Order of the National Green Tribunal (Central Zone Bench, Bhopal) in the matter of Kamal Tiwari Vs Union of India & Others dated 27/05/2025. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden, Rajasthan stated that a high level meeting to review the progress on the demarcation of Nahargarh …
the polluted lakes of Udaipur, some of which have dried up to 60 per cent, may finally get a fresh lease of life. Acting on a petition filed by the Jheel Sanrakshan Samiti ( jss ), an Udaipur-based non-governmental organisation ( ngo ), the Rajasthan High Court has ordered the …
in march 1997 when the heavy drilling machines ploughed into the barren land of the desert village Sanawada, just a few kilometres from India's nuclear weapons testing site, Pokran, officials of the public sector Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd ( mecl ) told the residents, "There are precious stones beneath the …
AS FAR AS the eye can see, it is a mass of horns in a desiccated, semi-arid landscape. The horns emerge sideways from the head, turn up, and then arch back at the tips, as if swept back by the wind. Kankrej, native to northern Gujarat, is quite a regal-looking …
it is a right. Yet on paper it looks more like a privilege granted to the electorate than a right. However, despite its shortcomings, the Right to Information Bill, that was recently passed by the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, is definitely a step forward towards ensuring more transparency in the state's …
drought and an acute shortage of water have severely effected nearly 70,000 heads of cattle who face death due to starvation in the northern areas of Gujarat bordering Rajasthan. This year the problem has aggravated specially because of the tendency among villagers living in drought-prone areas to abandon livestock which …
For British historians and administrators, Indian villages were self-sustaining units and they termed these units as village republics. Later, this terminology was done away with by historians and sociologists. Although utopian, villages situated along the Arvari river in Alwar district, Rajasthan, have retained the basic essence of a "self-sustaining republic,'
parts of Rajasthan are in the grip of a severe drought and the situation may worsen further. Over 2.5 crore people and 3.5 crore animals have already been affected. According to a report prepared by the government of Rajasthan: "Bunds and tanks are almost empty. The groundwater level has gone …
the Rajasthan Groundwater Department ( rgwd ) has embarked on an ambitious project, which if successfully implemented, could solve the water problems of the state. The board is trying to revive ancient water channels that are lying buried 60 metres under the ground. There are indications that these channels were …
lapodia is a small village of some 189 families in the Dudu block of Jaipur district in Rajasthan. Located in a semi-arid area, the residents of Lapodia are primarily agro-pastoralists, and their livestock subsists on the pastures in the neighbouring areas. In the past four-five years, the people of this …
keoladeo national park in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, is fast losing its population of rare birds due to unchecked human habitation. The human population around the forest has registered a 24 per cent growth over the last 10 years. This is threatening bird migration, says a study conducted by the United Nations …
in the vast stretches of shimmering deserts of Rajasthan exist religious traditions deeply rooted in reverence for the environment. The forest-based religious system of Oran is one such tradition which has prevailed for centuries. Unfortunately, this self-reliant culture is fast disappearing as the desert economy tries to catch up with …
fluorosis a crippling disease caused by excess fluoride in water, is fast becoming a scourge in Rajasthan where about 50 per cent of the villages face the problem. Excess fluoride content in the human body causes toxicity, resulting in paralysis, muscle damage and premature ageing. The disease is prevalent in …
more than a hundred cows have died in a span of four months in Rajasthan's Sar region, 23 km from Jodhpur. Though authorities have refused to give any reason for the deaths, it is said that the cows died after drinking contaminated water. According to the collector of Jodhpur, V …
GANDHAR KARMAKAR is nine years old. He has only one eye, and suffers from paralysis. Elder to him by three years is Motiram. He suffers from osteoporosis (general bone damage). Dunia Uraon, also just short of his teens, is another unfortunate adolescent. His mother suffered three miscarriages before giving birth …
Forest fires raging in many parts of northern India have claimed many lives and destroyed property worth crores of rupees. The worst affected areas are Tehri Garhwal, Almora and Pithoragarh in Uttar Pradesh; Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Solan and Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh; the Bihar plateau; Mount Abu and the surrounding …
The Himachal Pradesh government has made it mandatory for all new building owners to construct structures at their premises for collection of rainwater from rooftops of their buildings to meet the water scarcity.
There is nothing but sand interspersed with rocks, reflecting sunlight in all its resplendence. Travelling northwest of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, suddenly one comes across a hutment surrounded by a carpet of yellow-grey shrubs clothing the surface. In the heart of the Thar desert, where eking out a living is as …
A people's movement, like that in Ralegan Siddhi, Maharashtra and Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh (MP), is indispensable before ecological regeneration can be undertaken in Rajasthan. This was stated by Anil Agarwal, director, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) in a presentation to Rajasthan chief minister …
Both systems exist in Rajasthan. Small, cheap and easy-to-build water harvesting structures and a large canal. One relies on traditional wisdom and local expertise to function. The other, the Indira Gandhi Canal, has been built and maintained by a centralised bureaucracy. The canal passes through the sewan grassland regions of …
