The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
YOU CAN now bank on the environment -- at least at the nine Punjab National Bank (PNB) branches that will underwrite projects friendly to both customers and the environment. In a trend-setting move, PNB branches will encourage ecologically safe projects such as organic farms, fruit and vegetable cooperatives for the …
THREE years ago, the state government directed the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water Board (UPGWB) to carry out a detailed survey of the fluorosis-affected villages in Unnao district. But it has yet to release the Rs 7 lakh that such a survey would cost. Despite this, the UP government recently directed …
FOR MORE than a decade now, The State of the World"s Children, published annually by UNICEF, has attempted to draw public attention to issues which, though vital to the well-being of the world"s children, rarely get included in the economic and political priorities of governments. Like its predecessors, The State …
NO OTHER region of India has paid a heavier price for India's industrialisation than the Damodar valley, which traverses the poor states of Bihar and West Bengal. Rich in coal resources, the region has been extensively mined for this valuable mineral, which energises domestic hearths and industrial furnaces throughout the …
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has convicted Britain for allowing high nitrate content in drinking water, court upheld an EC complaint that in 28 water supply areas of Britain in 1989, nitrate levels were above the safe limit of 50 parts per million as laid down by the EC. Responding …
CIVIC authorities in Kanpur never seem to find the time or the resources to solve the problems of the 3,000 residents of Rajapurva, a slum in the heart of the city. This must be so, otherwise how can one explain why a slum settlement that's older than the nation was …
AN ADVANCED, ultraviolet (UV) light-water disinfection system has been installed at a water pumping station in UK. The system, developed by Hanovia Ltd, differs from earlier systems in that it can automatically regulate UV intensity in response to changes in water quality and water flow. UV disinfection has normally been …
PROLONGED use of chlorinated drinking water can cause cancer, says a study by scientists at the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). When chlorine gas reacts with naturally occurring organic contaminants in water, minute concentrations of carcinogenic compounds are formed. The risk is greater in water got from rivers and …
WHEN PUBLIC interest litigation (PIL) was introduced in India about 10 years ago, it was hailed as a landmark in the development of the Indian legal system. Though touted then as a powerful tool, in improving social and environmental conditions through legal action, PIL has turned out to be relatively …
PIL DIFFERS significantly from other forms of litigation as regards a person's legal right to file a suit. Traditionally, only an aggrieved party had the locus standi to sue for judicial redress. In PIL, the court has broadened and liberalised the concept of locus standi to read: If the fundamental …
• Sanitation in Ratlam: In a landmark judgement in 1980, the Supreme Court explicitly recognised the impact of a deteriorating urban environment on the poor. It linked basic public health facilities to human rights and compelled the municipality to provide proper sanitation and drainage. However, according to numerous reports, little …
Article 21: No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedures established according to law. Article 47: The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among …
A visit to Kabir Basti, 60 km from Jaisalmer, reveals an affluent village of about 70 households. Every house is a pucca structure, made of the local yellow granite and arranged in neat, well-planned rows, with plenty of space in between. The children are healthy, the village has its own …
TAKE CARE of your economics, your lifestyle and your environment, and your health will also take care of itself. The report of the WHO Commission on Health and Environment, Our Planet, Our Health, prepared for the forthcoming Earth Summit, inextricably links environment and health. Yet, the report argues, health rarely …
SPRINGS in the Himalaya are drying up on a massive scale, says a detailed study of a 59,723ha catchment area in the Kumaon. The study conducted by geologists K S Valdiya and S K Bartarya of the University of Kumaon -claims that springs in as much as 40 per cent …
THE misery caused by this year"s drought was unnecessary. Typical of India"s weather, rainfall in several parts dipped below the normal last year but these fluctuations were small. Yet we failed to deal with the problems caused by this shortfall in rain. It is obvious that as India"s population grows, …
ABOUT 60 km from the historical town of Bijapur is a latter-day human-made wonder - the Chikka- padasalagi barrage. This half-km long dam on the River Krishna is testimony to the collective will and undaunted efforts of the people from 21 villages around the Jamkhandi taluk of Karnataka's Bijapur district. …
