Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item Titled "Neglected Katora Houz in Hyderabad’s Golconda Fort Cries for attention appearing in ‘The Siasat Daily’ dated 25 May 2025". The application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled “Neglected Katora Houz in Hyderabad’s …
IT IS WIDELY believed that higher carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere will stimulate plant growth and thus help crops and forests fix more carbon - a positive feedback effort that may partially help control the global warming problem. But two recent studies indicate'forests may not be as efficient in …
THE DECISION of the Himachal Pradesh governnment to set up four Large and 12 small cement plants in The state has unleashed a controversy pwite one Union minister lVAmother and arousing protests fonmentalists. Though Lwiories are listed by the of environment and as a major polluter, it plGaoarat Ambuja Ltd's …
PORTLAND cement may acquire a new, environmentally friendly, chemical composition. Researchers are focussing on how to reduce emissions from cement manufacture and also use less energy. Another area of research that has emerged recently examines the use of bauxite (aluminiuni oxide) and wastes such as fly ash, scrap iron and …
DURING the 1992 September-October southern spring, the world's ozone layer dropped to the lowest levels recorded in 35 years. According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the ozone levels over northern Europe, Russia and Canada last winter and spring were 12 per cent below the seasonal average. The Antarctic ozone …
Fathers may be responsible for birth defects in their offspring (New Scientist, Vol 136 No 1843). Research using animal models suggests some miscarriages, birth defects and children's diseases can be blamed on the lifestyles and occupations of the fathers. Scientists thought sperm damaged by exposure to radiation or toxic chemicals …
URBAN air pollution in India has become a cause of concern and alarm and the subject of much writing and debate on measures to control it. Calcutta is reputed to be one of the world's most polluted cities, but its citizens contend the pervasive acrid odours and hazy horizons are …
ELECTRIC cars run on batteries but work best without them. Batteries halve electric cars' speed and range and increase their cost because it is more difficult to get electricity into and out of a battery than it is to pump and burn petrol. With stricter emission controls slated for later …
DISAPPOINTMENT among green NGOs and irritation among developing countries over the foot-dragging attitude of some developed countries characterised the week-long meeting in Copenhagen of the parties to the so-called Montreal Protocol. But alarming data presented on the state of the ozone layer, which protects life on earth from the sun's …
TUBERCULOSIS, the number one killer in India -- two million cases of active TB are diagnosed each year -- and the AIDS epidemic are showing a disturbing tendency of coalescing and infecting the same individual (WorldAIDS, No 23). The risk groups of both diseases overlap in many countries in the …
WESTERN scientists report the burning of fossil fuels is steadily depleting the oxygen content of the atmosphere. And, because the level of oxygen varies inversely with that of carbon dioxide, the new techniques of oxygen measurement provide them also with clues to the carbon cycle. But the scientists are struggling …
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has admitted a Spanish mother's complaint that the environmental nuisance caused by an unlicensed waste treatment plant adjoining her house is a violation of her human rights. Gregoria Lopez Ostra contendss the smell and pollution from the plant treating tannery waste causes …
THE VILLAGERS of Pali, 30 km from Delhi in Faridabad, are up ip arms over a move to set up 300 stone- crushing units on panchayat land that was once theirs and have gone to court to get a stay. The Faridabad Complex Administration (FCA), acting on a Supreme Court …
THE ELEVEN countries in southern Africa, with a population of over 120 million, are in the midst of a drought of unprecedented severity in the region, mainly due to the failure of last year's rains. The UN World Food Programme has estimated that about 18 million people in the region …
INDIAN scientists find lichens can be used to monitor urban pollution levels. Lichens are disappearing within the core zone of the highly industrialised Haldia township in West Bengal, due to increasing air pollution. (Pollution Research, Vol 11, No 1). Sensitivity of lichens - essentially symbiotic associations of fungi and algae, …
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THAILAND'S war against communist insurgency ended early in the 1980s. But now, villagers in Buriram province are battling to save the area's last rain forest - ravaged during operations to flush out rebels - from government agencies and private businesses looking for profit. The efforts of the villagers of Pakham …
UKRAINE will stage an international competition for engineers to ensure the lasting safety of the Chernobyl nuclear plant. It is hoping to lure aid from the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialised countries to safeguard the Chernobyl reactor. Ukraine has three Chernobyl-type plants in its territory. An existing "sarcophagus", containing a …
INDUSTRIAL towns with a high growth and, therefore, high pollution potential will come in for special attention from the Punjab Pollution Control Board, under a new initiative to deal with pollution in the state. Amritsar, Batala, Gobindgarh Mandi, Jalandhar, Khanna, Ludhiana, Nangla and Phagwara have already been earmarked by the …
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 …
The Union ministry of forests and environment will soon set up a Central authority to monitor and regulate zoos in the country. This body will also be responsible for financial assistance to the zoos. To be constituted under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1991, the authority will become operational by …
