000 02073pab a2200181 454500
008 180718b2003 xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100 _aDahiya, Bharat
245 _aHard struggle and soft gains: environmental management, civil society and governance in Pammal, South India
260 _c2003
300 _ap.91-100.
362 _aApr
520 _aThis paper analyzes the relationships of a women-led civil society organization (the Shri Shankara Nagar Mahalir Manram) with the local government and with the local residents of Pammal, a small town on the periphery of the city of Chennai in southern India. It examines these relationships with regard to the organization's initiative on community-based solid waste collection and management in a middle-income neighbourhood. This initiative began in response to the inadequacies in the waste collection services provided by local government and, to remain successful, it had to change and develop in response to the changing relationships between this organization, the residents and local government. It also had to overcome opposition from some of the residents and the lack of support from local politicians. When local government stopped collecting the waste that the organization had amassed from house-to-house collections, composting and recycling were developed, greatly reducing waste volumes and generating revenues that helped cover costs. The organization also had to network with higher-level political officials for the resolution of conflicts at the local level. The paper concludes that in peri-urban areas, which are in transition from rural to urban in character and have inadequate institutional cover, civil society organizations have enormous potential to improve local environmental conditions, to resolve political conflicts in governance, and to scale up environmental management activities. - Reproduced.
650 _aCivil society - India
650 _aEnvironmental management - India
650 _aEnvironmental management
773 _aEnvironment and Urbanization
909 _a56305
999 _c56305
_d56305