Reply affidavit filed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the matter of Debadityo Sinha & Others Vs Union of India & Others. An application filed before the NGT said that illegal construction activities and clearing the vegetation and forest using massive earthwork and levelling the land …
The term bioprospecting has been widely used to assess the economic potential of different plant species and their value-addition. Our folklore with embedded cultural heritage has tremendous possibilities and potential for bioprospecting. Among the over 8000 species of flowering plants growing in the Himalaya, nearly 4000 are identified from the …
Unfulfilled promises; villagers hanging loose On July 24 this year, a school block near the Loharinag Pala hydroelectric project in Sunagarh, Uttarkashi district, gave away as the rocks under it had become unstable. The subsequent landslide kept the highway blocked for the next three days.
On June 13 when Dr GD Agrawal, the eminent 76-year-old environmental scientist started a fast unto death to protest indiscriminate dam building on the Bhagirathi Ganga river, many wondered whether his gesture would be in vain. The government, by and large, turns a deaf ear to such protests. Two groups, …
Tapping energy or sapping the Himalayas -report by Chandi Prasad Bhatt, eminent activist and environmentalist A series of dams are being planned on the Ganga between the Gangotri glacier and Uttarkashi to generate hydropower. The government has an economic agenda that requires huge amount energy. Well, it can go ahead, …
Yoga guru Swami Ramdev will now play a key role in the campaign to save the Ganga river, which is being spearheaded by the Ganga Raksha Manch. The Yoga guru and other sadhus participating in the campaign to save the Ganga will use the mala (garland) and the bhala (trident) …
Environmentalists and social activists led by G D Aggarwal are headed for Delhi to continue with their campaign against construction of power projects between Gangotri and Uttarkashi. After the Uttarakhand Government decided to halt work on the Pala Maneri and Bhiron Ghati projects, the campaigners are now targeting the 600-mw …
The decision of Prof G.D. Agarwal, who has been on a 'fast unto death' for the past week against power projects on the Ganga, to direct his agitation against the Central government following the shelving of two power projects by the BJP state government has politicised the issue. While Agarwal …
Agro-technologies for cultivation of a number of medicinal plants have been developed but large scale cultivation of medicinal plants on farm lands in Uttarakhand is yet to begin. Among other causes for this gap, lack of reasonable correct information on economics of cultivation of medicinal plants is one important cause.
After Uttarakhand, it is the turn of the Himachal Pradesh government to stop Van Gujjars, nomadic tribals, from migrating to highland pastures in the state despite promulgation of the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (recognition of forest rights) Act on January 1, 2008. A total of 432 Van …
Uttarakhand forests are smouldering, leading to a loss of forest wealth worth crores, besides invaluable damage to flora and fauna. These raging fires have also claimed two human lives. With mercury soaring high, forest fires have engulfed large areas in the Garhwal as well as the Kumaon regions of the …
