Judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of In Re: Zudpi Jungle Lands. A batch of applications involved a peculiar issue concerning the situation prevailing in the six districts of eastern Vidarbha region namely Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. The issue pertains to the status of the …
TUCKED away on the southern outskirts of Bhavnagar town is a dreary stretch of wilderness that once was a beautiful forest with leguminous trees and bushes spread over the rocky terrain. Creepers wove a delicate tapestry of bright flowers on the spiky branches of acacias and jujubes. Nilgai, jackal and …
INSTEAD of energy-consuming systems, simple sewage treatment methods such as oxidation ponds could be utilised in Indian cities and towns. Oxidation ponds are lagoons or basins in which waste water is cleansed through sedimentation and the action of microorganisms. These ponds require land -- and land is expensive and difficult …
WHICH wildlife sanctuary in India is the world's only floating sanctuary? And, did you know the giant clam lays one billion eggs at a time? These are some of the fascinating facts on natural life put together in multiple-choice, question-answer format in Deep Narayan Pandey's two books. One wonders why …
"WASTE is only a resource unused," believes Satyesh Chakravarty, a former professor of resource studies at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta. He maintains waste disposal has become a major urban problem simply because urban refuse is treated as waste -- and not as resource. As a result, says …
AT 3JAMAKUthe daughter of Laxman Meena of Khodi Mahogodi village in Udaipur districtwas the youngest dracontiasis -- a disease caused by guinea worms (Dracunculus medinensis) -- patient in Rajasthan. She was cured last year by a surgical technique developed by an ayurvedic team led by Bhanwar Lal Sharma and sponsored …
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Janpath Bhawan, 5th floor, :' Wing New Delhi 110 001 Phone: 33117690 H D Shourie Common Cause A-31, West End New Delhi 110 021 Phone: 671666 Association for Consumer Action on Safety and Health Lawyers Chambers, Room No 21 R S Sapre Marg Bombay 400 …
There is mixed official opinion on the budgetary allocation for environment, which shows an increase of Rs 40 crore over the previous year's amount of Rs 329.81 crore. But, says Vinay Shankar, additional secretary, MEF, "The real increase this year is by about Rs 66 crore. We should take into …
THE BUDGET gives only marginal, if any, benefits to public-funded research and development, though it opens the door to private funding of this sector. The overall S&T; budget of Rs 3,903 crore is 19.6 per cent more than the revised estimates for 1992-93. Only a few departments, such as the …
A NEPALESE expert committee rules out any adverse effect to Nepal from the Indo-Nepal agreement on the Tanakpur barrage, which concerns the utilisation of natural resources. The 11-member, government-appointed panel's ruling paves the way for parliamentary approval of the 120-MW hydel project. Nearly 3 ha of Nepalese land has been …
DOES TISCO, also known as Tata Steel, hope to succeed where Germany's Third Reich failed -- to last 1,000 years? So it would seem, going by the statement of Bihar environment and forest minister Sonadhari Singh that the steel giant has taken over West Bokaro Coal Mines on a 999-year …
TRIBALS from 23 villages in Udaipur district, citing the potential displacement of 12,000 people, are gearing up for protracted battle with the government to scrap the proposed Manasi Wakal dam, intended to supply drinking water to Udaipur. The villagers allege the project, in fact, was conceived to meet the massive …
RESEARCHERS in New York have given a fillip to the fight against malaria by breaking into the genes of the parasite. The scientists report they have made test-tube clones of the 14 chromosomes, which contain the genes of the microbe that mosquitoes transmit to humans. They have also shown the …
Residents of Karad and downstream villages on the Krishna in western Maharashtra had no reason to suspect the efficacy of their new drinking water network. But they are victims now of a jaundice epidemic resulting from contaminated potable water in both urban and rural areas. The outbreak has taken a …
JAPANESE scientists hail environmental technology as the new frontier of science. Surveyed on breakthroughs they consider likely in the next generation, scientists listed 1,149 topics in 16 fields. The survey was conducted by the Japanese Science and Technology Agency. Among their predictions: the first major discovery will probably be a …
In a ruling that may have far-reaching implications, a Delhi sessions court has banned slaughter of buffalo calves, export of live animals for meat and slaughter of livestock for export as meat. Judge C K Chaturvedi made the ruling on a petition by residents of the north Delhi colony of …
1998: Substitute for ozone-damaging CFCs 1999: Large volume, coherent optical communication systems 2000: Silicon memory with 1 nanosecond access time 2001: Economical way to remove useable products from urban waste 2002: 1 giga-bit memory chips 2003: Technology to prevent NOx emissions; widespread use of biodegradable packaging materials; vaccine for AIDS …
Silk has joined carpets on the list of Indian industries that are frowned on in the West because of the extensive use of child labour. The Germans first voiced complaints against the carpet industry, and now the Swiss are taking aim at silk-weaving. The Swiss, who in partnership with the …
When Garhchiroli district collector Subrath Rathod seized a truck illegally transporting teak in Maharashtra last September, an enquiry was held and it showed that illegal timber-felling in eastern Maharashtra, particularly his district and neighbouring Bhandara, is widespread and involves forest, revenue and railway officials. The two districts contain more than …
Seeking to regain its political base among the tribals in western Madhya Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party has switched from championing the World Bank-funded Narmada dam -- its policy when it was in power -- and now wants the project to be reviewed. Party secretary Govindacharya, who recently inspected rehabilitation …
Widespread damage to pine forests near Dharmsala in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh has prompted the Chaneta village panchayat to pass a resolution urging the government to halt resin tapping immediately. The villagers, concerned that trees are running dry because of indiscriminate tapping by the State Forest Corp (SFC), warned …
