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Sumana Narayanan
Sumana Narayanan
Articles by the Author
2011-7-15
After declaring 43 industrial areas in India as critically polluted and imposing a moratorium on their expansion, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is going easy on them. As many as 23 critically polluted areas have been removed from the moratorium list since last October on the basis of inadequate action plans submitted by the respective states.
Non-profit Centre for Science and Environment evaluated the pollution status of two such places—Vapi in Gujarat and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. It found that pollution in these chemical hubs continues to exceed norms, putting a question mark on the ministry’s intent to tackle pollution. An analysis of pollution data by Sanjeev Kumar Kanchan. Ankur Paliwal reports from Vapi and Sumana Narayanan from Cuddalore.
2011-8-15
Maize has become the queen of cereals, courted by state governments, seed companies, farmers and the feedstock and starch industries as the crop of the future. The golden promise of hybrid maize with its high productivity and high returns is luring farmers across the country. But this triumphal march is raising concerns about food security: maize is after all an industrial crop and used little as food. Food sovereignty campaigners are raising concerns about the shrinking acreage of millets and other staple foods of small farmers on account of the generous subsidies given to maize. Latha Jishnu and Jyotika Sood meet maize scientists, agriculture mandarins, industry leaders, nutrition experts and farmers, specially those in the tribal belt, to understand the maize phenomenon which is changing the agricultural landscape. M Suchitra in Andhra Pradesh and Sumana Narayanan in Tamil Nadu track developments in these high productivity states
2011-9-15
Forest departments across the country owe millions of rupees to communities. For 20 years communities toiled under the Joint Forest Management programme in the hope of getting shares in revenue from timber and bamboo sales. As forests mature for harvesting, forest departments apply mathematical tricks to bring down monetary share to almost nothing; a few states do away with giving cash to communities. Disillusioned, people are now abandoning the programme. One school of experts questions carrying on with the programme of joint management when Acts giving communities legal rights to manage forests on their own have come into existence.
Sayantan Bera, Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava, Aparna Pallavi, Ankur Paliwal and Sumana Narayanan travel to West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh respectively—five states with substantial forests under the programme—to find out how joint management of forests has fared
2011-9-30
Constant exposure to noise can make one deaf. The major culprit is road traffic. Can one avoid noise? It’s difficult. Checking it, however, is not impossible. As the Central Pollution Control Board regulations remain unimplemented, the authority has initiated a nationwide real time noise monitoring, hoping for an improvement. Sayantan Bera in Kolkata, Ankur Paliwal in Delhi and Sumana Narayanan in Chennai report on the increasing noise levels
2010-11-15
Does this official data betray a conspiracy? Only 1.6 per cent of the 2.9 million claims approved under the Forest Rights Act recognise community rights; the rest recognise individual rights over forest dwellings and farms in forestland. Now consider this: community rights under the Act include the right to collect minor forest produce, like bamboo and tendu leaves, which accounts for half the forest department revenue. Reason enough for states to scuttle community rights, which the Centre is trying desperately to enforce. The government of India views MFP rights as a means to curb Naxalism since the states most affected by Naxalism are also home to the maximum number of people dependent on forest produce. These states contribute more than 90 per cent of the MFP trade
Down To Earth correspondents travelled to six states to unravel the conspiracy to deprive forest people of their rights. Richard Mahapatra reports from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava from Madhya Pradesh, Sumana Narayanan from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and Aparna Pallavi from Maharashtra
2009-8-15
Microorganisms have a complex equation with humans. From the structure of our bodies to cultural differences, the invisible beings influence our decisions about everything, from food and disease, to death and survival
2011-9-27
Carcinogens found in effluents leaking from company's PVC plant in Mettur
2011-9-21
Jayalalithaa agrees to intercede on behalf of protesters
2011-9-30
The company sought to continue operating its copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu
2011-8-12
Two tourist companies boycott Jarawa tourism
2011-7-27
Madras High Court had given three months to vacate the area
2011-5-31
Two textile cities, Tirupur and Ludhiana, explore ways to stop effluent discharge into streams
2011-5-15
Carbohydrate-based sweeteners available in the market are not good for diabetics. Recently, 15 students from IIT Madras tweaked lactobacilli used in making dairy products to produce curd sweetened by protein. This can help develop naturally sweetened food. Sumana Narayanan talks to the gold medal-winning team. Excerpts
2011-5-15
People near Chennai plan protest against industrial estate
2011-2-15
Environment ministry notifies CRZ 2011. It has pro-builder bias, say fishers and activists
2011-1-10
Madras high court asks companies in SIPCOT industrial estate to pay one lakh each
2010-12-27
Environment ministry asks to reply within 15 days why the clearance should not be revoked
2011-12-27
Rules while hearing a petition on transfer of land to Bangalore Metro
2010-12-31
New fish landing centre in Puducherry raises concerns of coastal erosion, farming loss
2010-12-14
Residents say the project will contaminate drinking water; pollution board gives clean chit
2010-10-15
Fishers say proposed CRZ notification does not recognize their rights
2010-9-17
In three separate decisions says no to Vedanta, Kotli-Behl but approves Bhavanapadu power plant
2010-9-30
Mahesh Rangarajan, chair of the elephant task force, talks to Sumana Narayanan on the future of elephant conservation in India. The task force submitted its report on August 30, recommending a restructure of Project Elephant to an autonomous body, along the lines of National Tiger Conservation Authority
2010-9-30
Environment ministry asks for re-examination of alternative sites
2010-8-31
Panel confirms Sompeta and Bhavanapadu thermal project sites are wetlands
2010-8-7
South Korean company's steel project has violated rights of forest dwellers
2010-7-15
A day after two protesters die in police firing, appellate authority trashes environmental clearance to Nagarjuna construction
2010-7-15
A day after two protesters die in police firing, appellate authority trashes environmental clearance to Nagarjuna construction
2010-7-15
Say they wandered out of Panna National Park in Madhya Pradesh and were poached
2010-7-15
Environment minister to clear project after site visit
2010-7-15
Developed countries to use a geographical advantage to stop generics
2010-4-30
ANTOINE GOETSCHEL, 51, is a Swiss government advocate for animals. A specialist in animal welfare law for 25 years, he explained to SUMANA NARAYANAN over the phone why animals need legal protection. Excerpts
2010-3-15
Nilgiri tribals and farmers without deeds barred from public hearing
2010-2-28
SUMANA NARAYANAN finds a 125-year-old shop selling herbal medicines in the lanes of Chennai
2010-2-28
A website helps people observe and understand nature while gathering scientific data
2010-5-31
Clashes between wild animals and farmers are rising along forest fringes. But the government is yet to gauge their intensity, forget developing a counter strategy
2009-12-31
Oceanography institute says data too meagre to assess navigation canals impact
2009-12-31
Rs 500 crore road will cater to cars that comprise one-fifth the traffic
2009-12-31
Sumana Narayanan inadvertently walks the thin line between a curio and wildlife contraband
2009-12-15
Relocate observatory site near Madurai: environment ministry
2009-11-15
Lawyer faces contempt for remarks on judge favouring mining giant
2009-8-15
When it was found there were no tigers in the Panna Tiger Reserve, P K Sen was called to join the government special investigation team. Former head of Project Tiger, he told Sumana Narayanan the department's focus was tourism. Excerpts
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