Judgment of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Balwinder Kaur Vs State of Punjab & Others dated 19/03/2024. Balwinder Kaur, the applicant raised the grievance of risk of thousands of trees felling due to likelihood of land sliding. It was said that illegal mining is being carried out …
Every year Indian thermal power plants (TPPs) spew out 100 million tonnes of flyash, a grey outpour soon expected to reach 175 million tonnes. According to current estimates nearly one lakh hectares (ha) of land in India is taken up by ash ponds. Bad news for the environment. For, most …
A novel referendum by the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (smc) spelt doom for 122 trees. The civic body asked people to choose between the trees and traffic jams. In the voting, the roads won by a mile. The corporation prepared a list of the trees and obtained a no-objection certificate from …
Rail and road are the single most intrusive human activity into wildlife habitat. Unlike wildlife biologists, who have sourcebooks on how to manage wildlife ecosystems, road and rail route planners have no such guide. This book with 75 case studies, defines step-by-step guidelines to incorporate ecology and wildlife conservation into …
for now, the construction of the controversial Dalhousie-Chamba highway has been stalled. Recently, the Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF) ordered the Himachal Pradesh government to stop work on the highway which cuts across the Kalatop-Khajjiar wildlife sanctuary
THE Gujarat government has robbed Gir sanctuary of its tranquillity this monsoon, sparking off a furore amongst environmentalists. It has opened up a 10-km long road running through the sanctuary to facilitate pilgrimage to the Patla Mahadev temple, which is located inside the protected area. The road usually remains closed …
Researchers at Newcastle University, UK have found that global warming is indirectly causing damage to highways in Iceland. Metallic studs and chains on tyres of vehicles are intended to increase grip on snow-covered roads. As a result of global warming the snow now thaws for part of the winter, allowing …
The Delhi high court has directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to clean the city roads during the night. The directions were issued in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Ravinder Raj, a retired public servant, who said that …
Brazil may end up attaining economic development at the cost of the environment. A team of scientists who analysed the implications of a proposed us $40 billion project called
Rajaram Anand Rao Bhabkar is a man of few worldly possessions. A retired school master he lives in the Gundegaon village of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra. But Bhabkar Guruji, as he is popularly known is no ordinary man. He is a human bulldozer
in response to an air pollution lawsuit filed against a Japanese public corporation, the Osaka high court has urged all the involved parties to overcome their differences and prevent the suit from continuing its slow passage through the courts. At least 379 residents of Amagasaki village, Hyogo district, are demanding …
The Cambodian government has alleged that a Malaysian company is illegally logging in the country's hardwood forest. The accusations have been made on the basis of aerial inspections and onsite visits. The activities of Grand Atlantic Timber International, the company, have threatened the existence of commercially valuable trees, government officials …
massive flash floods in the Sutlej river have left a trail of destruction in the Shimla, Kullu, Mandi and Kinnaur districts of Himachal Pradesh. At least 150 people are reported to have been killed and several crore of rupees worth of property damaged in what is being seen as the …
Engineers in Bhutan will now use eco-friendly techniques to build roads in the country. The National Environmental Commission has introduced guidelines for road and bridge construction. "To do this we have to change our traditional methods like using bulldozers and cutting into hillsides. Instead, we will now use excavators and …
The Madras high court asked the Chennai Corporation and Metrowater to take immediate action on a representation made for repairing the dug up portions of Ponni Colony at Anna Nagar. The court gave this direction while disposing a writ petition from a resident of the area. According to the petitioner, …
Obsolete computers are posing an environmental problem in developed countries, specially the US. With faster and better machines being available almost every year, the number of old computers and peripherals being discarded are generating a lot of trash. Now Coniglairo Industries, a company based in Massachusetts, has developed a lightweight, …
A programmer at Sandia National Laboratories in California has recently patented a machine that can mend holes in the road auto-matically. About the size of a single-decker bus, the Rapid Road Repair Vehicle, as it is called, scans the road using an array of sensors on its bumpers. When it …
Cement-eating bacteria are the main causes of deterioration of bridges, roads and other structures. But now, their appetite for destruction can be used for a cleaner world. The microbes can decontaminate nuclear plants by "eating' away radioactivity from the structures. The bacteria produce a chemical that dissolves concrete, loosening the …
The World Bank has approved a US $70 million loan to improve roads and road management in Zambia. A spokesperson for the World Bank said that the funding would enable road repairs to be speeded up, reducing the strain on government resources and boosting the overall economic efficiency. A statement …
the bug of big projects has now bitten the Delhi government. In tandem with Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's anti-environmental crusade, the Delhi government is planning an 80 km-long ring road along the boundaries of the National Capital Region that would cut across the Asola-Bhatti wildlife sanctuary and the …
