Time to Plug in

The International Conference for Renewable Energies is to be held in Bonn, Germany. But here is a sector dwarfed by fossil fuels, and although …

Meaning of 'forest' set to change in India

How should a 'forest' be defined in India? The Union ministry of environment and forests is currently preoccupied with this question. Placing …

Punjab's paddy dilemma

In 2009, Punjab became the first state in the country to enact a law banning the sowing of rice before a stipulated date. The aim was to arrest …

‘PESTICIDES’ IN DRUGS

Sharad Pawar’s provision for protecting test data in the Pesticides Bill could spill over into trade agreements and hit the drugs industry, too

The small big polluter

Resource crunch and poor regulatory processes have made small-scale industries the pariahs of India's environment

Pesticides in our food

There is never any end to learning. And so, surprises. We have learnt, over 20 years, that environmental governance in India is lackadaisical. …

Pro-industry food safety and standards bill does not address safety concerns

"We may find in the long run that tinned food is a deadlier weapon than the machine-gun." -- George Orwell in his 1937 novel The Road …

Troubled minds

In spite of a National Mental Health Programme being in place, very few people suffering from mental illnesses in India get treatment, either …

A million opportunities lost

The ruling alliance’s flagship rural employment programme took unprecedented strides in creating water conservation structures across the …

Contest for pesticide

Demand for state control as Pesticides Management Bill is set to be tabled in Parliament

Coal quandary

In a sweeping pronouncement, the Supreme Court has termed all the 218 coal blocks allocated since 1993 illegal. This has raised a fundamental …

We found to our horror

By regulation, the soft drink industry must use "potable" water. But what's that? Who ensures municipalities meet standards? What …

The gas game

Fluorocarbons, which created a hole in the ozone layer, have generated intense global debates. But these have been more about business than …

NGOs welcome draft policy on voluntary sector

At long last a positive note has been struck to end the Union government's ambiguity towards non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The Planning …

ChevronTexaco on trial

October 21, 2003. High-level corporate lawyers from ChevronTexaco sit in the same packed muggy courtroom as bare-breasted Amazonian men and women …

Niral Enem Horo

A Jharkhand Party veteran, NIRAL ENEM HORO didn't quit when Jaipal Singh, Jharkhand's most eminent leader, left to join the Congress party. He …

A toy called CRZ

The original coastal regulation zone (CRZ) rules passed in February 1991 had seven sections. They have been amended nearly twice that many times …

Ramsar is not a strong, strict and rigid convention

India has listed 16 wetlands under the Ramsar sites, but with no policies, knowledge or interest shown by the authorities, proper management is …

Joba Majhi

JOBA MAJHI, wife of the leader of Singhbhum's Jungle Andolan, Devendra Majhi, is in her second term as member of the legislative assembly from a …

Timber travails

After completing two years as the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh Mukut Mithi is proud to relate his government's achievements while …

Balangir's distressed migrants

From a resource-rich area to a metaphor for poverty, the Balangir district of Orissa has covered a long distance. Plausibly, it is this journey …

Centralisation of powers, diluted laws: Weak Water Act further diluted by latest amendments, say experts

Environment minister claims impetus to industries, improvement of environment protection while moving bill in Parliament

The father of the clean car

Shut up

Else, you'll get a legal notice

L A Law

Social groups in California say new environmental strategies discriminate against minorities