Judgment of the National Green Tribunal, May 27, 2025 in the matter of Sumit Saini Vs Shree Ram Steel Industries & Others. Sumit Saini, resident of village Damla, District Yamuna Nagar, Haryana had sent a letter petition dated May 14, 2022 to the NGT. The application said that around 25 …
Towards the end of 2001, as part of an ongoing public interest litigation on air pollution in Delhi, the apex court took notice of the ugly business of adulteration. It has repeatedly pointed out the merit of the CNG programme in culling this menace. But the Union of India, in …
Last week, on a visit to the cold desert of Ladakh, I learnt something important. It made me see the ongoing agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organization's meet in Cancun, Mexico in a different light. I learnt that what the industrialised world is doing to our agriculture, Punjab and …
The Haryana government's recent decision to promote glass syringes is in the midst of a storm. It has, in fact, created clear factions; one that supports the move and the other opposing it. The fact that the Union ministry of health and family welfare (mohfw) is supporting the state's decision …
the Union ministry of agriculture has set up an expert committee to reassess the current method of fixing minimum support price (msp) for kharif, rabi, sugarcane and jute crops. There has been a long-felt need for an upward revision in the existing msps in view of the changing external environment …
poultry farms across north India are facing a mysterious viral disease. As many as two million birds have fallen prey to the illness and the economic loss has already mounted to more than Rs 60 crore. Even as the authorities' final diagnosis is long overdue, a chicken-and-egg controversy
the Lok Sabha cleared the Central Electricity Bill, 2000, on April 9, 2003. Its final passage is expected to pave the way for wide-ranging reforms in the power sector. Since the provisions of the proposed legislation are technology and supply neutral, it would in effect promote decentralisation
The Supreme Court warned the state of Haryana and mine contractors of "serious consequences' if mining operations continued in the state's ecologically fragile Aravali Hills. A division bench said it was "extremely concerned' about the unabated illegal activities despite previous ban orders. The mining was continuing even after affidavits were …
it was in October 2002 that media reports surfaced about children succumbing to a mysterious infectious fever in Saharanpur town of western Uttar Pradesh (up). The disease struck neighbouring districts too. Within the first two weeks the toll reportedly mounted to 100 in the area. The local administration first denied …
on december 25, 2002, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee unveiled an ambitious scheme to provide drinking water to all villages in the country by April 2004. The project, called
The Supreme Court has partially lifted its blanket ban on mining in the Aravalli hills. Mining is now permitted in some parts of the 250-kilometre stretch. The apex court has modified its earlier order providing relief largely to Rajasthan and parts of Haryana. The court had earlier categorically ruled out …
The Supreme Court (SC) in a recent order has banned all mining activities in the entire Aravalli hills in Rajasthan and Haryana. The order follows the court's earlier directive in May, prohibiting mining within a five-kilometre (km) radius of Delhi (see: Down To Earth, Vol 11, No 12, November 15, …
Amarpreet can no longer play football, his favourite sport. In fact, he can hardly move. In 1997, the 14-year-old from Patiala in Punjab was diagnosed with Wilson's Disease
An evaluation of the Government of India's NPIC (National Programme of Improved Cookstoves) was undertaken in six states to learn lessons and assess impediments to future stoves programmes. The programmes were assessed on the basis of stove design, consumer satisfaction, capacity for quality control, and the role of subsidies in …
New Delhi, November 15The extent of degradation in and around mines is the evidence of total failure of the state administration to enforce basic rules for ecological safeguards. Recent attempts at planting trees are cosmetic. Exposed groundwater lakes observed in mining sites only reconfirm the worst fears. If mining could …
November 15Legend has it that the beautiful goddess Saraswati sprung from the forehead of her father Brahma, the god of creation. It is said that as soon as Brahma looked at her beauty, he was filled with desire for her. Unhappy with the amorous attentions he bestowed upon her, she …
forest, water and biodiversity management don't have powerful lobbies. Mining does. The trouble is mineral exploitation can easily destroy the natural resource base of the poor
long time exposure to benzene has always been considered detrimental to human health, but now researchers from the Kurukshetra University, Haryana, have found that even an occasional exposure to benzene of an hour a day is sufficient to bring about adverse changes in genetic material of humans. Benzene is a …
A group of scientists studying salinity levels in the aquifers of Haryana stumbled across a bigger problem. The team from the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (cssri) found arsenic in the groundwater of Gohana block in Sonepat district of Haryana. Worse still, the levels of the contaminant were well above …
it is a paradox that has stumped the Union government. On the one hand, the central task force is flooded with requests for aid as the drought devastates state after state (12 at the last count). And, on the other, the country is saddled with a huge surplus stock of …
