What will it take to transform Chennai's Public Transport scene? Amongst other targets, we need a commitment to re-imagine our woefully inadequate pedestrian spaces documented by CAG in this article in the Journal of Road Safety.
Saroja.S, CAG makes a case for why health star ratings (HSR) will not help stem the rise in non-communicable diseases in our country. Front of pack warning labels, on the other hand, is a better system for India - and those countries that have already employed this are seeing the benefits of it.
As it comes to light that Chennai corporation owes TANGEDCO Rs. 175 crores in unpaid electricity bills, Vishnu Rao, CAG recommends that the Chennai Corporation move to sustainable energy options such as solar lights.
As frequent power outages in Tamil Nadu leave residents irritated, the long term solution to this would be to reduce our dependence on coal and increase our energy independence and security. As Vishnu Mohan Rao, CAG says, solar panels are the best way forward.
S. Saroja, CAG, speaking on the FSSAI moving ahead with the HSR (Health Star Rating), commented that it is not prudent that such an important regulatory decision be taken on the basis of a single study.
A study by CAG found that more than 90% of pillion bike riders (audited in locations around Chennai) do not wear a helmet. This is despite high-tech traffic violation systems set up in the city and automatic vehicle number plate recognition systems, says this news report.
'The OMR stretch alone, every year, 34 #pedestrians die, 90% of them while trying to cross the road (statistics from Chennai Traffic Police, 2019)' - Alarming statistics from #Chennai highlight the importance of #pedestriansafety. Find out more about the National Pedestrian Conference.
Following the much anticipated election of local councillors in Tamil Nadu, Mr. N. L. Rajah, Senior Advocate, Madras High Court and Advisor to CAG, writes about how the roles can be truly transformative only with fundamental changes like better allocation of funds and clearly defined power demarcations.
S.Saroja, executive director of CAG talks about what motivates her and powers the CAG team - the goal of enabling people to make clear informed choices that are good for them and the environment.
Chennai's repeated floods indicate that stop-gap arrangements like placing pumps and drains on different streets are inadequate. 'We need different departments to coordinate and work as a team', says S.Saroja, CAG, for long-term solutions.