Poor AMC allocation: Basic amenities, gutter lines lacking, forcing slumdwellers to defecate in open, Ahmedabad authorities told

Vijay Nehra

By A Representative
Even as Ahmedabad has been declared “open defecation free plus” (ODF+) by the Narendra Modi government, which means the city has hygienic and usable public toilets, a grassroots community survey suggests that this is far from true in a large number of areas of the city.
Results of the survey are part of a memorandum addressed to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) commissioner Vijay Nehra, who claimed that “a third-party inspection was carried out” to prove how the city has become more hygienic to live in.
The survey shows that in 100 societies of 26 different areas of Ahmedabad, people lack basic amenities. If some societies such as in Ambedkar Nagar and Indira Nagar in Nikol area, or in Boot Bhawani and Suryanagar in Vejalpur area, or the Bombay Hotel area, there are no household toilets or gutter lines, forcing people defecate in the open, in other places the gutter lines are either choked or are profusely leaking.
Released to media by community leaders from different parts of Ahmedabad, talking about the survey, Parsottam Vaghela of Manav Garima Trust said, “The slum Chandrabhaga slum area adjacent to the Gandhi Ashram for decades does not have any gutter line even today, not to talk of individual toilets. Ninety per cent of the people defecate in the open.”
Vaghela, a Valmiki leader, added, “The situation has come to this because the AMC has not been spending 10% if its budget, as required by law, for Dalits, Adivasis and other economically weaker sections of the population. In 2018-19, 10% allocation would mean Rs 524 crore; yet, according to our calculation, the AMC spent merely Rs 78 crore. Most of the amount is diverted in building bridges or toilets meant for general public.”
The memorandum contains demands to spend 10% of the AMC budget for 2019-20, to be presented shortly, on household and public toilets, gutter lines, bathrooms, drinking water facilities, community health centres, ration shops, street lights, day care centres for infants, internal roads, etc. in the societies where underprivileged sections live.
The media conference, which took place at an NGO office at Drive In Road, saw a cop posted inside hall, keeping a close watch at what the community leaders were saying and the questions that were being asked.

Comments

Why Venezuela govt granting amnesty to political prisoners isn't a sign of weakness

By Guillermo Barreto On 20 May 2017, during a violent protest planned by sectors of the Venezuelan opposition, 21-year-old Orlando Figuera was attacked by a mob that accused him of being a Chavista. After being stabbed, he was doused with gasoline and set on fire in front of everyone present. Young Orlando was admitted to a hospital with multiple wounds and burns covering 80 percent of his body and died 15 days later, on 4 June.

Walk for peace: Buddhist monks and America’s search for healing

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The #BuddhistMonks in the United States have completed their #WalkForPeace after covering nearly 3,700 kilometers in an arduous journey. They reached Washington, DC yesterday. The journey began at the Huong Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 26, 2025, and concluded in Washington, DC after a 108-day walk. The monks, mainly from Vietnam and Thailand, undertook this journey for peace and mindfulness. Their number ranged between 19 and 24. Led by Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara (also known as Sư Tuệ Nhân), a Vietnamese-born monk based in the United States, this “Walk for Peace” reflected deeply on the crisis within American society and the search for inner strength among its people.

Pace bowlers who transcended pace bowling prowess to heights unscaled

By Harsh Thakor* This is my selection and ranking of the most complete and versatile fast bowlers of all time. They are not rated on the basis of statistics or sheer speed, but on all-round pace-bowling skill. I have given preference to technical mastery over raw talent, and versatility over raw pace.

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

'Paradigm shift needed': Analyst warns draft electricity policy ignores ecological costs

By A Representative The Ministry of Power’s Draft National Electricity Policy (NEP), 2026 has drawn sharp criticism from power and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma, who has submitted detailed feedback highlighting what he calls “serious omissions” in the government’s approach to energy transition.

Search This Blog