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 …
The Delhi High Court recently banned the import of toxic zinc and lead ash and their skimmings till further orders. The court was ruling on a petition seeking implementation of the Basel convention, 1989, which seeks to ban trade in hazardous wastes. India had signed the convention in 1992. The …
Three Guyanese citizens have filed a case against the Canadian mining company Cambior in the superior court of Quebec, Canada, for the environmental damage caused by the leakage of 3.2 billion litres of cyanide-laced waste into Guyanese rivers in August l995. The spill took place when the wall of a …
P N BHAGWATI DIRECT judicial activism is not a good idea. When it comes to environment, I do not think that the courts are equipped to deal with environmental issues. They do not have the expertise, the material on the basis of which they can judge the effects of what …
After months of political wrangling, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (AP) are heading for a major legal showdown to assert their rights on Alamatti dam. Both have filed separate lawsuits in the Supreme Court (SC). The move came after an expert committee endorsed the arguments of the AP government opposing Karnataka's …
Plans to convert the world's largest fast-breeder reactor Superphenix into a research centre and nuclear waste incinerator, may have to be shelved. Ruling on a lawsuit filed by several environmental groups, the Council of State, France's highest court, recently struck down a 1994 government order authorising operation of the nuclear …
Aquafarmers in the country got a breather when the Supreme Court recently stayed till April 30 its earlier order for closure or demolition of shrimp farms by March 31. The court granted the stay after hearing petitions from the government of India which pleaded that the demolition would affect the …
The Delhi High Court recently upheld the countrywide ban imposed by the Central government on trade of ivory and snakeskin while dismissing several petitions filed by hundreds of traders. The court clarified that if any trade in any article damages the ecology, then it could be held as a trade …
• The Thar desert is fast witnessing a steady decline in its groundwater level. In a recent symposium on "Recent Advances in the Management of Arid Eco-systems" held in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, scientists suggested artificial recharging as a corrective measure. • The first ultraviolet radiation technology-based sewage disinfection treatment plant has …
The ministry of agriculture is planning to push through a bill in the current Parliament session which, if passed, will thwart last year's Supreme Court (SC) decision to ban coastal aquaculture farms with effect from March 31, on grounds of soil degradation, marine pollution and hampering traditional fishing. The bill …
The Supreme Court of India recently modified its order passed on December 12, banning all non-forest activities in reserved areas. The court formed a high-level committee to oversee the implementation of its orders in the northeastern states. The committee will monitor the preparation of an inventory of timber in all …
It was a victory for environmentalists when the European Court in Brussels recently ruled that the European Community (EC) should not have refused the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) access to documents relating to a building project in Burren National Park in Ireland in 1995. Earlier, WWF had complained …
All foundries located in the primary residential area of Coimbatore city were told to close down immediately by the green bench of the Madras High Court on March 8. The court directed the state pollution control board (PCB) to take immediate steps to implement the order within a month. In …
In the coming months, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, Netherlands, will be the centre of the world's, and particularly Europe's, attention. It is the scene of the first environmental lawsuit in the history of the court, which began on March 3 between Hungary and Slovakia. The …
The city of Mysore in Karnataka has become the scene for an interesting battle royal. In contention is the People's park in the heart of the city, fought over by the Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP), a local organisation initiated by a few residents of Mysore, and the municipal corporation. The …
Stringent criticism by the erstwhile Chief Justice of India A M Ahmadi and adverse public opinion apparently forced the United Front (UF) government to do a Volte face on its plan to push, in Parliament, for a Public Interest Litigation Bill, 1997 (Down To Earth, Vol 5, No 20). The …
The Supreme Court (SC) has turned down for immediate consideration, pleas by the Union Government and the state of Gujarat for permission to increase the height of the Narmada dam from the present 81.5 metre (m) to 85 m. The SC declined to entertain two applications placed by the latter, …
The Supreme Court of India recently directed the Union ministry of environment and forests to enforce the laws prohibiting the use and dumping of banned hazardous substances. The court remarked that despite passing several orders to this effect in the past year, no steps have been taken against erring units …
In another case of delinquency, the Karnataka High Court has censured the Karnataka pollution control board (PCB) for its inaction in "matters relating to serious instances of water pollution". The court also quoted instances wherein the government itself had prevented action against "errant parties or interfered with the proceedings and …
Bangladesh would be introducing tough new pollution laws and bringing to book polluters, Sajeda Chowdhury, environment and forest minister, announced in Dhaka recently. "None, be they poachers, illegal fellers or earth removers, will be spared," she said adding. "A bill incorporating hem for the environmental destroyers... will be tabled soon …
The ongoing dispute between the US and four Asian nations over shrimp exports will now be decided by a panel which was recently appointed by the World Trade Organization. Lost year, the US had passed a law which prevents shrimp exports from India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand unless they take …
