Shrinking green cover
Uttara Kannada is popular for its forests. Tall trees, medicinal plants, rare wildlife, rivers and lakes add to the beauty of this district. It is difficult to assess the value of forest wealth in this district. Spread over 10,24679 hectares, the district has a forest area of 8,29,153 hectares, roughly …
Out of muddy waters
Doori is a tiny village in Dharwad taluk in Karnataka with about 300 families. Agriculture is the main occupation in this village situated a few kilometres from the Goa road. Doori has a pond named after it. Built in the 1970s and spread over three kilometres, the Doori kere is …
Nal, Little Rann to enter world list
Two of the Gujarat's almost important wetland sanctuaries Nal Sarovar Birds' Sanctuary and the Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kutch will soon enter the list of world's most important wetland ecosystems. Ramsar Bureau that recognizes the important eco-systems world over, is expected to soon announce inclusion of …
A battle for water
The Punjab-Haryana dispute over the Satluj-Yamuna Link canal resumes as Punjab ignores another deadline for the completion of a portion of the canal and approaches the Supreme Court.
Budget bill riders set anti-environmental policies
Republicans slid a host of anti-environmental riders into the final text of the $397.4 billion spending bill passed by Congress yesterday. One rider blocks appeals against a pending decision on whether to expand protection for Alaska's Tongass National Forest. Others cut funding for land conservation, weaken the national organic labeling …
BJP to hold massive protest on Feb 16
The BJP has resolved to hold a massive protest on February 16 against the denial of entry of vehicles on the road linking Todikana- Bhagamandala, Mangalore. This has been made in the wake of eviction of encroachment in the forests.
Encroachment of forests rampant in state
If the encroachment of over 60000 acres of forest land in the Vadodara (Gujarat) forest circle has raised an alarm, the situation in the rest of the state is similar, even if it has been under wraps so far. While only the Vadodara circle has dared to submit a detailed …
Department ready to implement order
The Punjab Forest Department said that while it was ready to implement the government order authorising Mr Lachhman Singh, a wellknown forest contractor and former MP, to fell certain types of trees in Mirzapur's private forest, it continued to differ with him over the interpretation of the subsequent "extension' granted …
SC pulls up KAAC for violating timber-trade ban
The High Power Committee (HPC) of norht-eastern region constituted by the Supreme Court of India to oversee compliance of its order banning tree-felling in the North-east, has taken strong exception to the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) violating the SC ban and allowing 10 saw mills in Karbi Anglong to …
Rs 2000 cr forest land scam rocks Gujarat
The Gujarat forest department has unearthed the biggest land scam in the state, estimated at over Rs 2000 crores. It involves encroachment of over 60000 acres of land belonging to sanctuaries, reserved forests and protected forest areas in the districts of Vadodara, Bharuch and Panchamahals.
City needs another Kempe Gowda
The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) commissioner's call for a public debate on the need for a green belt around the city is certainly welcome as real estate sharks in the guise of land developers have been exerting pressure to remove all restrictions...editorial
Managed forests double in four years
The forest area under joint management of government and local communities has doubled from 7 million hectares in 1998 to 14 million hectares in 2002. This was stated by Union Minister for Environment and Forests T R Baalu during a meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee. The village forest protection …
Road safety clubs for schools, new CNG ground rules
In a move to make the roads in the Capital safe, the Delhi Government has adopted new safety standards for the CNG buses and mooted the idea of road safety clubs to ensure safety of school buses in the city. Delhi Transport Minister Ajay Maken said to ensure that the …
Centre`s help sought on saw mills` issue
The Rajasthan Government has sought the support of the Ministry for Environment and Forests for getting licenses for 4000 odd unregistered saw mills in the State from the Central Empowered Committee. The State has presently 8568 saw mills while trees on its agricultural land alone can "safely sustain" about 20,000 …
Infinity is Universe`s fate, NASA study says
NASA, the American space agency, is expected to announce this week that it has proved the existence of "dark energy", a cosmic force that counteracts gravity and will keep the Universe expanding forever. The announcement will effectively demolish the theory that life will be wiped out in a "Big Crunch" …
Impregilo wins Iceland dam construction deal
Icelandic power producer Landsvirkjun said last week it chose Italian construction group Impregilo SpA (IPGI.MI) to build a giant dam in a project worth 47 million Icelandic crowns. Landsvirkjun said in a statement the Italian company won a bid to build a dam and tunnels for a hydropower plant due …
Great potential for JFM in Uttaranchal: Nav Prabhat
Uttaranchal Forest Minister Nav Prabhat has said that with 65% land under forests, there was great potential for the implementation of Joint Forest Management (JFM) in Uttaranchal. He said the concept of JFM already existed in the state in the form of Panchayat Raj Forests, long before JFM was introduced. …
Illegally felled timber to be auctioned at Sanguem
The truckloads of timber which were seized in the illegal tree felling case in Sanguem, Goa, from the government property, allegedly by Forest Department officials, are to be auctioned at Forest Department office, Sanguem, even before the inquiry in the illegal tree felling case is completed. Sources informed that the …
Collem farmers agitated over govts move to demolish Dholbag bundh
Faced with the Irrigation Department's decision to disconnect private water pumps and demolish the Dholbag bundh in March, agitating farmers from Collem, Goa, have threatened to agitate by staging morchas and have even planned to sleep on the bundh, on the day of its demolition. A meeting of sugarcane cultivators …
Water of India
The other name for water is life. It has been known for a very long time that the poor of India are often deprived of water and definitely of good quality water. But now it is clear that even the affluent in India are drinking water full of impurities and …
