Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Akhilesh Kumar Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Others dated 23/05/2025. The matter related to illegal mining activites carried out by Jai Maa Chandrika Enterprises, Rajendra Nagar, village Kabari, district Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh. The applicant also alleged about illegal sale …
THE Spanish Conquistadors came to the New World in search of gold. They found tobacco instead, a cash crop which sold better than any other in history. It became a legal narcotic, the foundation of many a business empire. It also became a scourge let loose by the New World …
hard rock mining has resulted in metal contamination and sedimentation of waterways, posing serious health and environmental risks. It has been precipitated by relaxation of laws and regulations by governments hungry for foreign investments. Philip Hocker, president of the Mineral Policy Center ( mpc ), usa , says, "The lust …
metal pollution from salmon farms has caused serious threats to wildlife in some of Scotland's sea lochs. According to a study of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency ( sepa ), levels of copper and zinc in sediments beneath fish farms is 24 times as high as the safety limits proposed …
researchers have known since the 1960s that nitrogenous fertilisers run-off severely affects lakes and rivers. Recently published studies show a bleaker picture. Polluting waterways of the world and displacing mineral nutrients from forest soils will result in wide-scale destruction of both forest and marine ecosystems. Nitrogenous compounds such as ammonia …
a controversial study suggesting that autism is a rare side effect of immunisation against measles, mumps and rubella has led to frantic calls for extended research into the safety of multi-component vaccines. These immunise children against several diseases with a single shot. A team led by Andrew Wakefield of the …
Studies in Kathmandu reveal that infants and children are much more vulnerable to vehicular exhaust. Lead in the auto emission can cause severe behavioural changes, affect the child's capacity of body movements and other less noticeable illness. In severe cases, there can be a total brain disorder and even kidney …
the book drives home the point that pollution prevention is more economical than pollution control. Japan attained economic success through modernisation and rapid industrialisation. But this also resulted in large-scale pollution. In the rush for rapid industrialisation, Japan faced industrial air pollution mainly of dust, soot and sulphur oxides. This …
a plan to regulate the emission of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micron (micron is one-millionth of metre), technically known as pm 2.5, is on the cards of the us Environmental Protection Agency ( epa ). The debate on implementation continues as critics and researchers battle over the issue. Very …
Researchers at Leicester University, UK, have developed a method to produce clean water using chemicals. This method would be helpful in areas where polluted river water poses serious health risks. Chemicals such as aluminium sulphate will effectively coagulate minute pollutants like sewage, allowing easy cleaning of water. But these chemicals …
eating colourful food stuffs stacked on the shelves of road side eateries may pose risk for health, warn scientists. These colours can damage liver, kidney, heart, skin, eye, lungs and bones, according to scientists of the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. At present, eight synthetic food colours
On the importance of the Biosafety Protocol to the developing countries: The protocol is a legal mechanism being hammered out by the nations who have signed the Convention on Biological Diversity (cbd). It seeks to ensure safe transfer, handling and the use of living modified organism resulting from modern biotechnology …
Industrial production has grown in India by more than 50-fold over the past century. The Central Pollution Board (CPCB) has identified 17 categories of most polluting industries which contribute to the environment in terms of suspended particulate matter, gases and effluents. About 77 per cent of the industries contribute to …
on february 12, Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma's phone lines were flooded as citizen's of the city called his office continuously and told him clearly that he could not barter their health for votes. They were responding to a call by the Centre for Science and Environment (cse) to …
the threat of renewed Indonesian fires looms large over Southeast Asia. Experts have warned that if the fires continue to gain a strong foothold in Indonesia, Kalimantan and Sumatra, then Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand and the Philippines could see a repeat of the smog that blotted out the sun …
baleshwar, 24, will never walk again. While scrapping a ship at one of the 183 shipbreaking yards at Alang in district Bhavnagar, Gujarat, he fell from a height of 10 metres, suffering multiple fractures in his legs. His one-year tenure at the shipbreaking yard has also left Baleshwar with respiratory …
The geography of Alang makes it ideal for shipbreaking. The beach is low and tides are as high as 10 metres. During low tide, the sea recedes by three km. The industry was set up in Alang in 1982, egged by the demand for a safe haven for shipbreaking. By …
The living conditions in labourers' settlements are indeed sub-human, admits a government official, asking not to be named. High pollution levels, lack of clean drinking water and cramped living conditions in Alang have badly affec-ted the health of labourers. There is no provision for potable water. "We have to buy …
The California-based Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the formation of a study group to examine the need for national action following a series of reports in a Seattle newspaper about crop loss and health problems arising from the use of fertilisers containing recycled industrial wastes and radionuclides. The Washington …
recent reports that Planning Commission member G Thimmiah has recommended free import of zinc ash are disturbing. The Planning Commission is a political advisory body, whose task is to formulate plans for self-reliance, poverty eradication, employment generation and the like. It lacks constitutional or statutory status. However, since the prime …
