfilling, garbage and construction waste dumping, and encroachment. (This comes across as hardly a surprise since land topography has been completely ignored to maximise real estate development in the city. Buildings have come up right upon low-lying places that once had johads (traditional name for ponds and lakes). Besides, another 132 water bodies face contamination due to discharge of industrial affluent and waste water. A good 44 cannot be called water bodies as they experience only seasonal waterlogging. Gurugram must earnestly restore those water bodies that can still be saved. In 2016, a study by Future Institute, an environment consultant, listed 13 ponds in urban Gurugram that could be saved immediately. These are in Sukhrali (Sector 17 C), Ghata (Sector 58), Fazilpur Jharsa (Sector 72), Begumpur Khatola (Sector 74), Garauli Kalan (Sector 37), Badshahpur (Sector 66), Saraswati Kunj (Sector 56), Basai (Sector 9B), Sarai Alawardi (Sector 110), Jahazgarh (Sector 106), Sarhol (Sector 37), Kadipur (Sector 10) and Dhanwapur (Sector 104). Tendering work on Basai and Saraswati Kunj was initiated, but could not be followed through. Of late, the momentum in pond revival has picked up. Gurujal, a society formed by the district administration last year for ensuring water security, is laying down process specifications, technologies as well as facilitating clearances and approvals from government departments. Several Gurugram-based corporates are adopting one pond each and providing CSR funds. Besides, NGOs such as ‘I am Gurgaon’ and ‘Force’ have also taken up pond revival. Funds under central schemes such as Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal Shakti Abhiyan are also available. In the urban areas, ‘I am Gurgaon’ has initiated work in Wazirabad and Sikanderpur ponds. Cleaning water bodies within the populated city is challenging as garbage and waste water continuously flows from the neighbouring settlements. Often, water has to be recirculated through treatment systems to keep it clean. Some of the water bodies in the city outskirts where contractors have started work are Tajnagar, Mojabad, Hariahera, Bohrakalan, Bilaspur, Khentawas, Iqbalpur and Kasan. Reviving a water body has multiple spin-offs. The most important and long-term benefit is the groundwater recharge. The city’s water table has reached a very low level of 35 metres as groundwater extraction has been over 300%. As the city gets increasingly concretised, the ability for ground to absorb water is declining and most rainfall water just runs off that causes flooding. Water bodies act as flood buffers and help stock water that improves the water table. In the rural areas, the water can be used for irrigation and upkeep of animals. By planting native trees around the water body, the local ecology is restored, and birds and butterflies begin to flock the area. Thus, local bio-diversity is encouraged. Walkways and cycle paths can be built around it. Finally, these spaces can be developed as places for social interaction, recreation, education and cultural exchange. Several stakeholders have a role to play. Town planners can ensure that no more construction comes up on water bodies and low-lying areas. Authorities can facilitate through providing access and clearances, removing encroachments, maintaining water quality, etc. But the role of local population is the key; there has to be a complete buy-in from them for ensuring long-term sustainability of the project. A sense of pride and ownership in taking responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of the pond has to emerge from neighbouring residents. Those who do not have a pond in vicinity can locate a city pond that’s up for revival and volunteer in the area of community mobilisation, greening, landscaping or simply using the facility. Amidst the maddening urban sprawl, water bodies could emerge as tranquil outdoor public spaces to relax, rejuvenate and meet-up while they quietly and silently work to recharge the city’s groundwater. Let’s get water, and with it the birds and butterflies back in Gurugram! (Shubhra Puri is the founder of Gurgaon First, a citizen initiative to promote sustainability in Gurugram through workshops and research books.)