In 2019, the illegal wildlife trade reached staggering levels. Pangolin scales and ivory were being trafficked in massive quantities from Africa to Asia, exposing a network of crime syndicates operating at an industrial scale. The sheer volume of these shipments marked a disturbing milestone, one that revealed the global reach …
Even as India is striving hard to save the big cats, the country has lost fifty tigers so far this year against 72 tiger deaths in 2012. Heading the list is Karnataka with the loss of 13 tigers till now, followed by eight in Maharashtra, seven in Uttarakhand and five …
Illegal sand mining is a lucrative business in Uttar Pradesh with all the major rivers in the State mined by the mining mafia with strong political links. The illegal sand mining is rampant in the flood plains of the Ganga, Yamuna, Ghagra, Ken, Betwa, Chambal and the Gomti. The business …
Nationwide stay on sand mining comes on plea following Nagpal suspension The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday ordered a nationwide stay on sand mining on river beds without Environment Ministry clearance. The interim order came on a petition filed by the NGT Bar Association as a reaction to the …
Not just in Gautam Budh Nagar, where former SDM Durga Shakti Nagpal is believed to have been suspended for taking on the sand mafia, illegal mining activities have shot up across UP with no fresh leases being given over the past year in the absence of environment clearances. “With no …
Even as authorities in Meghalaya are in the dark about the presence of illegal stone quarries in the State, neighbouring Assam has decided to do its bit to restrict the unlawful trade. Kamrup district administration has imposed Section 144 of the CrPC on Saturday, restricting the flow of trucks from …
Sand mining in large parts of Maharashtra continues without mandatory environmental clearance, which is against the Supreme Court’s orders, activist Sumaira Abdulali has alleged. Abdulali, who had filed a PIL in the Bombay high court against illegal sand mining, said the illegal activity continued with support from local politicians. On …
The National Green Tribunal today banned mining or removal of sand from river beds across the country without an environmental clearance amid the uproar over suspension of an IAS officer who had cracked down on sand mafia in Uttar Pradesh. In its order, the Tribunal noted that the loss caused …
The Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal Police has rounded up 159 racketeers since its inception on July 17, 2010. According to the apex investigating body of the law enforcement agency, it launched 64 operations against poachers and smugglers of body parts of endangered wild animals leading to the arrest …
The National Green Tribunal today restrained sand mining without any licence or environmental clearance from river beds across the country on a plea alleging that such activities were going on in Uttar Pradesh with the “wilful connivance” of its State machinery. Widening the ambit of the plea, a Bench headed …
Amid the uproar over the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday took judicial note of the environmental threat due to indiscriminate sand mining and prohibited such activities across the country without the necessary clearances. The tribunal passed the order on a petition …
The national green tribunal (NGT) on Sunday banned mining or removal of sand from river beds across the country without an environmental clearance amid the uproar over suspension of an IAS officer who had cracked down on sand mafia in Uttar Pradesh. In its order, the Tribunal noted that the …
The Supreme Court forest bench headed by Justice T S Thakur on Monday declined to hear the Goa mining case and directed that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of the apex court for constitution of an approval bench at the earliest. State advocate general Atmaram Nadkarni was …
The National Green Tribunal’s ruling is likely to have an impact in Meghalaya where some of the rivers have been reduced to drains because of unregulated and unabashed sand mining with environmentalists raising the pitch for implementation of the order. The tribunal today banned mining or removal of sand from …
While the controversy over the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal — who took on the sand mafia in Greater Noida — still brews, Noida police continue the crackdown in her absence. In the last two days alone, the Noida police have arrested 15 people and seized 24 vehicles …
The lax attitude of the authorities in the Nalagarh sub-division of the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial area has led to an increase in illegal mining on the Nalagarh-Ropar State Highway close to the Sarsa Bridge. Here even the demarcated protected forest (DPF) land has not been spared. The blatant plundering of sand …
The state government’s claims to have curbed illegal mining in UP holds no water since a proposal to raise a dedicated task force to achieve this end is gathering dust since June 18. The department is also reeling under manpower crisis. Besides the lack of resources, mining officers also have …
The National Green Tribunal on Monday restrained sand mining without any licence or environmental clearance from river beds across the country on a plea alleging that such activities were going on in UP with the "wilful connivance" of its state machinery. Widening the ambit of the plea, a bench headed …
This Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2013, introduced by Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan in the Rajya Sabha on 5 August 2013, seeks to further amend the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. It has a provision of imprisonment up to seven years for poaching or hunting of wild animals.
The extent of illegal mining on the city outskirts has attained threatening proportions in the recent past thanks to authorities turning a blind eye to the menace. From the death of labourers to villagers resorting to violence against rampant mining, the practice not only threatens to disturb the ecological balance, …
Amidst uproar over suspension of a woman IAS officer allegedly under pressure of the “mining mafia”, the Uttar Pradesh government is working on a proposal to constitute a special “mining force” to check illegal mining activities in the state. “The government is considering a proposal to set up an exclusive …
