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The Parisar Annual Lecture for 2011 was delivered by Prashant Bhushan, a Supreme Court advocate by profession and an activist by heart, on the issue of adopting an 'An Alternative Development Paradigm', at Devang Mehta Auditorium in Pune.

He is well known for taking up many public interest causes and PILs, most often "pro bono". He has been an assiduous defender of civil liberties, human rights, environmental protection and the rights of the poor. He has also been a vocal proponent of judicial accountability and has been an active pursuer of corruption related cases. Recently, he has also become a core member of the team led by Shri Anna Hazare that is campaigning for an effective institution to rein in the rampant corruption in the country.

Pune has about 132 km of cycle tracks (officially), of which really only 87 km are worthy of even being called cycle tracks. Even of these, there are missing portions, adding up to about 30 km (35%). In addition there are numerous obstacles. An unfortunate choice was also made to use interlocking blocks for the cycle track surface, making for a bumpy ride. The net result is that the cycle tracks are largely unused. This has led to a demand to remove the cycle tracks.

Since Pune's Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) sets a target of 50% modal share by Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) by 2030, there is a need to fix these cycle tracks, not get rid of them.

Parisar conducted a thorough review of the cycle tracks and developed a methodology for scoring them. They were rated on the basic of their Safety, Comfort and Continuity; essential in order for them to be usable.

The results are not surprising. Of the 20 cycle tracks reviewed, 1 is Good (Law College road), 1 is Okay (Old Canal road), 5 are Poor, 6 are Bad and 1 is Very Bad (Vishrantwadi-Airport road).

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) published a consultation paper on proposed fuel economy labelling and standards for the country, initially focusing on cars. The paper also invited feedback from the public, which was followed by a public consultation held in New Delhi. Parisar submitted its list of concerns and recommendations about the proposed standards. These include some procedural concerns (such as inadequate public consultations and time to respond), structural concerns (such as lack of disincentive to increasing vehicle weights) and substantial concerns (such as the current standards being too weak). Other groups attending the public consultation highlighted similar problems with the consultation paper.

Download Parisar's submission to BEE and presentation at the public consultation.