Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Residents Welfare Association Savita Vihar Vs Irrigation & Flood Control Department & Others dated 28/05/2025. The applicant raised the grievance against throwing of construction debris and sewage obstruction in the Ghazipur drain. According to the applicant this drain flows behind …
THE NATIONAL Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), a giant "freezer" in New Delhi to store plant genes, is implementing a Rs 64.8-crore expansion project that will increase its storage capacity four-fold -- from 154,964 varieties at present to 600,000 varieties. The expansion, with partial assistance of about Rs 40 …
Seed companies are beating a path to the office of a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, entranced by the commercial prospects of his discovery of a single gene that could greatly improve the quality of proteins in plants. In a major breakthrough, Asis Datta, professor of molecular …
A REASON for the unabated and heavy migration into Delhi lies in the highly subsidised quality of life it provides. Delhi residents benefit from subsidies on water, power, milk, transport and services. Amitabh Kundu of the School of Social Sciences at the Jawaharlal Nehru University calculates that the subsidy enjoyed …
DELHI's roads display a sign of what's to come -- traffic police wearing gas masks. Police officials decided to issue the masks to give traffic constables some respite from the extremely high pollution at 40 major intersections. The masks are supposed to be especially useful to Delhi police, because the …
IN TIBET, solar energy is being used increasingly to heat homes, cook food, run television sets, milk cows, shear sheep and, of course, provide light. Tibet gets 3,000 hours of sunshine each year, compared with New Delhi, which gets 2,525 hours annually. In an area slightly in excess of one …
HISTORY is generally seen as a record of kings, queens and warriors. But it could as well be a record of changing human-nature interactions over time. All human societies have exploited their environment for their survival and economic growth. Sometimes this exploitation has been destructive -- for instance, the Mesopotamian …
LASER sensors, induction coils set into the macadam, a fast mainframe computer and state-of-the-art traffic control software: that is the kind of hi-tech the Delhi Police are trying to import to smoothen out the Capital's chaotic traffic. The system will reduce fuel consumption, pollution and the number of accidents. And, …
WHATEVER their area of work, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have made the most headway in involving people in managing their natural resources. Says one NGO activist, "Local people are very smart. They know that if an NGO is merely doing something for them, it will leave them in the lurch after …
EVEN AS the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) goes ahead with Delhi's first mass residential colony based on solar passive architecture, architects continue to hold reservations about the project. Officials in the department of science and technology (DST), which is bearing half the project's research and development costs of Rs …
ON MAY 15 this year, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgement in response to a public interest suit demanding the closure of the 300-odd stone-crushing units in and around New Delhi. Unlicensed units were immediately closed and the rest are to be shut down by August 15. All units …
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 crowd gasps as a sadhu pierces his tongue with a trishul. Chants of awed reverence go up as a baba lights the hawan kunda (sacrificial pyre) with super-natural powers and another passes a flaming torch over his body. It is to expose such miracles and to promote scientific awareness …
WITH more and more local bodies showing a red bottomline, some of the core urban services may soon be up for grabs, if entrepreneurs are willing to take them on. The sectors under debate include water supply, garbage collection, sewage management and solid waste disposal, sanitation treatment plants and even …
"IF the HIV virus spreads through the general population in India, it will be through blood and not, sexual transmission." says P N Talwar, director of the National Institute of Immunology. However, according to the new strategy document of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Global Programme on AIDS (GPA), while …
NEEM is being tested as a contraceptive that can be injected or applied in the vagina. While the contraceptive effect of the injection is expected to last for as long as six months, the vaginal application is for use at the time of intercourse and is 1b believed to be …
Foodstuffs collected from different regions in India were analyzed for the presence of HCH (BHC), DDT, HCB, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, and PCBs. Significantly high levels of food contamination with HCH, DDT, aldrin, and dieldrin were evident throughout India. Dairy products and livestock meat are the prime sources of human dietary …
Every year, during monsoon, it is the same story for roads across India. Potholes, potholes and more potholes. It requires a small intervention to not only help reduce costs incurred in repairing a damaged stretch but also increase groundwater levels. Yet, the government has failed to do so. The potential …
Delhi needs to critically rethink its move to abandon roof top solar scheme In many countries it is now possible to feed electricity from solar roof top systems into the grid. What that means is you put up a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel on your roof and when it produces …
The initial phase of UPA II witnessed prolific rule making, but this was not followed by responsible governance The United Progressive Alliance II (UPA II) and the Nano car arrived together in 2009. The frenzy of the new electoral win and the Nano, symbolising aspiration, made many smug. No one …
Catalysing safe design for public spaces should be among the top priorities to make cities safe for women, children and the elderly I first let this pass without comment—the Rs 1,000 crore Nirbhaya fund for women’s safety proposed in the Union Bdget. Many have glossed over this with a reverent …
