GUWAHATI: Floods and erosion are a perennial problem in Assam that have wreaked havoc on the people of the State, especially in rural areas and who live by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.

The Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act has often been ridiculed as a scheme that has hardly any impact.

Environmentalists have welcomed the intervention of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in protecting the Sasthamcotta freshwater lake in Kollam district.

Mr. Chandy will chair a high-level meeting in this regard on May 8. Terming it a step in the right direction, eco-activist V.K. Madhusudhanan, who had been taking up the cause for over a decade now, said conservation efforts should be supported by genuine, eco-friendly solutions. The lake was listed as a Ramsar site in 2002. Livelihood activities and biodiversity protection was also important. Serious concerns were raised only when the water level dropped alarmingly.

Works taken up as part of NREGA scheme were found to help maintain ground water levels, aiding crop productivity

The UPA government’s flagship employment guarantee programme can play an important role in conserving natural resources and sustaining water supply and food production, according to a study. Conceived to provide livelihood security for the rural poor, the scheme can also help reduce and counter the impact of climate change in villages, according to the study, “Environmental Benefits and Vulnerability Reduction through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme” by IISc, Bangalore in collaboration with the rural development ministry and the German international co-operation agency, GIZ.

Speakers at a meeting of national coordination body of the Mangroves for Future (MFF) programme on Thursday called for protection and conservation of mangrove forests which, they said, played a vit

The panel, headed by Dr Bhumidhar Barman, will submit recommendations to the govt within four months

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has constituted a three-member committee to frame a comprehensive New Land Policy for the entire state. The committee, headed by adviser to chief minister, agriculture, Dr Bhumidhar Barman, would submit recommendations to the government within four months.

India's disaster relief agency suffers from "critical gaps" in its preparedness for calamities, making it largely ineffective when responding to the numerous disasters the country faces such as flo

Three major rivers-the Jamuna, the Ganges and the Padma-eroded 10,347 hectares of land during the last three years.

World Bank, which is funding a $150-million project on integrated flood and erosion management in the Northeast, has called for a multi-sector approach towards management of water resources in the