In order to use tenanted land for setting up of projects for community or public purpose, the Goa government has introduced the Goa Land Use (Regulation) Bill, 2024 seeking amendment to Section 3 of Goa Land Use (Regulation) Act, 1991 so as to specify in the Right to Fair Compensation …
Fishing, boat traffic and industrial effluents have put the rare Chinese Yangtze river dolphins at risk. But there is hope on the horizon for these aquatic creatures with Chinese scientists chalking out a plan to save the species. According to the plan, the endangered dolphins would be captured by professional …
The people of Pudukkottai, one of the most backward districts in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, are dependent on dry land farming mainly due to lack of indutrialisation and low rainfall. Quarries too are a secondary source of livlihood, which provides boulders and stones for construction of buildings. Extreme …
After 30 long years of virtual inaction by the powers that be and a violent struggle by local communities, the fate of the 710-megawatt (mw) Koel Karo hydroelectric project is sealed. Or so it seems, with sources in the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (nhpc) claiming that the project
the recent eviction of illegal occupants from Assam's reserve forests has exposed an unholy nexus between various government departments in the state. It is believed that the encroachers possess legal documents, authorising them as owners of the forestland. The title deeds, they allege, have been issued by the forest department …
in a district where not toting a double-barrelled gun or revolver is considered a violation of the dress code, the word ‘fraud’ was redefined with astounding audacity. Without firing a single shot (quite uncommon in this trigger-happy territory), three junior officials of Bijnor defrauded the government of Rs 100 crore …
The precarious conservation status of the tiger has aroused global concern in recent years. Tigers are under threat from many factors include depletion of prey, direct killing and pressure on their habitat due to fragmentation and degradation of habitat quality. From 1998, the Karnataka Tiger Conservation Project (KTCP), supported by …
After 20 years If the bombs didn't kill, the land will. Afghanistan's natural resources are all but dead survival is an impossible dream in Afghanistan. Last December, as Afghans looked up to the deceptively beautiful sky for rain, bombs rained from endless streams of b-52 bombers
We are not starting from scratch. Our institutions have been substantially weakened. But they still exist,' says Hedayat Amin-Arsala, minister of finance of Afghanistan Interim Authority. Hidayat's statement has more meaning now when the interim government is struggling hard to convene the Loya Jirga and to chart out his country's …
life ravaged by war and drought has one hope: resilience of a people. "A good monsoon and a bit of peace will bring Afghan's life to normal,' says J Gabriel Campbell of icimod. Take Kohistan district of Kapisa province for example. Just after usa bombarded and damaged water channels in …
The problem of mining-induced displacement and resettlement (MIDR) poses major risks to societal sustainability. Unfortunately, no global survey has assessed the scale of MIDR. Available evidence suggests that the problem is significant. Mining displaced 2.55 million people in India between 1950 and 1990. The likelihood that MIDR will be a …
Destruction often comes disguised as development. Nobody knows this better than the inhabitants of Kudremukh National Park (knp) in Karnataka, who have witnessed years of mindless mining and the consequent loss of habitat in the state's
A 10-year US $4.76 billion rehabilitation and development plan for water supply, sewerage and drainage has been submitted by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) to the city district government of Lahore in Pakistan. The agency has also proposed procurement of 400,000 water meters at a cost of Rs 800 …
The Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) has hit yet another roadblock. Even as the Union government passed an order to raise the height of the proposed dam from 90 metres (m) to 100 m recently (Down To Earth, Vol 10, No 19, February 28, 2002), the resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R;) sub-group …
while Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh (MP) governments are set to resume construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (nba) has criticised the recent announcement by the Union government to raise the height of the proposed structure from 90 metres to 100 metres by June 2002. The NBA …
The festivities of January 1, 2002, signified the sealing of a pact between the Kerala government and the Adivasi Dalit Samara Samithi (agitation council) on October 16, 2001. The agreement guarantees allotment of one to five acres (around .5-2 hectares) of land to all landless tribal families in the state …
The closure of tunnels T3 and T4 comes even as a vast majority of people displaced remain to be rehabilitatedeven as recommendations of the Union government appointed Hanumantha Rao Committee remain to beimplementedeven as the Prime Minister appointed Murli Manohar Joshi committee is yet to submit its report and even …
instances of animals straying out of forests are growing of late. With the aim to prevent these, the Maharashtra state forest department is chalking out a novel project. As per the project, leopards caught while straying into villages will be rehabilitated so that they do not return to human habitats. …
there is hope for winged creatures in Germany. The Westkuestenpark Oiled Seabird Rehabilitation Centre at St Peter-Ording in Schleswig-Holstein is preventing around 200 birds from being killed due to an oil spill. Earlier, cleaning oiled birds was thought to be futile by wildlife authorities. "They would literally hire hunters after …
Following the conclusion of the un-sponsored talks on Afghanistan in Bonn, unep executive director Klaus Toepfer rightly said environmental issues should form part of the package being considered for the country's rehabilitation. Afghanistan today is at best a relic of years of war litters. The big challenge before the war-ravaged …
