Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Sonya Ghosh Vs Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Others dated 17/02/2025. The matter related to conservation and protection of Delhi Ridge which is an extension of Aravali Range extending from Tughlakabad and branching out in Wazirabad in the north …
This book contains the proceedings of the workshop on collaborative management of protected rreas in the Asian region, held at Royal Chitwan National Park, Sauraha, Nepal, May 25-28, 1998.
THE Australian government has proposed to grant Aborginal title claims to two parcels of land in the Northern Territory (NT). Two claims by Aboriginal groups, Innesvale claim, covering 283,700 hectares (ha), and the Urrpantyenye claim, covering 6,554 ha, would bring the number of Aboriginal land holdings in the NT under …
The seven month-old organ donation law, enacted to prevent commercial dealing in human organs and protect the rights of donors and transplant patients, has come in for a lot of criticism. The law may need an overhaul to protect the rights of unconscious patients after "unforeseen difficulties", according to a …
A survey on artificially-sweetened products found that some firms in the UK were ignoring legal requirements - that is to state, "with sweeteners" - on the packaging of the product. The survey was conducted by the Food Commission, a body incharge of quality control of food items in the UK. …
EUROPE's biotechnology patent laws are to be challenged by the Netherlands in the European Court. The case will restart a longstanding debate over the legitimacy of patenting biotech inventions based on living organisms. This could prove to be a major setback for the European pharmaceutical industry. In May 1998, the …
The Supreme Court has debarred practitioners of Indian system of medicine like the vaids and hakims from practicing modern system of medicine such as allopathy. It further ruled that they cannot prescribe allopathic medicine. The court was responding to the assertion of Indira Jaising, an advocate, that Indian system of …
The health ministry in Pakistan has started a comprehensive campaign through the district health officers against quackery in the country. Strict action would be taken against quacks under Medical and Dental Degree Ordinance, 1982. Five cases against unqualified persons practising allopathic system of medicine have already been registered in this …
Body Shop is one of the largest companies in the herbal cosmetics market. Consequently, it is one of the largest users of the bioresources and traditional knowledge systems of the world. In order to understand the company's policy in acquiring its raw materials, Down To Earth tried, more than once, …
THE 1990s have seen revolutionary developments in the field of biotechnology across the world. Genetic and biochemical materials are now seen as invaluable information. Major pharmaceutical companies, seed companies and cosmetic manufacturers see them as raw materials for multi-million-dollar businesses. Researchers from the corporate sector and research institutes are vigorously …
SILENCE OF THE SCAMS Corruption is increasingly tightening its grip over the daily lives of Indian citizens. Experts describe it as a form of 'tidal corruption'. It has, therefore, become vital to shift attention from the corrupt to the system which breeds corruption The silence is deafening. The corrupt observe …
A lot of trees are planted on paper and forests are created on government files. Between 1980-81 and 1988-89, the government claimed that some 24 billion trees had been planted under afforestation programmes on private and public lands at an expense of over Rs 3,000 crore. In other words, taking …
The sandalwood policy of the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments have created just the right environment for corruption to thrive. It involves major kickbacks for all those involved, it leads to scarcity of the raw material and promotes black market trade. The powerful and the corrupt corner the bulk of …
State regulations are extremely important to protect various elements of the ecosphere like air and water against pollution, and from over exploitation. But corruption, lack of public awareness of the importance of natural resources for daily survival, and policies that exclude the participation of the people can render the laws …
Why did the chicken cross the road? Simple. It wanted to bypass the forest official. Otherwise charcoal would never reach the town and poor would starve for the lack of a livelihood. In the early 1980s, St Xavier's Behavioural Science Centre, an Ahmedabad-based NGO, encouraged poor farmers living in the …
Corruption can steer even Supreme Court orders astray. In an effort to curb pollution in Delhi, the Supreme Court ordered all government vehicles to start using compressed natural gas (CNG) on an experimental basis. But the order was met with strong resistance, not from powerful bureaucrats but from the drivers …
Small may be beautiful, but not in terms of the bounty. The larger the project, the bigger the "10 per cent" cut allegedly paid as a bribe to politicians and bureaucrats by the contractors. To secure a deal, a contractor pays the signing authority a certain cut from the money …
A group of Bhil villagers, living in the dry and parched Aravalli hilts near Udaipur, told the authors, "We have been strictly warned by our local leader never to ask for a pucca (metalled) road to our village, because what will we then make year after year as part of …
India is rich in biodiversity which, if used properly, could fill the country's coffers with pounds and dollars. It could also alleviate the poverty and suffering of the local people who have the knowledge and access to these resources. Sadly, the laws governing biodiversity exclude their participation. In the process, …
A subsidy is levied on a product to reduce its price. This means the state (read taxpayer) is paying for part of the product. This is done to meet a national objective. Diesel was highly subsidised in India to help the poor farmer run his pumpset for the purpose of …
In the early 1980s, Indians were shocked to read media reports that the police of Bhagalpur was deliberately "blinding" criminals. What the media failed to expose was the link between corruption in the management of a unique ecology and a consequent rise in crime. All this resulted in a typical …
