The Bikaner Development Authority Bill, 2025, passed by the Rajasthan Assembly, aims to establish a Bikaner Development Authority to regulate development activities in the Bikaner district. The bill was passed by voice vote, with the opposition Congress walking out of the House due to insufficient discussion. The bill was introduced …
The Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF) has embarked on a national forestry programme to increase forest cover in the country by 33 per cent. The project, which has a budget of US $32 billion, will be funded by 28 international donor agencies, including the United Nations Development Programme …
while a large population in South Asia is at serious health risk from air pollution, the governments and government-run institutions are still struggling to get their act together to deal with the problem. This was felt by most participants at an international workshop on Air Pollution and Health Issues in …
In order to explore avenues for minor forest produce, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the assistance of the Indian government, has prepared an action plan for non-wood forest products (NWFP). The plan will be implemented in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The …
The Chinese government has kicked off its development campaign in the Shaanxi province. The province is a major centre for trade in northwestern China. The plan, introduced by prime minister Zhu Rongji recently, aims at creating a greener region within the next 10 years. It also promises to revitalise the …
It is early morning. Kana manoeuvres his boat across the canal towards what appears to be a traffic jam, half-a-kilometre ahead. Soon his boat, too, becomes a part of the incoming traffic. At the centre of the commotion is the Al Murtaza vegetable market
If you have been won over by these lines in the tourism brochure, Srinagar should top your list of places to visit. If you are in Srinagar, you will hire a shikara (boat) to take in the beauty of the lake and the majestic mountains surrounding it. The road on …
There are numerous ways to get to the lake colony. But there is no way to avoid getting the weeds entangled with the oars. The weeds are something the people have learnt to live with, and have also found a couple of uses for them, such as fertilisers. They complain …
the West Bengal government will initiate a plan to save the Sunderbans, the world's largest delta. Plans are afoot to set up Sunderban Protection Committees in every block of the region. Thereafter, representatives from each block would coordinate the plan at the central level. The problems that afflict the area …
Politicians do more to deplete water than provide people a sustained supply At the recent meeting of the World Water Commission in Stockholm - set up last year with the support of several governments and United Nations' agencies - to develop a vision for water management in the next century, …
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 …
the long, winding roads leading to hill stations in the Himalayas are dotted with small towns, that act as popular stopovers for tourists, bustling with activity. These towns give an impression of a bustling economy pregnant with the promise of providing the locals a source of livelihood
"if you look at the figures of the Van Mahotsav (forest festivals), you will find that millions of trees have been planted. But their survival rate has always been under question," says Prem Kumar Dhumal, chief minister of Himachal Pradesh. He talks in similar vein about the crores of rupees …
THE recently concluded International Conference on Civil Engineering for Sustainable Development, at the University of Roorkee in Uttar Pradesh, furs recommended developing the nation's economy in an eco-friendly manner. According to K G Ranga Raju, a professor at the university, risk assessment and disaster management should find a place in …
ALARMED by the increasing level of environmental pollution in the country, and the failure of existing organisations in tackling the problem, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment has suggested levying pollution tax and shifting polluting smallscale units out of residential areas to industrial sectors. The 42-member committee, headed by Syed …
THREE months have passed since the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation adopted the Dhaka Declaration pledging to alleviate poverty drastically in the region. However, the United Nations University on South Asian Perspectives, in Colombo, says nothing much has been done. SAARC leaders propose to identify what more needs to …
THE MUCH-lauded Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) has failed as an instrument to transform rural India. And not all the high praise from the prime minister or the government's hiking of the JRY budget or the speedy enactment of the Panchayati Raj bill, ostensibly to empower village-level institutions, can mask this …
