Choked on salt

Curse of the horn

Solar street lights scam: Patna HC seeks explanation from state government

Taking cognisance of a petition alleging Rs 100 crore scam in installation of solar street lights in Bihar the Patna High Court has directed the state government to submit details of its stand on the matter within 45 days. Nagarik Adhikar Manch, a non-profit has alleged that mukhiyas had purchased sub-standard solar lights at higher cost. The order was passed earlier this week by the division bench of Justice Shivaji Prakash and Justice Navin Sinha while hearing a public interest petition seeking a CBI probe into the scam. 

Railways pulled up over scavengers

ON October 10, the Delhi High Court came down heavily on the Union Ministry of Railways and asked it to submit a detailed plan with “specific time frames and targets” to eliminate manual scavenging. It has asked the ministry to submit the plan by November 21. But the relief may be short lived as Parliament has cleared a bill that allows manual scavenging if individuals are provided with protective gears.

Impatient to sterilise

Young women, most in their 20s, lie on the floor like corpses at a community health centre (CHC) in Bikaner’s Kolayat block in Rajasthan. Flies hover over the bandages on the fresh wounds they received after undergoing operation for sterilisation. As they lie unconscious on a thin mat spread on the floor, relatives use cardboard pieces to fan themselves, and at times the patients. With temperature lingering close to 40°C, one cooler in the room is insufficient. Small children play with their slippers and feeding bottles and other belongings close to their mothers.

Ban toxic imports: court

Tigers buffered

Audit of reluctance

The ministry of environment and forests (MEF) has decided to postpone from May 15 to September 30 the date for industries to submit their first environmental audit. This corresponds to the date by which companies are expected to file annual reports.

Nagpur village moves court against Bhopal's toxic waste incineration

Residents of village Ruikhairi near Nagpur have moved court against the proposal to burn the toxic waste from the Union carbide factory in Bhopal  at the waste facility of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) near their homes.

Centre to identify a laboratory to analyse toxic waste from Union Carbide factory

The Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the Centre to identify a laboratory in the country to analyse the waste from Union Carbide and prepare an environmental impact assessment on the impact of burning it in Nagpur.