Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item Titled "Neglected Katora Houz in Hyderabad’s Golconda Fort Cries for attention appearing in ‘The Siasat Daily’ dated 25 May 2025". The application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled “Neglected Katora Houz in Hyderabad’s …
IN THE developed world, conducting business today is also about being environmentally accountable. Governments have imposed stringent regulatory measures. Multilateral bodies have created mandatory codes of conduct, which boardrooms must pay heed to. Investors look not only (or merely) for profits; ecological responsibility is a more important dividend. Companies now …
An official of the state government was explaining, at a meeting, the progress made to set up sewage treatment plants, drains and diversionary sewers in pursuit of a Supreme Court order to clean up the Yamuna river in the northern end of Delhi city. A number of planned activities were …
The Indus River Water Treaty is fast emerging as a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Pakistan has been clamouring for independent arbitrators to settle violations by India of the treaty. India, on the other hand, is using the treaty as an unconventional weapon. The treaty has its origin …
nepal has finally disclosed details about the air quality of its capital city, Kathmandu. Not surprisingly, the facts are worrisome. They also have wider ramifications for Nepal, which is an important international tourist centre. The data shows that air in the valley is mainly polluted by two sources: the 1,50,000 …
Cambodia is the latest nation to recognise the perils of endosulfan and curb its usage. In view of the environmental damage caused by the organochlorine pesticide in several countries, the Cambodian health minister sought to prohibit its use. The ministry of agriculture, too, lost no time in giving its consent. …
Five successive years of debilitating drought. It had rained for barely a few hours last year in the region of Rajasthan I was visiting. I expected wasted lands, desolation and nearly-abandoned villages. Instead, I could see greenery, irrigated agriculture, people tending to vegetable crops and livestock. The village diary - …
function openroad(){ var popurl="html/20030515_moreroads.htm" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=600,height=500,scrollbars=yes") } Foremost among the traditional approaches governments take is to increase existing road capacity (see table: More roads...). But how effective is this method? New roads and flyovers invite more traffic and get filled up within a few years. Experts argue that drivers are induced …
How is India responding to the crisis? In March 2003, the finance minister of Delhi, delivering his budget speech, promised more money so that the capital could become, as its chief minister has put it, "the flyover city of Asia". Think more road; give vehicles more space: this grand, now …
A ccording to the World Bankif gdp grows at 7-8 per cent a year over the next decadethe demand for transport will grow by at least 10 per cent a year. The worsening traffic situation and increasing travel demand has compelled a number of cities to at least put up …
Rows of human hands hanging on inside claustrophobic buses, trams and metros…Bodies packed like sardines, jostling against each other...Tempers at breaking point. And outside, more chaos - thousands of cars, jeeps, vans, two-wheelers, three-wheelers…all groaning through a choking haze of pollution in interminable traffic jams that test one"s patience and …
As we peek into our past, the number of our ancestors seems to double in every generation. For every human being has two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, 16 great great grandparents and so on. By this yardstick, the number of ancestors that each of us had about 50 generations …
I met Jacques Chirac this fortnight. Just before he made the call to George Bush and just before he left to attend the European Union summit in Athens, the French president met some 20 of us in his presidential palace for discussions on what would be the future of this …
Indoor air pollution is potentially a very serious environmental and public health problem in India. In poor communities, with the continuing trend in biofuel combustion coupled with deteriorating housing conditions, the problem will remain for some time to come. While to some extent the problem has been studied in rural …
Sri Lanka has derived a sure-fire formula for reducing drug prices and curbing the nation's medicine import bill. At a recent seminar, health experts recommended that the island nation import only about 500 essential drugs instead of the more than 8000 currently allowed into the country. The specialists averred that …
Japan continues to face legal ripples created by its decision to fund the construction of a dam in Indonesia. A fresh wave of 4,600 Indonesians has now sued the Japanese government, alleging that the project has wrecked their livelihoods by forcing them to resettle. Last year, more than 3,800 Indonesians …
Last fortnight I wrote about the different models of water privatisation. Questions continue to haunt me, but let me try and work towards some resolution. Firstly, there is the issue of pricing of water for the relatively rich of the developing world. It is evident that urban and industrial sectors …
Nepal plans to open the highest lake in the world for tourists from May 1. Tilicho lake, at 5119 metres above sea level, is also noted for its natural beauty and religious significance to local people. Other tourist spots that can now be visited include Rara lake and Khaptad National …
Organic crops contain more healthy compounds than their conventional counterparts, because they are not exposed to pesticides. Work by US-based University of California indicates that organic berries and corn contain up to 58 per cent more polyphenolics
