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 …
IMPATIENT shifting sand dunes and acacia shrubs dot the desolate landscape of Churu district, the gateway to the Thar. Almost invariably, the highest summer temperature is recorded here. Drinking water sources are scarce. The wells are very deep and the water saline. The erratic piped water supply doesn"t even meet …
THE Bisalpur dam in Rajasthan will finally see the daylight. The World Bank (WB) has decided to fund the Jaipur Water Supply Project which will receive water from the Bisalpur dam under construction in the state. The announcement came in early August. This is a part of the Rs 3,000 …
This book offers a collection of 39 papers on the various research activities of scientists of the Central Arid Zone Research Institute, (CAZRI), Jodhpur, working in Rajasthan's arid zone. The book first deals with the natural resources inventory, and later goes on to describe the various researches being carried out …
THE state of Rajasthan evokes images of camels loping over lifeless sand stretching to the horizon, without the welcome punctuation of green cover. So the state government's bid to denotify 3,500 sq km of forest cover for mining purposes sparked off an alarum. Rajasthan has hardly 9 per cent notified …
After the successful release of his book, Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talab, Anupam Mishra of the Gandhi Peace Foundation will soon release Rajasthan ki Rajat Bunde, based on 10 years of research on the traditional water harvesting systems of Rajasthan. The book includes interesting facets of traditional water harvesting systems …
The Bhairu Lok Abhyaranya Dakav in Bhanwta, near Sariska, Rajasthan, is a sanctuary with a difference. It is a sanctuary declared, protected and managed by the people. "We call it the sonchidi, since it is as precious as a sone ki chidiya (the golden bird)," says Kanhaiyalal Gujjar, a member …
Our syllabi (for training forest officials) still have manuals written during the Raj S K Mukherjee Acting director, Wildlife Institute, Dehradun Why do you still train foresters in horseriding and shooting, 5 decades after the British have left? Surely, that's teaching them to charge against us. Nanakram Gujjar, a villager …
MAKAR Sankranti, January 14, is an auspicious day for Hindus. In Rajasthan, it is the day of reconciliation. This year, a motley group of 15-odd people set out that day on a 15,000 km walkathon through 18 sanctuaries and national parks (NPs) spread over 5 states. Their moving force was …
THE low hum of conversation suddenly gives way to melody as the Banjara women break into song. A voice yells, "Don't sing, shout slogans!" and the air is rent with cries of "Yeh azadi jhooti hai" (This independence is a sham). This was the scene in front of the District …
Rajasthan villagers have taken to uprooting the eucalyptus trees, popularly known as safeda, which they had welcomed a decade ago as harbinger of greenery in the desert state. Residents of Samredpur Kalan Khurd, a village 60 km from Jaipur, have started an 'uproot the safeda campaign' after Rajasthan Mukti Panchayat, …
THE Udaipur lakes are dying of asphyxiation. Fed by huge amounts of nutrients and organic matter, the lakes are covered with a carapace of water hyacinth and blue-green algae, the first indication of "accelerated eutrophication". Eutrophication is the slow and steady natural ageing process of any confined waterbody, and is …
Even as the cerebral malaria epidemic in Rajasthan abates with the onset of winter, NGOs who had first sounded the alarm are trying to ensure that the incident does not slip from the state government's memory, till the next outbreak. The Rajasthan Voluntary Health Association (RVHA), with support from the …
TILL the other day, the Rajasthan chief minister, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, seemed to spend much of his time frozen on an anti-environmentalist platform, ranting against the Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF). Last fortnight, he seemed to have passed the megaphone to Orissa's Biju Patnaik. That both these stormy …
JUST as farmers in the dry districts of western Rajasthan were looking forward to a good harvest following the heaviest Irains in 2 decades earlier this year, a deadly disease - cerebral malaria - ran riot through the villages. All hopes of prosperity were dashed as hundreds of people were …
Despite international scepticism, the Union ministry of non-conventional energy sources (MNES) has revived plans to set up a solar thermal power plant in Rajasthan. The project will be executed by the Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in collaboration with Solel Solar Systems Of Israel (See Down To Earth, October 15, …
THE recent outbreak of falciparum malaria in non-endemic areas in Rajasthan has underscored the link between development projects and the damage they cause to the human environment. Public health experts as well as social workers have pointed out that the fuse for the disease's flare-up lay in the well-meant Indira …
ABOUT 60 km from Udaipur lies a pristine lake in peril. Jaisamand is one of Asia's largest sweetwater lakes, measuring 54.4 sq km and dotted by 7 islands. It was founded in 1685 by Maharana Fateh Singh who dammed the Gomti river. Today, a squat hotel casts ominous shadows on …
NESTLED within the degraded Aravalli hills are Udaipur"s 5 lakes, easily the city"s greatest asset. Since 1678, these human-made lakes have provided revenue, recreation and water to the people crowded around their shores. Seven lakh tourists came last year to feast their eyes on their green waters, providing 50 per …
NOTWITHSTANDING the self-applause the government claims on its wasteland development programme in the recent spate of advertisements in leading national dailies, community work at the local level is still being impeded by archaic regulations and the unbending attitude of the officials. Lapodia in the Dudu block of Jaipur district in …
The growing problems in providing adequate drinking water to urban populations is a consequence of the lack of long-term planning and inefficient management of urban water usage.
