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 …
The monitoring and management of the Indian coastline has come under sharp focus after the tsunami disaster. There is now a strong demand to implement the Coastal Regulatory Zone (crz) notification of 1991. Let us look at why protecting coastal ecology is so critical. Natural protectors, such as sand dunes …
The Indian ocean covers 73,556,000 sq km, or 20 per cent of the world’s surface. Aspects like oceanography, geophysical phenomena, undersea exploration and economic and military uses have a bearing on ocean behaviour. How cognisant are our experts with this large water body? Other than isolated research programmes associated with …
It would be naive to assume that disasters will stop. We cannot change the nature of disasters. What we can change, certainly control, is the scale that a disaster wreaks. This is precisely what disaster preparedness
Scientists believe that the Sumatra earthquake made the earth wobble on its axis and permanently accelerated the Earth's rotation, shortening a day by a fraction of second and permanently altering the regional map. The devastating undersea earthquake off Sumatra in Indonesia has brought about some striking changes in the Indian …
Disasters are not predictable. They follow no standard operating procedures. Disaster preparedness is about managing the unknown, not a science but a social behaviour that’s responsive, predictive and imaginative.• Effective disaster management depends on four factors: • Preparedness: knowing where and when disaster will hit • Mitigation: through measures like …
Please act: The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Union government on January 3, 2004, in response to a petition by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) that seeks a thorough examination of the contents of soft drinks. The petition points out that despite extensive research proving that …
India has entered Phase II of tackling the tsunami disaster. It is now readying to rebuild and rehabilitate the affected areas and develop disaster prevention and management systems. In the first week of January, the government appointed the Planning Commission as the nodal agency to coordinate, monitor and manage the …
Searching through the rubble of his home for anything still whole, Laksmiah Poleh can see life's options quite clearly. He can give up and move his family back to their home state on the mainland and, if he's lucky, find work as a tenant farmer making Rs 1,700 a month. …
SOCIAL segregation is not an evil of a bygone era; in modern times, it is flaunted as the solution to complex urban problems of our country. Mantras such as "keep the polluting industry out,' "relocate industry from residential areas,' and "rehabilitate the slum dwellers elsewhere' reverberate through the corridors of …
the Kerala government is trying to dodge the issue of rehabilitating the tribals who faced police firing from close range at the Muthunga Wildlife Sanctuary in February 2003 while fighting for control over forestland. The National Human Rights Commission (nhrc) has asked it to furnish details in this regard. The …
function illus() { var popurl="image/20040831/26-illus.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=440,height=320,scrollbars=yes") } Disaster struck the Tehri dam site in Uttaranchal at 10:15 pm on August 2. A huge landslide inside the vertical shaft of a tunnel claimed the lives of 29 workers and left about 12 injured. According to Puneet Kansal, district magistrate, Tehri, one …
July 29 was a black day for those residents of the old Tehri town who had decided to remain back. At around 2 pm, the water in the lake surrounding the almost empty town rose and entered their homes. The 20 or so families left had to run for their …
The Tehri dam project has always been embroiled in controversies. The initial protests against the dam started in the late 1960s when surveys were conducted at the dam site. An organised movement took shape after the Planning Commission gave its nod to the dam in 1972. In the 1980s and …
DAM officials, contractors and technical experts supporting the dam have been quick to brush aside the tunnel collapse as a mere lapse. But nothing related to the Rs 6,000 crore-plus project has simple answers. In its 26th year of construction, the project has been most controversial. Since 1980, at least …
bhopal gas disaster victims are to receive additional compensation following a recent Supreme Court (sc) verdict for the disbursal of Rs 1,503 crore among them. On July 19, 2004, the sc directed the welfare commissioner, department of Bhopal gas tragedy relief & rehabilitation, Madhya Pradesh government, to distribute the money, …
Another monsoon, and the level of fear and tension rises in Harsud and other towns affected by the Sardar Sarovar project. EVERY year prior to the monsoons, restlessness and fear grip the people in the Narmada valley. "Will our houses go under this time?", "Will our village become an island …
"Master Plan to make Delhi slum-free' reads a June 26, 2004 English daily headline. "The Union ministry of urban development plans to prepare a blueprint to make Delhi slum-free in five years. The plan will be ready within a fortnight,' the daily continues. Another tall claim? Potents of another disaster? …
June 7 saw the life of Binda bai, a tribal woman belonging to Golkheda village in Madhya Pradesh's (mp) Khargone district, change drastically for the worse. The day had begun on a normal enough note, with her husband Jawan Singh setting off to work in his fields. But the 55-year-old …
