Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
THE MINISTRY of Environment and Forests has asked the Planning Commission to earmark Rs 250 crore during the eighth five-year plan as the centre's share in the proposed national river action plan (NRAP) -- a programme to clean up polluted stretches of 19 rivers -- in which states will bear …
THE FOREST Conservation Act (FCA) was enacted in 1980 to check the widespread and wanton felling of trees on developmental project sites. But the act's stringent provisions -- especially one requiring central clearance for all projects -- took away control of forest land from state governments and left people who …
THE CONTINUING stand-off at the Centre between the ministry of power and the ministry of environment and forests (MEF) easily rates as the worst intra-cabinet squabble in the Narasimha Rao government. Both ministries, their heads and their mandarins bicker constantly -- and often acrimoniously -- on the issue of environmental …
THE MINISTRY of Environment and Forests recently produced a document formally entitled National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development. The document purports to spell out details of the government's strategy to reconcile conflicts between environment and development. Unfortunately, the document does not leave anyone any wiser. It …
THANKS to poor rainfall in the area, the fear of Manibeli being inundated by monsoon-fed waters of the Narmada has receded temporarily. According to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activists, work on the dam seems to have slowed down considerably and they estimate the height of the dam now at about …
UNION environment minister Kamal Nath's order of July 30 -which has yet to reach the Orissa government -to stop work on the Chilika Aquatic Farms project till an independent consultant assessed its likely environmental impact may have, at best, bought some time for him. Orissa chief minister Biju Patnaik and …
CATCHING rats the way Irula tribals do is not only environmentally safe but also cost-effective -- for they don't use poison or chemicals. All they need are their bare hands. Field trials in controlling rat numbers using these methods were conducted in 1984 by the Irula Snake Catcher's Industrial Cooperative …
TECHNOLOGY is opening up the world of computers to the blind, everyday activity such as feeding oneself to the spastic and movement to the physically handicapped. A number of government and research organisations are investing ingenuity, time and funds in developing aids for the handicapped. But commercial organisations are lagging …
THE FIRST Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) was set up at Kharagpur in 1952. Since then, around 37,000 B Tech graduates have passed out of this and the four other IITs in Kanpur, Delhi, Bombay and Madras. The estimated annual income and expenditure of these five institutions are about Rs …
THE GOVERNMENT is learning to lead by example. Its largest construction agency, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), has decided that the use of wood in its housing projects will be banned from April 1993. The urban development secretary, Raj Bhargava, points to the paradox of the government borrowing for …
THE UNION minister of environment and forests was under fire at the last National Development Council (NDC) meeting both from a section of central ministers as well as chief ministers who accused his ministry of being the biggest hurdle to development. While the chief ministers' ire was expected, the Union …
The Delhi high court has rejected a petition asking for the ban on ivory trade to be lifted. With this order there is now a total ban on selling and carving in ivory and all stocks of the precious 'white gold' can be confiscated. The petition was filed by the …
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 …
MR BUSH says he will go to Rio as he is now satisfied with the global agreement of climate. Nothing can be a sharper indictment of the climate convention. Whereas the world needs long-term cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the western nations on whom the onus of change falls, have …
In the suit filed by the Union of India against Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) filed before the Southern District Court at New York, the presiding judge directed the utilisation of 5 Million Dollars deposited by UCC towards Interim Relief Fund, for affording relief to the victims of the Bhopal Gas …
Supreme Court judgement dated 14/02/1989 on Bhopal Gas Disaster. The Court was of the opinion that the case was fit for an overall settlement between the parties covering all litigations, claims, rights and liabilities related to and arising out of the Disaster.
The main purpose of this book is to bring to the reader an idea of the nature of the struggles being waged to individuals and voluntary groups across the world, and especially in India, to protect the environment.
This Act may be called the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. It extends to the whole of India except (the state of Jammu and Kashmir). It shall come into force on the first day of March 1894.
The Task Force was set up in pursuance of the recommendations of the Indian Board for Wildlife and its standing committee at their meetings held on 9th February 1981 and 1st July 1982, respectively. The term 'wildlife' as globally understood, denotes all uncultivated forms of flora and fauna and has …
