Information about environmental organization

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leading issues facing society and deserving
of serious attention. The very survival of life
on the planet depends on it. Parisar and
the idea behind it was thus a path-breaking
development.
Over the last 30-35 years Parisar has engaged
in different activities like saving the Pune
University Garden, studying and making
suggestions to the Draft Development
Plans for Pune, saving the Model Colony
Old Quarry Lake, saving our hills from
construction and declaring them as
Biodiversity Parks among other things.
Our outreach activities consisted
of conducting photo/ poster
exhibitions on environment
and traffic, organising public
lectures on sustainable farming,
water resources, conducting
annual lectures on a variety of
topics related to sustainability and
urban governance, publication
of‘Parisar Varta’magazine and
so on.
Maharashtra Foundation
Award for Parisar Varta
About Parisar
A 100posterexhibition“Manand
Environment”onthethemeofthe
environmentatthelocal,national
and globallevelwasputupby
Parisarin1983
Early influences
Parisar was formed on 5 June 1981 (the
World Environment Day) in response to
concerns over the rapidly deteriorating
environment and the architecture giving
way to structures of concrete and steel, the
rampant felling of trees for road widening,
the disappearing open spaces etc.
Founding members of Parisar felt that
even if they couldn’t stop these impacts
it was important to document all this. It
was only after becoming aware of the all-
encompassing nature of the environment
that they became deeply involved in the
subject and its significance.
One of the most important events in the
history of the modern environmental
movement was the United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment held
in Stockholm, Sweden from 6th
to 16th
June
1972, (a decade earlier) but it was little to
known to most. Reading and understanding
the significance of this further shaped
Parisar’s vision.
During this period‘environment’was not a
subject familiar to most people or the media.
They considered poverty, development, and
social integrity as far more important. Today,
the environment is recognized as one of the

2. Sustainable Urban Transport
This Concept rests on understanding the
need for cities to have good walking, cycling
and public transport systems. When cities
ensure this, they become more liveable,
equitable and democratic. In line with
this, Parisar has been instrumental in the
formulation of the Street Design Guidelines
for Pune, encouraging the city to formulate
a Bicycle Plan, pushing the city’s bus service
PMPML to prepare a Business Plan and so on.
Parisar has also been a driving force behind
introducing the idea of Bus Rapid Transit
(BRT) in Pune, making it the first Indian city
to implement it.
Parisar has advocated for a State Urban
Transport Policy and was also part of the
NUTP revision workshops. It was also part of
the National Consultation on public bicycle
systems.
S T E P
After years of advocacy on pedestrians’
issues, Parisar unveiled the people’s
pedestrian campaign STEP (Steps Towards
Empowering Pedestrians) in February 2020,
at the first National Pedestrian Conference -
Right to Walk. The campaign intends to bring
together the voice of pedestrians to create
walkable cities through organised public
action. For more information on this please
visit www.stepwalk.in
Our work
Road Safety
Road safety is closely linked with sustainable
transportation, in terms of street design,
vulnerable road users and access to mobility.
Road safety activities include advocacy for
helmet, seat-belt and speed compliance
and urban design interventions to reduce
road crashes with a focus on vulnerable road
users. Parisar is a founder member of the
Road Safety Network and was instrumental
in getting the Motor Vehicles Act, 2019
passed - a landmark legislation in road safety.
Air Quality
Air Pollution, especially in cities, is largely
from vehicular pollution, the emissions from
which also have a high impact on health.
Advocacy for this includes analysis of the City
Air Action Plans made by cities under the
National Clean Air Programme, and following
up for their implementation. Parisar is also
engaged in extensive public awareness
activities, as citizens are not fully aware of the
severe impact that air pollution has on the
health of individuals and consequently on
the liveability of a city. Parisar’s efforts are to
make air quality a visible, actionable issue.
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3. Sustainable Urban Mobility Network
(SUM Net)
Parisar is one of the founding members of
this network. which was formed in 2009.
The network has since engaged in various
activities like conducting walkability
interventions in different cities, conducting
consultations for the development of State
Urban Transport Policy, Public consultations
and advocacy for Cycle Rickshaw Policy in
Bihar and Jharkhand and national and state
bus campaigns
For more information visit www.sumnet.in
Road Safety Network
The network was formed in 2017 by
organisations working on road safety
across India. This was the outcome of a
concerted effort to push the Motor Vehicles
Amendment Bill. Parisar continues to be
actively engaged in the network, working
on the effective implementation as well as
sub-legislation.
For more information visit
www.roadsafetynetwork.in
National Clean Air Collective
The Clean Air Collective is a network of
organizations/individuals/citizens groups/
institutions etc who are all working towards
the common objective of clean air. The
collective was formed with an objective
of complementing each other’s work and
amplifying all the voices coming from
different parts of the country demanding
their fundamental right that is clean air.
https://indiaaq.blog/2018/03/31/clean-air-
collective-india/
Additionally, Parisar has been on the
following committees in Pune:
- District Road Safety Committee
- Bicycle Advisory Committee,
Pune Bicycle Plan
Networks
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4. Parisar is a Trust, funded by donor agencies and individuals on a project basis. We also accept donations.
All donations are tax exempt under clause 80G of the Income Tax Act. For more information please go to
www.parisar.org/get-involved
Connect with us :
www.parisar.org
www.facebook.com/ParisarUrbanTransport/
twitter.com/parisarpune
www.instagram.com/parisar_org/
Address
‘Yamuna’
ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411007
Phone: +91-20-29701004
For directions to our office, please go to
www.parisar.org/contact-us
Our focus areas :
1. Urban Planning and Development
2. Sustainable Urban Transport
3. Air Quality
4. Road Safety
5. Urban Governance and Public Participation
6. Heritage (built and natural) Conservation
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