Order of the National Green Tribunal (Central Zone Bench, Bhopal) in the matter of Gaurav Jain Vs State of Madhya Pradesh & Others dated 27/02/2024. The matter related to non-forest activities and non-compliances of environment clearance and forest clearance conditions by Larsen & Toubro Limited along with Narmada Valley Development …
THE MAN who moved the Supreme Court in ???? to constitute a tribunal to solve the dispute over the Cauvery waters between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was S Ranganath, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers' Association. Says Ranganath, "A legal solution had to be found. We had no …
AS THE Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu lurches from one deadlock to another, water resources experts in India are even more disturbed at the prospect of a larger crisis. The "resource hysteria" generated by the Cauvery tangle may just be a precursor to similar "flashpoints" in India, …
The recent discovery of pieces of the world's oldest ocean-going ships off Ras Al Junaya on the coast of Oman by a team of Franco-Italian archaeologists, provides more proof of the glory of the Indus Valley civilisation, which flourished in Pakistan and northwestern India from 2500 BC to 1700 BC. …
Two British consultants have developed an underwater pump that can irrigate riverside fields without using fuel or causing pollution. The prize-winning turbine is easy to construct and can work continuously (Ceres 141, Vol 26, No 3). Originally designed to harness the energy of the Nile to irrigate the desert areas …
ISRAELI potato growers have dug in for a fight to the finish against McDonald's of Big Mac hamburger fame, which is due to open its first outlet in Israel outside Tel Aviv in autumn. McDonald's says it wants to import frozen fries because irrigation has made the wholesale prices of …
THE INDIAN National Congress -- the political party that led the country to independence -- had as its election symbol during the 1950s two bullocks, to symbolise the relationship between animal draught power and Indian farming. But now, under the impact of agricultural modernisation, that relationship is now changing. A …
A NEW approach to agricultural planning, drawn up by the Planning Commission at the instigation of Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, has run into a near-fatal snag: State governments are jittery about putting their money into something that still hasn't been proved tried and true. Rao had urged the …
• Plan priorities ACRP assumes that once land and water resources are developed, the desired levels of yield and productivity will be achieved. Soil conservation and reclamation, irrigation and other land development schemes have been listed as priorities. The proposed ACRP plans have sought major increases and redeployment of funds …
THE SPITI area of Himachal Pradesh is a cold desert, but surprisingly, agriculture is its mainstay. Transforming Spiti's lunar-like terrain into an agrarian success story was made possible by an ingenious system devised centuries ago to tap distant glaciers for water. But short-sighted developmental policies, though well-intentioned, now threaten both …
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 …
INDIA is in "imminent danger of losing a large part of its productive lands through soil salinisation", says N T Singh of the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute in Karnal. Soil salinity is natural to the subcontinent, points out Singh. Even in ancient India, in the period between 2500 BC …
SCIENTISTS at the Central Soil and Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI) in Karnal, Haryana, have developed a subsurface drainage system that effectively reduces soil salinity in waterlogged regions, restores the water table and puts such land back under the plough within three years. CSSRI director N T Singh says the new …
THE NEPAL Supreme Court has ruled that the government's so-called understanding with India on the Tanakpur Barrage was a treaty that has to be ratified by Parliament. Under the treaty, signed in December 1991, Nepal agreed to provide 2.9 ha of land to India for tying the 577-metre left bund …
AGRICULTURE IN south India has traditionally been based upon small-scale irrigation, using tanks, wells and river water. In this system, temples were not merely places of worship but played a pivotal role in irrigation management. They represented the crystallisation of community efforts, which explains why Tamil Nadu chief minister J …
RICE AS grown in India is a water-guzzler, because farmers use on an average 15,000 litres to produce one kg of paddy, though water technologists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi say no more than 600 litres is needed if proper water management techniques are followed. Given …
WITH DEPLETION of groundwater heavy in many parts of the country and rich farmers almost monopolising water resources, the Union government is renewing efforts to get states to control groundwater extraction. Last month, the water resources ministry circulated a model bill on groundwater use, making obtaining of permits compulsory and …
THE UNITED States Agency for International Development (USAID) stopped assistance for irrigation development projects in India with effect from September 15. Sources attribute this measure to the gradual shifting of US attention to areas such as health and population control and agriculture -- specifically food processing. Some observers feel irrigation …
BECAUSE irrigation water costs so little in India, it is frequently misused and wasted. Some water management experts now recommend that its disciplined consumption can be ensured by increasing the rates paid by farmers. There is evidence to suggest that Indian farmers are willing to pay much higher water rates …
ROY, Tisdell and Sen"s book on economic development and the environment is certainly timely, having come out only months before the June UNCED summit at Rio. Interest in the subject is therefore at its peak. The book sounds a much needed warning about the environmental cost of economic development and …
