On February 1, the Union Budget allocated R22,000 crore to the power and renewable energy sector. But understanding and tracking how this amount will materialise into real action is a different ball game. That's where the power of citizen-backed initiatives lies — they not only make information accessible to the public but also spur citizen stakeholders. In October 2019, social impact agency Purpose joined hands with city-based not-for-profit Waatavaran, a climate, environment and sustainability foundation to tackle the issue of cleaner transport in the city.

Along with other citizen groups, they initiated the #SolarWalaBEST campaign to increase the acceptance of renewable-powered electric buses. And since the aim was to support the initiatives of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) through public engagement and creative solutions, Purpose commissioned five Mumbaikar artists to envision how a city powered by clean energy would look in 2020 via digital artworks that were published last month. "We gave them a brief about what the campaign is, but didn't set any limitations. Thus each artist introduced a personal element into their work. It was also important to find artists from different parts of the city and not just SoBo," reminds Suma Balaram, visual designer and design researcher at the agency, while campaigner Kritica Mahajan adds, "Different aspects have been visualised in the campaign — from giving back to Mumbai to what has happened to Aarey Forest. So, the bus ride is more than getting from point A to point B."