The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Babus in the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest can no longer deny information to applicants under the RTI Act on the pretext that the information has to be collected from different sources. The CIC has recently rescinded a circular by the ministry under which ministry officials denied information to …
There are 229 identified coal blocks for allocation to specified end users and government companies on display on the website of Ministry of Coal. Till May 2008, as many as 182 coal blocks have been allocated to eligible companies. So far, production has commenced only in 13 blocks.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has identified a number of wetlands for conservation and management under the National Wetland Conservation Programme and some financial assistance is being provided to State Governments for various conservation activities through approval of the Management Action Plans. The National Environment Policy recognizes the numerous …
They are the keepers of national wealth worth trillions of dollars, but feel their value has been undermined. An association of Indian Forest Service (ifs) officers is complaining that the sixth pay commission has overlooked them much as the government has neglected the country
Sunny Sebastian New arrival: In a bid to revive the tiger population at the Sariska reserve, Rajasthan, a three-year-old male cub was airlifted on Saturday from the State's Ranthambore national park. The move reintroduces the big cat in the reserve, which lost all its tigers to poaching in 2004-05. SARISKA …
Scientists have predicted more destruction and calamity in India if it is hit by another tsunami. The reason: India's natural barriers against tsunami have been badly damaged in the 2004 tsunami and it will take more than a decade for them to heal. Scientists in a recent study warned that …
The 1991 Coastal Regulation Zone Notification is to be replaced by rules based on a new concept called the Coastal Management Zone. This article, after discussing the proposed CMZ notification, points out several problem areas, particularly, for traditional fishing communities. The article also discusses ideas to address these issues.
Students and young people are at the forefront of a protest against hydel projects that are being planned in Sikkim. AT THE VENUE of the relay fast that has continued in Gangtok since June 2007. The Affected Citizens of Teesta comprises students, professionals and former politicians. DAWA LEPCHA has a …
A day after HDFC chief Deepak Parekh pointed out that environmental clearances were leading to time delays and hence cost overruns in housing projects, industry body Confederation of Real Estate Development Association of India (CREDAI) has put a number to it. CREDAI Secretary Rohit Raj Modi told TOI on Tuesday …
coastal clearances: The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests issued the second draft of the Coastal Zone Management (CZM) notification, which allows green-field airports on coasts. Green-field projects are those being constructed from scratch as opposed to expansion of existing infrastructure. The airports, the draft says, will be allowed in …
On the eve of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's visit to the North-East, the All Idu Mishmi Students Union (AIMSU) has appealed to her to stop the proposed mega dams in the North-east, especially Arunachal Pradesh. The North-east has been identified as India's
Even the most ardent proponents of industrialism would acknowledge that we are in the midst of an environment crisis. Rates of species extinction are 1,000 times more than what they were before human beings dominated the earth. The rate of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere today is 30 times …
How green is my country? Indians are asking the question but not doing enough. ... Debarshi Dasgupta Gurgaon has long been celebrated as a shining example of a vibrant, flourishing, 21st-century India. But last month it presented itself as a showcase of the grave environmental crisis that stares India in …
The Common Guidelines for Watershed Development Projects, brought out by the union government, is an adapted version of the Parthasarathy Committee Report. This article highlights some of the major features of the guidelines and discusses ways to take forward the main concerns that have engaged much of the recent policy …
Wildlife Lovers and forest officials in Orissa are of the view that the missile tests by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) off the Orissa coast have affected the mass nesting of the Olive Ridley sea turtles. Nearly three lakh of these rare species gather at the coast between …
Environment impact assessment was supposed to be a critical tool in environmental decision-making. But it has been re-engineered to severely reduce its usefulness as an instrument for public participation in decision-making. This article, written against the backdrop of proposals for a new coastal regulation zone notification, analyses the different characteristics …
The draft Coastal Management Zone (CMZ) notification published recently by the Ministry of Environment and Forests for public comments will replace the existing Costal Regulation Zone (CRZ) when it is finalised. Attempts to protect the coastal stretch started in 1991 when developments were regulated with respect to the high tide …
The Supreme Court has ordered the union government to "explore the possibility' of an alternative alignment (a route) for the Sethusamudram project and asked the Archaeological Survey of India to find out if Rama Setu was a man-made structure. The direction, which came on May 8, has given a respite …
