When the executive fails, people seek redressal from courts. In some cases, the courts have merely put the seal of approval on the actions of citizens' pressure groups. In others, the remedies have only addressed the problems in part. The earth still bleeds in Bichhri, the waters still run red in Patancheru and the executive is yet to be penalized

Overexploitation, skewed pricing policies and inefficient utilisation have laid bare the bamboo's vast reserves. While local communities clamour for the resource, and possiblities of sustainable use abound, governments dole it out to industry. Arunachal, one of the last bastions of bamboo in the country, is under similar threat

Self-reliance and export prospects have contributed to the rapid growth of the Indian chemical industry. But the distaff side of the boom is the gigantic quantities of harmful byproducts: noxious wastes, dumped irresponsibly anywhere you can find some unmonitored space. A bit of foresight brings home the scary possibility that nothing less than a disaster will shake officials and industrialists out of their laidback attitude in dealing with environmental evil.

X-rays increase cancer risk

History provides important lessons in the management of the environment for administrators, conservationists and their ideologues. But have we really learnt anything from the past?

A memory drug developed by Indian scientists could hold the key to a ultimillion dollar global market

With one of the highest growth rate of AIDS cases in the world, India sees a boom in 'opportunistic infections' baffling doctors

Should the remaining two stocks of the smallpox virus be wiped out
permanently from the face of the earth? The question, which brings to fore certain scientific, technical and ethical issues, awaits an answer from world's scientists

Indian scientists suspect the
presence of hantavirus - one of
the. most dreaded killers of
modern times - in Gujarat

Militancy has destroyed much more than peace in Kashmir. Kalashnikov-trotting extremists are ravaging the last green frontiers of the 'heaven on earth'. Even the Army is accused of active complicity. Eco-vandalism has certainly emerged as a lucrative deal

One of the most lucrative pisciculture activities today, shrimp cultivation in India was recently given a devastating body blow by a mysterious lethal virus. Author tracks the beast

The fisheries department sets new rules for acquafarmers to avoid the recurrence of a viral devastation

The inferno at the Oil and Natural Gas Commission's rig in Andhra Pradesh leaves India bawling for help

The beautiful resort is fast greying under the onslaught of modernity

Delhi is bursting at the seams from the pressures of rampant urbanisation. Everything that can possibly go wrong in this metro of 10 million people seems to have already gone wrong. The water, land and air everything seems to have been fouled up, the recent plague being just another grim reminder that the Capital may be running short on time. In the wake of the Clean Delhi Campaign, sparked off by the recent plague outbreak, Delhi chief minister MADAN LAL KHURANA talked to Uday Shankar and Max Martin

The government has consistently steamrolled opposition to the Sardar Sarovar project

The Gujarat government has been ordered not to close the sluice gates of the Sardar Sarovar dam until all rehabilitation and resettlement plans are finalised

India's attempts at developing supercomputers have not only paid off, they have sparked intense competition.