Apex court had earlier ruled in favour of Maharashtra, rejected Andhra’s plea for demolition

A village in Kerala, encouraged by its progressive library, leads the way in organ donation

Purushan Eloor is an environmental activist and research coordinator with Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithy (PMVS), which has been fighting against industrial pollution in the Periyar river, the lifeline of central Kerala. The river is alarmingly polluted by about 280 chemical factories located at Eloor-Edayar industrial estate, the largest industrial cluster in the state.

Purushan was member of the Local Area Environment Committee constituted in 2004 by the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes, the Environment Working Group of Kerala State Planning Board and the Endosulfan Technical Cell of the Kerala government. Besides, PMVS is an accredited member of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board. But for the past one year, Purushan has been spending most of his time and energy in courts and police stations. He is facing investigations by the crime branch, special branch and the local police for “anti-national and terrorist” activities. Purushan spoke to M Suchitra about how industries and politicians conspire to eliminate environment activists in the locality and how factories continue to pollute the river with impunity. Some excerpts:

An Act meant to financially help tenant farmers of suicide-prone Andhra has failed them

It some cases money spent without budgetary provision; in certain others funds meant for welfare development saved unnecessarily

Micro-lender among those accused of coercive loan recovery from rural poor; court asks state not to take coercive steps against firm for now

Petitioner alleges violation of norms, demands land acquisition should be permitted only after environmental clearances are secured

Court directs state to get forest and wildlife clearances

Confidential audit exposes financial, planning lapses in Andhra’s urban renewal mission

Vivek and Juli Cariappa are Krishi Pandit awardees and dedicated organic farmers based in H D Kote taluk in Mysore. They have been practising organic farming since 1986. In an telephonic interview with M Suchitra, they talk about the challenges and way forward for organic cotton

Suggests state government should review the law enacted in the wake of suicides by rural borrowers

New body to promote tea as a preferred beverage across the globe

Move follows the latter's refusal to release adequate water from Cauvery even after talks, says Jayalalithaa

Becomes 17th state in country to impose ban on them

Tamil Nadu has 40 per cent of the wind energy capacity installed in India, yet the state is reeling from power crisis

It was not just cyclone Nilam that ruined paddy in Andhra

Government offices, business houses, educational institutions and cinema halls remain shut in protest against the Centre’s move

No vision, no planning, no adequate allocation and utilisation of funds, says Cabinet panel report still under wraps

Crops on 250,000 hectares destroyed, 60,000 people in relief camps

Mohammed Taghi Farvar, former director of Avicenna University in Iran, is a well-known ecologist and social scientist. At present, he is the president of Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Areas and Territories (ICCAs) Consortium and is a member of the Council of Elders of the Union of Indigenous Nomadic Tribes of Iran. He belongs to Shahsevan indigenous nomadic tribal confederacy. He spoke to M Suchitra on how the rights of indigenous people and their traditional knowledge remains largely unprotected in spite of international treaties. Some excerpts:

Coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu on high alert

Fast progress needed on targets for protected areas especially marine areas, it adds

Financial targets agreed to by developed countries in Nagoya were to be determined at CoP 11 in Hyderabad

The awards are given to countries that contribute to biodiversity loss

Manmohan Singh says the challenge is to develop new models of inclusive conservation

They will draw plans for conservation, sustainable use and documentation of biodiversity

When and where the negotiating parties will meet is yet to be decided

Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan calls for partnership between developed and developing countries to meet the challenges of protecting biodiversity

But they do not provide for liability and redress if damage occurs due t release of GMOs by biotech giants, point out civil society groups

Parties to the protocol emphasise on need for capacity building for managing risks from genetically engineered products

 Urge governments to implement biosafety protocols and adopting cautious approach towards risky technologies like genetic engineering 

 Protocol needs serious inter-ministerial deliberations, says MoEF official

Non-profits to represent united resolve to protect the country’s natural wealth and bio-cultural heritage from powerful economic interests

How benefit-sharing between a research institute and the Kani tribe went awry

State’s new sand policy replaces auction system for allotting leases and bans inter-state transportation of sand

Kerala village panchayat demands permanent closure of waste treatment plant

Andhra Pradesh’s Jalayagnam irrigation scheme unviable, contract-driven, says CAG draft report

Move effectively overrules high court stay; approved sand reaches fall in districts acutely affected by overexploitation of river sand

Yet-to-be-made public report dismisses environmental concerns

In turn, industries and investors got land, mining leases and concessions from the state government

Asks state government to approach MoEF for environmental clearance

'Mining plans cause growth of extremism in the Scheduled tribal areas'

Company failed to set up power plant even 10 years after it took possession of site

Where there is a river, there is sand. Called a minor mineral, it fulfils a major requirement of the booming construction industry. No wonder, many senior bureaucrats and politicians in power are hand-in-glove with local contractors to make huge gains from illegal sand mining. Even as the exchequer suffers, little attention is given to the long-lasting scars sand mining leaves on ecology. Communities fight on the river banks and in courts to keep sand reserves from getting exhausted.

Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava travelled to Madhya Pradesh, Anupam Chakravartty to Punjab, M Suchitra to Andhra Pradesh and Ashwin Aghor to Karnataka to examine the murky business of sand mining

State government violated Supreme Court directions and own orders

More than 10,000 people are camping in Idinthakari village, nerve centre of people’s agitation

Says respond else face action

Temple town Guruvayur adamant on dumping its sewage in backwater villages despite stringent laws, opposition

Kerala High Court suggests CRPF protection for garbage trucks dumping Thiruvanthapuram's waste in village

Expert panel submits report saying plant meets all safety norms and that it is safe for operation

Will help irrigate 663, 684 hectares in seven districts in Telangana region

119 hospitals issued show cause notice by state pollution control board for violations

Andhra Pradesh circumvents all regulations to mine bauxite from tribal land

The ruling alliance’s flagship rural employment programme took unprecedented strides in creating water conservation structures across the country, but only to harvest disillusionment. What went wrong? Richard Mahapatra travels to Jharkhand, M Suchitra to Andhra Pradesh and Moyna to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in search of answers

Karnataka’s Lokayukta Santosh Hegde’s report is a sordid story on the rise of India’s mining poster boy, Bellary. The protagonists of the script, the Reddy brothers, used muscle and money to grease their way through government departments. Initially, it was all gold. But Hegde’s report exposed the dingy substrate of Bellary’s mining operations. Heads have rolled, and the political establishment of Karnataka has been shaken up. BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa was made to quit the chief minister’s post. The Supreme Court has stepped in to ban mining on the basis of a report by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).

The biggest losers have been the environment and the people living in the area. M Suchitra reports from Bellary and Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava analyses the CEC report

Say have no faith in the inquiry

Andhra pollution control board holds public hearing for a project in Schedule Five area
 

Feature film intensifies row over Mullaperiyar dam

Court questions awarding of tender for mega dam to a disqualified consortium
 

Proposes allotment at market price except in cases where land is to be used for non-profit public purpose

Plant site is on wetland surrounded by shrimp farms

A forest generated by residents in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district is being destroyed to set up windmills

Frenzied quarrying destroys livelihoods and environment in Karimnagar

Andhra Pradesh government had alloted 394 ha of wetlands terming it wasteland; farmers and fisherman were unhappy

Cancels local body polls as court says reservation can’t exceed 50%

Kerala cricket association clears wetland trees to build stadium

No complimentary water pouches with meals on board

Sand mining in Alappuzha: People call the shots