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 73RD Constitution Amendment, yet to be ratified by the requisite number of state governments, holds within it the potential for a passive revolution in the Indian countryside. For not only does it constitutionalise a third level of governance in the country, namely the panchayats, it also reserves one-third of …
An Act to provide for the prohibition of employment of manual scavengers as well as construction or continuance of dry latrines and for the regulation of construction and maintenance of water-seal latrines and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
RESIDENTS of hill stations in Tamil Nadu are sceptical that much-publicised legislation by chief minister J Jayalalitha can protective the states hill stations from ecological devastation. The law enforced as an amendment to the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act of 1920, seeks to protect the Nilgiri and Palni hills from …
THE NEW legislation comes into effect too late to save Udhagamangalam's famed Boat Lake, which has become a dead water body because of the sewage and silt accumulated in it. Unaffected by laws and legislation, the town's ancient sewerage system, built over a century ago for 10,000 residents and now …
The West Bengal Assembly has adopted legislation barring the filling up of wetlands that exceed 0.035 ha in the state's notified urban areas. The ecological importance of these wetlands artificialIy embanked areas and naturally or artificially depressed lands holding water -has long been recognised. Large Klranmoy Nondo: Befriending tracts of …
A SRI LANKAN research team has dismissed as "biased" and "rushed" a UN study that claims the country is among the world's top five dolphin- catchers. The release of the team's report this month is keenly awaited by Colombo, which fears that if Sri Lanka continu6s to be identified with …
URBAN air pollution in India has become a cause of concern and alarm and the subject of much writing and debate on measures to control it. Calcutta is reputed to be one of the world's most polluted cities, but its citizens contend the pervasive acrid odours and hazy horizons are …
An Act to provide for the regulation of production, supply and distribution of infant milk substitutes, feeding bottles and infant foods with a view to the protection and promotion of breastfeeding and ensuring the proper use of infant foods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Tighter environmental laws could cost the European oil refineries upto $ 80 billion by the end of the decade, said delegates at a recent petroleum and gas conference. This could mean higher prices for consumers and bankruptcies among refineries. Klaus Kohlhase of British Petroleum (BP) and chairman of Concawe, the …
WITH DEPLETION of groundwater heavy in many parts of the country and rich farmers almost monopolising water resources, the Union government is renewing efforts to get states to control groundwater extraction. Last month, the water resources ministry circulated a model bill on groundwater use, making obtaining of permits compulsory and …
THE NATIONAL Environment Tribunal Bill (NET) introduced in the recent monsoon session of Parliament, aims at providing a mechanism for speedy compensation of victims of industrial disasters. The bill was introduced by the government after rejecting a proposal to set up environmental courts in the country. The bill states it …
DYING will acquire a new meaning once the Transplantation of Human Organs Bill 1992 becomes law because the bill declares a person is dead once the brain stem dies. This is a dramatic departure from the current definition of death, which is that a person is dead when the heart …
A MAJOR leap in Indian jurisprudence occurred when Chief Justice P N Bhagwati interpreted the Indian Constitution to mean that Indian citizens have a Right to a clean and healthy environment because without this, the expressly stated Right to Life is meaningless. However, little effort has been made to define …
THE FISH and the fishermen are both in trouble. To prevent a total collapse of fish stocks and the fishing industry, a drastic reduction in the European Community's (EC) fishing fleet has been proposed under the Sea Fish (Conservation) Bill. The critically low fish stock includes cod and haddock. The …
IN THIS "throwaway" age the Germans are trying to be difficult. Their stringent waste laws are creating a rift in the European Commission (EC) which wants lower and more flexible standards. Germany has a law, popularly known as the "Topfer Law" -- after Klaus Topfer, Germany's environment minister -- which …
THE RESETTLEMENT and rehabilitation (R&R;) policy for project-affected persons, proposed by a sub-committee of the national water board, under the ministry of water resources, appears to be far from satisfactory. Commentators say its scope is restricted to large reservoir projects and it does not provide for any legislative backing. The …
• National policy should only indicate guidelines. • Involuntary displacement should be minimised. • A widely-representative body should take decisions. • Fair standard of living, not lower than that before displacement, should be guaranteed. • Full compensation of losses should be paid both individually and collectively. • All rights and …
DEVELOPMENT has two sides, as Sudipto Sarkar of the People United for Better Living in Calcutta told the Calcutta High Court recently. The court is hearing a case against the proposed reclamation of eastern Calcutta's wetlands. The voluntary agency informed the court that the West Bengal government's idea to develop …
MANUFACTURERS of hydraulic hammers are being forced to make them quieter, largely following environmental legislation which originated in Germany a decade ago and is rapidly spreading.'Most of them have come up with a solution which involves wrapping the harnmer in a mattress-like material. Krupp's Compact System, introduced three years ago, …
THE department of power has set up a working group to prepare new legislation to modify the 14 existing Acts that affect energy consumption. The 10-member panel comprises experts in energy, law, industrial development and representatives from the concerned departments and ministries. With this, the government would seem to have …
