Order of the National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata) in the matter of Nabin Kisan Vs State of Odisha & Others dated 15/05/2025. The matter related to discharge of wastewater by the municipality of Belpahar on the applicants land. The affidavit filed by the District Magistrate, Jharsuguda, May 14, …
Having to write a happy story makes me uneasy. Ten journalistic years of persistently sifting for what's wrong in every event/statement has taken its toll. Cynicism, an assortment of palliatives, and antacids are canonical accessories of roving reporters. The need to be certain of the facts often makes one doubt …
The Uttar Pradesh government in 1996 (now Uttaranchal) started an ambitious tea plantation programme, which was to be spread across 12,000 hectares (ha). It included a series of tea estates to aid the state's economy and provide farmers with an additional source of income. Now, after 10 years, out of …
the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (gpcb) served a closure notice to a plant of Alembic Ltd in Panelav village of Panchmahal district, Gujarat, on August 25, 2006. It manufactures bulk drugs and drug intermediates. The notice was issued after it was found that the plant was environmentally hazardous and its …
a shameful scam has been perpetrated in the hills of Uttaranchal. Some years before the new state was inaugurated the then Uttar Pradesh government conceived a grandiose scheme of acquiring 12,000 hectares of land to launch a number of tea estates. Thankfully, it now appears, most of the plan remained …
Farmers of Malawi, a country in southeast Africa, have warned the government to tread carefully before endorsing the European Union's (eu's)economic partnership agreement. In a statement, the Malawian farmers union said that signing the new eu trade deal will undermine development and increase poverty. The union has also urged governments …
a group of Australian scientists has started the complete genome sequencing of bollworm, world's worst agricultural pest. It inflicts an annual damage of us $5 billion on farmers worldwide. Phill Batterham of Melbourne's Bio 21 Institute is leading the programme. According to Batterham, "We need to fight the pest more …
"The Constitution guarantees the right to life and to personal liberty. The values which underlie Article 21 of the Constitution are seriously eroded by deaths on such a systemic scale, as the facts before the court in relation to the State of Maharashtra demonstrate... . The suicides that have occurred …
WHILE writing out the receipt for Pandurang Kadam's onion crop on April 19, the trader did not realise that it would be used as forensic evidence. The next day Pandurang returned to the Lasalgaon market and set himself on fire. The town watched in shock as Pandurang burned in the …
SIX months ago, 65-year-old Kashinath Ravan Kolge killed himself by drinking pesticide. His wife Venubai Kolge says mounting debt drove him to suicide. "He had taken a loan to dig a borewell. But we did not get any water. We had no money left. The crops were yielding very little. …
function table() { var popurl="image/20060831/8-table.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=320,height=550,scrollbars=yes") } ever since the West Bengal government cleared, in May 2006, Tata Motor's proposal of setting up a 426 hectares (ha) small car plant in Singur in Hooghly district, farmers' protests have been relentless. Their protests forced the government to redraw its land acquisition …
evidence has been found of pesticide exposure in small children (1-6 year olds) of farm-workers in the us, say researchers at the Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Led by Thomas Arcury, the scientists say that their study conducted among immigrant farm-workers across six North Carolina counties confirmed the exposure …
three decades ago, the Left Front government in West Bengal started its rule by distributing land to the landless through its famous land reform programme. Now, the political grouping is preparing to grab 17,200 hectares (ha) of mostly agricultural land for industry
five million farmers in China accepted Bt cotton since 1994. We have heard no end of how biotechnology can help small and marginal farmers earn better. International development agencies, such as the un Development Program, have put their multilateral weight behid biotechnologies. Agrobusiness giants and thier public relations agencies have …
The first consultation of the National Commission on Farmers was on cotton, where we brought together the farmer and the user. Our aim was that everyone in the cotton sector should prosper. M S SwaminathanChairperson,National Commission on Farmers But today, maximum numbers of farmer suicides are in cotton. On the …
In the Banni region of Kutch, western Gujarat, there is a move to turn back the ecological clock. It will take unusual means and Banni, a 2,900-sq-km area, which once epitomised greenery, may never be the same. But, there is hope still that the damage done to what once claimed …
Farmers in Haryana have been persuaded to give up growing a lucrative crop because of the harm it causes to the earth. For the past six years, Jasbir Singh had been reaping rich benefits from saathi-a fast maturing and therefore lucrative variety of common paddy sown after the wheat harvest …
Drought is a major constraint affecting rice production especially in rainfed areas of Asia. Despite its importance in rice growing areas, the magnitude of economic losses arising from drought, its impact on farm households and farmers’ drought coping mechanisms are poorly understood. This paper provides insights into these aspects of …
on july 1, 2006, prime minister Manmohan Singh announced Rs 3,750-crore as relief for cotton farmers of six districts of Maharashtra's Vidarbha region. Around 800 farmers have committed suicide since June 2005. Though the rehabilitation package seems sizeable, it does not take into account the financial realities of the crisis. …
function table() { var popurl="image/20060731/44-graph.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=400,height=320,scrollbars=yes") } Organic is not organic in Doddaballapur taluk, near Bangalore. A lot of prodding has to go into convincing farmers to go organic. A recent study conducted by Svaraj/Oxfam India, Bangalore, showed that chemical fertilisers and pesticides degrade soil fertility. Following the study, the …
