The NGT sought response from a joint committee regarding complaint of violation of environmental norms in the matter of morrum mining in the river bed of Betwa river, tehsil Sarila, district Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh. The joint committee will comprise the District Magistrate, Hamirpur and Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board. It …
The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) said that Inter-linking of river can be taken up as a national project. The Minister, however, clarified that no river-interlinking project under National Perspective Plan (NPP) is currently under implementation and the Project depended on the consensus and cooperation of the States and agreements …
The programme of Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) in India has been one of the most ambitious ideas ever, of any government till date. It is an idea that has conjured up visions for the common Indian
"Rainfall and floods are annual features in many parts of the country. Instead of thinking on interlinking of rivers only during flood and drought, it's time we implement this programme with a great sense of urgency. We need to make an effort to overcome various hurdles in our way to …
according to the National Environment Engineering Research Institute ( neeri ), Nagpur, the Betwa river in the state of Madhya Pradesh is highly polluted. Tests conducted recently by neeri have revealed that the water quality of the river is so bad that it cannot be used for even irrigation purposes. …
On december 6, 1996, coinciding with a Vidisha bandh call, Subash Yadav, deputy chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, graced the town of Vidisha with his visit. Addressing a gathering at the sslj college, he exploded a bomb: the state government and the entire official machinery had "sold out" to the …
Just behind the Som distillery in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district are the Krishna Industry's brick kilns. On the morning of December 26, 1996, a Down To Earth (DTE) reporter and photographer accompanied by two activists of the Kesariya Brigade (a local organisation), Akshay Kumar Sharma and Uma Shankar Vaid, visited …
For the people of Vidisha, religion and mythology have always had preeminent positions in their lives. And the Betwa winds its way through most of their religious beliefs and folklore. In ancient India, the Betwa was called
The movement had several curious fallouts. Satya Narain Sharma, the minister for housing and environment, was relieved of the environment portfolio without much fanfare. As minister, he had staunchly defended Som distillery and had denied the opposition charge that Betwa's water was unfit for consumption. At the time, he had …
IN INDIA, environment is hardly an election topic. No one expects political parties to make environment a plank and neither do most voters base their decisions on ecological promises. However, in the just-concluded assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi, the absence of a burning …
FOR THE candidates of Bhopal (North) constituency, the area worst affected by the gas leak in 1984, relief for the victims seems to be a non-issue. Congress candidate Rasool Ahmad Siddique smugly declares voters are "satisfied with the relief they are getting" and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Ramesh Sharma …
GREEN issues came to the fore in several colonies of Delhi. But, for inexplicable reasons, metropolis-wide environmental issues such as the rapidly increasing air pollution, were ignored. Some of the city's otherwise articulate middle-class even accepted the problem of vehicular pollution as fait accompli. Says O P Sharda, president of …
ONE RARE case of an environmental issue spreading out and influencing an election campaign in two constituencies is that of Betwa river pollution in Madhya Pradesh. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for Vidisha and the Congress candidate for nearby Sanchi tried to cash in on the issue, cleverly using …
PARTY manifestoes have repeatedly shown that election promises come cheap. Green ones may come even cheaper. The Congress party's environmental concerns have been stressed in its election manifestoes since the mid-1970s. However, that has not stopped the party from presiding over heavy exploitation of India's forests and groundwater. Now, it …
