In recent years, the twin demands of both religion and defence have been added to the development argument to sweep aside environmental and terrain considerations while undertaking infrastructure development in the Himalayan zone, points out former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The notification issued by the Union Environment Ministry also exempts projects pertaining to the expansion of terminal buildings at airports (without an increase in the existing area of the airport) from seeking green nod.
Ramesh stressed that the prime minister should participate in the debate on Manipur.
According to the data, the tiger population was 1,411 in 2006, 1,706 in 2010, 2,226 in 2014, 2,967 in 2018 and 3,167 in 2022.
With a 50 per cent increase in the last four years, Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number (785) of tigers in the country, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444), according to the data.
'The problem is that all this reconstruction work is being monitored by the prime minister himself with inputs being provided directly by the PMO so nobody in the state government dare contradict them even if their suggestions are totally contrary to what the ecology of this region requires.'
As the election approaches, the earthquake survivors and the scientists urge political parties to take note of warning signs before it's too late.
More than 1,800 scientists, science teachers and educators have written an open letter raising concerns about the chapter on 'Theory of Biological Evolution' being dropped from the NCERT textbook for Class 10.
One looks upon the coming new year with foreboding as current wars in Ukraine and Gaza spill over and escalate and new ones erupt in incipient fault lines across the world, notes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The Madhya Pradesh forest department has asked the Centre for an "alternate" site for cheetahs currently introduced at the Kuno National Park, which has seen the death of two felines in less than a month, with officials citing lack of logistical support and space.
The armed forces can undertake infrastructure development even in ecologically fragile areas which are declared "strategic areas" by the government.
The flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage saw a marginal rise on Tuesday afternoon, oscillating between 50,000 and 60,000 cusecs.
The water level of the Yamuna in Delhi on Tuesday followed a downward trend and dropped below the danger mark of 205.33 metres by 8 pm, the Central Water Commission's data showed.
Each disaster has the same message: Learn to respect the mountains before you build tunnels, roads, and houses, notes Sunita Narain.
Poor governance and mediocre short-sighted politics are destroying the paradise that Goa was as its environment, water table, culture and way of life is drastically threatened by tourism and migration, points out Ramesh Menon.
Four people, including two staff of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad office, were arrested on Friday for allegedly causing damage to Mahatma Gandhi's photo nearly two months ago when an Students' Federation of India protest march led to violence on the premises.
Thackeray, whose Maha Vikas Aghadi government fell after a rebellion in June last year by his cabinet colleague Eknath Shinde, who went on to become CM, also warned he would extract revenge for his ouster.
Environmental activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk accused the BJP of reneging on its promise of including Ladakh under the sixth schedule.
The Union Territory of Ladakh created history by successfully conducting its maiden 21-km trail running event in sub-zero temperature at 13,862 feet high Pangong Tso.
Permission should be denied before the start of the refinery. To do so now is unfair and damaging to the government's reputation, says Nilmadhab Mohanty.
The situation could worsen if weather predictions of more rain in the capital and upper catchment areas come true.
'The Government of India should start a dialogue with the people of Ladakh, but the trouble is they are not willing to listen to our grievances.'
'Why did your generals try to grab a few square kilometres of Indian territory in Ladakh?' 'And what happened to the hard work that you and Prime Minister Modi put into the Wuhan and Mamallapuram meets?' Claude Arpi writes a letter to Xi Jinping, China's self-styled supreme leader, who turns 68 today, June 15.
The World Bank must become Archimedes's lever to help change the world into a more prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable planet in the 21st century. The change in leadership now provides that opportunity, observes Ajay Chhibber.
'If the authorities go about completing this project the way they have proposed, this is going to cause a HUGE environmental impact not only on Malabar Hill but also on the rest of the city.'
Bommai rejected all the key infrastructure related proposals of Kerala, saying it will damage the eco-sensitive zones and wildlife sanctuaries.
The concept of investigative journalism is vanishing in the Indian media landscape, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said on Wednesday.
A memorandum with over two lakh signatures of people favouring a complete ban on the weedicide has been submitted to Union minister for agriculture and farmers welfare Narendra Singh, SJM co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Lakshadweep Research Collective said it along with 60 other signatories from the scientific community have written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention to withdraw the "incautious draft" Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation of 2021.
The ravines, which are sharp, steep mud hillocks, stretch over three states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, once home to several dreaded dacoits have long been the subject of several projects and government schemes to make them agriculturally viable.
'Our automakers export 50 per cent of what they manufacture and once the policy comes into play, which is in the next 2-3 years, we would become a Rs 10 trillion industry.'
'Man-made interventions vastly increased the magnitude of the tragedy.'
The Tribunal said the equitable distribution of Mahadayi waters among three states is 'neither necessary nor feasible' at this stage.
In the wake of the Supreme Court rejecting Kerala's contention in the dispute with Tamil Nadu over the Mullaperiyar dam, the state on Monday sought Centre's mediation and a presidential reference to the apex court to address its anxiety over the issue.
Modi had released the first batch of eight eight spotted felines -- five females and three males -- from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at Kuno on his 72nd birthday on September 17 last year.
'All hydropower projects in the Himalayan region must be stopped.' 'Joshimath is not alone.'
'The administration started intruding into the kitchens and bedrooms of the local community.'
'For the first time in 50 years the people of Lakshadweep who have till now never raised their hands, got out on the streets and started raising their voices.'
Driven by the winds of globalisation, people are moving towards a global culture which is emerging as a threat to local cultural symbols and identities, even as social media, television and pop culture glamorise a particular way of life that the people are sadly "blindly aping", Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said on Friday.
'The entire public needs to be evacuated immediately. Any day, the entire town can collapse.'
Mukesh Ambani, who took over the reins of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) after the sudden demise of his legendary industrialist father Dhirubhai Ambani, completes 20 years at the helm during which the company saw a 17-fold jump in revenues, 20-times surge in profit and has become a global conglomerate.
