Reply affidavit on behalf of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board in the matter of Tribunal on its motion Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Others dated 02/05/2025. The NGT, March 5, 2025 directed the authorities to file their replies/responses by way of affidavits regarding action taken for compliance of directions …
The water woes of Patti Pachgai village in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh (up) are being compounded by the incompetent responses of the state government and local non-governmental organisations (ngos). Even rainwater harvesting, touted as the panacea to many ills, has failed to provide succour to the village because of …
Five successive years of debilitating drought. It had rained for barely a few hours last year in the region of Rajasthan I was visiting. I expected wasted lands, desolation and nearly-abandoned villages. Instead, I could see greenery, irrigated agriculture, people tending to vegetable crops and livestock. The village diary - …
Humans usually source water from rivers, wells, ponds or underground aquifers. All these sources are ultimately fed by rain (scientists prefer the word
Oscar Olivera of Bolivia is something of a mascot for anti-globalisation movements across the world. During the recent Asian Social Forum meeting in Hyderabad, Olivera spoke in Spanish. And in spite of the tediousness of translated messages, his dozen-odd speeches found eager listeners in the 15,000 participants at the meeting. …
Parched koalas are roaming Australian towns in search of water. A long-drawn drought, that has been stretching for more than 11 months, has forced the koalas to abandon their babies and eucalyptus trees in the forest and head for household backyards, to drink water from taps and sprinklers. The lack …
The Union government's newly launched Rs 1000-crore Hariyali (greenery) programme is one of the biggest rainwater harvesting projects ever to be conceived in India. "The scheme has the dual objective of tackling water scarcity problems as well as augmenting the resources of panchayats in an attempt to strengthen them,' says …
http://www.wotr.org The concept of water harvesting is catching like wild fire across the length and breadth of the nation. For those interested in knowing more about the concept and how to implement it, this is the right site. Watershed Organisation Trust (wotr) based in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, helps rural communities and …
Recurrent droughts and floods coupled with mass poverty, chronic unemployment and pervasive malnutrition are the major challenges before India. The Union government usually responds by complaining about truant rains and doles out funds in an arbitrary manner. As an alternative, I propose a nationwide watershed development programme through the statutory …
Even as citypeople all over India were finalising their Christmas party-hopping plans, a celebration of a very different kind galvanised Junagadh district, Gujarat. From December 23 to 26, 2002, thousands of villagers from villages in Keshod, Maliya, Memdarda and Mangrol talukas went on a padayatra (footmarch). Their mission? Sensitising and …
The coastal city of Kochi in Kerala might finally have some respite from acute water shortage. And the famous Maharaja's College in Kochi is leading the way. Kerala's largest rainwater harvesting project, with a capacity of 300,000 litres, was inaugurated in the college campus. Two abandoned tanks, earlier used for …
Water worries could be over for residents of Tihar Jail in Delhi. A rainwater harvesting system has been installed in the prison with technical assistance from New Delhi-based non-governmental organisation (ngo) Centre for Science and Environment. Tihar Jail is one of the largest prisons in the world. The ngo Scope …
"The last time we had any rain was in 1997, not a drop since. God knows what's in store for us.' Ram Karan is the grand old man of Laporiya in the Jaipur district of drought ravaged Rajasthan and, coming from him, a statement like this means the situation is …
Los Angeles lurches from one crisis to another. While this thirsty desert city needs a stable water supply during summer, floods often cause widespread havoc in the winter. Developers have now come up with a novel idea to tide over the water woes. A group of about 20 environmentalists, politicians, …
Acting on a public interest litigation (pil) petition, the Delhi High Court (hc) ordered local bodies to use official buildings, schools and hospitals in the capital for rainwater harvesting. The court directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Jal Board and Delhi government …
I travel in drought-hit Rajasthan. I want to see, and record. What does really happen when an area is hit by drought? It doesn't rain over Rajasthan the way it used to. Less rainfall has led to a drop in groundwater levels. This year, Rajasthan got 208 mm rain. That's …
Andhra Pradesh is reeling under an acute water crisis. Apart from its capital Hyderabad, 53 municipalities in the state are facing drinking water shortage, reveals a survey conducted by the municipal administration department. The worst hit areas are Ongole, Sattenapalli, Chilkaluripeta, Chittoor, Bhongir, Nalgonda and Guntakal. Alive to the magnitude …
The National Water Resource Council (nwrc) approved a new National Water Policy (nwp) document on April 1, 2002. The bill based on this document is now pending in Parliament. When compared to the water policy of 1987, it could be said that the 2002 policy explores several new dimensions and …
Part I: Untapped data Four consecutive years of drought have brought home a lesson that the people of Hamirpur district and its neighbouring districts in Himachal Pradesh have learnt well. These areas had started receiving piped water supply from the government and gave up on their traditional water harvesting structures. …
