Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Are missing palm trees causing more lighting deaths in Bihar appearing in ‘The Times of India’ dated 29.05.2025". The original application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled "Are missing palm trees causing …
It is well-known that it is very easy to siphon off funds from earthwork projects, says D K Mishra. Perhaps this was the reason why politicians in the 1950s pushed hard for embankments to be built along rivers in Bihar. The money siphoned off from such projects was used to …
This north Indian state is today a land of paradoxes. It is known both for its mineral wealth and its abysmally poor people. Here we can find corrupt bureaucrats, flushed with funds and personal wealth and a state as deprived of money as the poor who eke out a miserable …
• The embankments of Kamla Balan have been breached on several occasions. In 1963, when the river burst its embankments near Ramghat, it submerged villages such as Kharbar, Gangapur, Gunakarpur and Belhi. In 1964, the left bank on the Lakhnour block was breached near Daiya Kharbari. • In 1965, innumerable …
politicians: A means to generate funds for the party's coffers • Used the concept of shramdan (voluntary labour) to exploit the people • Awarded contracts to their relatives and party workers • Failed to maintain proper accounts contractors: Saw earthwork as an easy way to make a fast buck • …
In 1855, the British government decided to embank the Damodar river in order to prevent flooding. With the construction of watertight embankments on the Damodar, the flood control picture started getting "brighter'. William Willcocks, a British irrigation expert came to India in the 1920s. In a series of lectures, he …
Corruption is not confined to earthworks and flood control measures alone. It is all over and all embracing. Many politicians today face charges of corruption in Bihar. The names of a few are given below. In the wake of CBI investigations into the Rs 950-crore fodder scam, Laloo Prasad Yadav …
The entire state is today held in thrall by criminals and private armies. The river can erode values, not just soil. Corruption in the management of the environment can corrupt society. A case to note is the infamous Bhagalpur "blindings' in Bihar. In the early 1980s, the Bihar police blinded …
Why have flood-control measures failed? You must understand that the water comes from Nepal. We must stop it there. Embankments were constructed as a secondary measure. But the primary aim of the government has been to construct the Barahkshetra dam in Nepal, which will help control the water release. Why …
How and why did the rivers curse Bihar? It all began with a group of young politicians in the 1950s. To them goes the credit for pushing the idea of building embankments. This was done in the name of trying to tame the rivers of the state. In the 200 …
The birth of chaos Measures to control floods have backfired in Bihar. Flood related damages and flood prone areas have only increased since independence, and so has corruption. The two are closely related I n many ways the state of Bihar is unique. It is resource rich, but the people …
Bihar is a unique state. It was the seat of learning, culture and civilisation. As far back as 326 bc , when Alexander the Great came to India, Bihar was the regional superpower. Rather than engage the united troop strength of the Magadha Empire, the Greeks preferred to station a …
Despite the opposition from political heads and hydropower companies against dam destruction, the emphasis in usa is firmly on restoration of salmon population, even if it means razing the dams. Environmental degradation by dams is also kept in check by monitoring the renewal of dam licenses and also by refusing …
Extinct species: Not only have salmon populations been decimated, but entire stocks have disappeared. Prior to the 20th century, the Columbia River in the us Pacific Northwest supported some 200 distinct stocks of the fish. Today, 69 stocks have disappeared with another 75 on the brink of total extinction. Moreover, …
In a country like the us , laws once framed are supposed to be implemented. An excellent example is the Endangered Species Act ( esa ). Adopted in 1973, the law was framed with the sole intention of saving species on the brink of extinction
consider this. A small sleepy town on the top of a hill in the north of Nagaland. The mention of the town's name is met by blank looks for it is isolated not only geographically, but also from civilisation. None of the modern means of communication exists and, to top …
Once again we have a new environment minister, T R Balu of the Dravida Munetra Kazagham ( dmk ). Nobody knows how deep is his understanding of what needs to be done in this field. As past experience has repeatedly shown, unless the politician-at-helm, namely, the minister, provides a vision, …
" environment audit is a form of social audit which the corporate sector has to accept in order to qualify as good corporate citizens,' said former Union finance minister Manmohan Singh, while formally releasing the environmental ratings of 28 pulp and paper mills on July 28. The first of its …
environmental management demands two things: environment-friendly technology and environment-friendly behaviour; in other words, technological change and behavioural change. In fact, behavioural change lies at the heart of environmental management because even technological change is not possible without behavioural change. For example, environment-friendly technologies may actually be much more expensive than …
