Court digest: Major environment hearings (Jan 25-Feb 1)
Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
Eucalyptus, acacia and teak, not Sal: Why CAG is critical of Odisha’s afforestation efforts
There was an ‘acute shortfall’ in achieving plantation targets in Odisha due to lack of coordination, working plan, improper …
Not being kept in loop: Odisha’s sarpanches on CM’s power decentralisation move
Several sarpanches who were given powers of district collectors alleged their administrative or financial roles were not spelt out clearly
Improving mobility for clean air: Why cities fall short of their goals
Transportation and mobility strategies are the weakest link in the National Clean Air Action Plans
Contraceptive use among women rises in western states, Goa tops the charts: NFHS-5 data
Use of injectables and male sterilisation tools continued to be low across all states in the region
What happened to India’s flood management plan?
There is no national-level flood control authority in India — 43 years after the country’s first and last commission …
Uprooted for the sake of compensatory afforestation
To compensate for forest land diversion for Parsa coal block, Chhattisgarh government identifies 16 villages without approval from gram sabhas
COVID-19 and green, open spaces: What is going to be our new normal?
Living conditions created under a pandemic situation are also a reflection of the inadequacies of our cities
COVID-19, floods: Bihar stares at twin challenge with onset of monsoon
Bihar Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar held a meeting with top officials on June 10 to review preparedness measures
States fined thousands of crores over waste — but how did NGT calculate the penalty amount?
Fine determined on polluter pays principle, equated to environmental compensation and cost of restoration
Compensatory afforestation: 70% data with ministry incorrect, writes top forest officer
Inspector General of Forests AK Mohanty sent letter to all states, alleging discrepancies
COVID-19 exposes fault lines in peri-urban areas
Lack of sanitation awareness prevails at a greater extent here; it is unclear how COVID-19-centric awareness campaigns will influence behavioral …
Wanted: An urban equivalent of MGNREGA
Such a programme is the need of the hour not only as a measure to revive the urban economy now, but also to mitigate any further shocks to …
Himalayan plunder: Hydroelectric plans in Arunachal will effect downstream Assam too
Arunachal Pradesh is highly susceptible to landslides; debris flowing downstream will change river behaviour, fear experts
Megaprojects in Addis Ababa raise questions about spatial justice
A unique characteristic of Addis Ababa’s urban development is that successive Ethiopian regimes have used new urban projects as …
COVID-19: How city densities can be managed for post-pandemic recovery
Density seems to be more of a scapegoat than the cause of increasing virus transmission at the city level
COVID-19: Here's what decentralised planning teaches us to curb pandemics
Decentralised infrastructure and services provide a range of benefits for all stakeholders
It rained hard in Delhi; what if all that water did not go waste
The volume of rainwater generated in the past week was almost 13 per cent of the demand for water in Delhi, estimated at 2,765 million litres per …
An every monsoon affair: How to tackle urban flooding
Urbanisation is inevitable as is climate change; the need is for a multi-pronged approach
COVID-19: 4 factors to test how vulnerable slums in 4 big cities are
Govt of India thinks novel coronavirus will be a part of life. That makes it imperative to account for limitations before forming policy
What COVID-19 can mean for SDG-11, sustainable cities and communities in India
As urban vulnerabilities are amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of sustainable cities in Sustainable Development Goals needs to be …