Warring over water

While issues like Cauvery water sharing and Indus Treaty figured prominently in 2016, other inter-state water conflicts could be on the anvil as …

The poorest shun MGNREGA

Participation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes in the scheme has halved in five years

Environment ministry wants to restore night traffic through Bandipur tiger reserve

Karnataka High Court had banned traffic in the area from 9 pm to 6 am following deaths of tigers and elephants in vehicular accidents

THE SECOND INDEPENDENCE

Tiny forgotten villages teach India a firsthand lesson in governance. Down To Earth reporters and photographers fan out to six states to discover …

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (December 19, 2022)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal 

Telangana COVID-19 vaccine recipient dies; govt says no link to immunisation

All three deaths following immunisation in India attributed to heart attack with no disease history

PM trains guns on ‘environmentalists’ during virtual meet with farmers

Says environmentalists who support farmers now, opposed killing animals raiding farms earlier  

NGT orders closure of industrial units in Bellandur Lake area

No industry would be allowed to operate in the lake area unless effluent emissions are under permissible limits. Industries found violating the …

TB and respiratory disorders have increased in Bellary: CAG report

Country's chief auditor calls for a comprehensive study on impact of mining on people, livelihood before grant of leases

Karnataka Biodiversity Board washes hands of Bt brinjal biopiracy case

Activists say authority protecting Mahyco-Monsanto which used indigenous brinjal varieties to develop India's first genetically modified crop

Seeds of Strife

The Seed Bill takes away states’ power to regulate seed prices, could lead to Centre-state confrontation

Bt brinjal biopiracy case: court vacates stay

Karnataka High Court allows biodiversity boards to go ahead with criminal prosecution of seed company Mahyco and others, accused to using local …

Western Ghats at risk: Deforestation data drives home point again

Loss recorded across four districts of Karnataka, according to data from Global Forest Watch

Democracy's better half

Exclusive women's village councils are beginning to make a difference in India's rural areas. Are state governments ready to share power with them?

Victims of ‘growth’

Book>> A village awaits doomsday • Jaideep Hardikar • Rs 299 • Penguin Books

COVID-19 update: Over 1,000 daily cases in India for first time in 2023

Over 665,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the last seven days worldwide, along with 4,178 deaths

Climbing the machan: Poverty and animal conflict in Karnataka

Human-wildlife conflict is a monumental issue for farmers living in subsistence, conflict with wild animals disproportionately impacts the poor

Swachh Bharat cess: A few states may not agree on it

Except Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand, no other state has directly agreed to the central proposal

Kagga in peril

This rice can tolerate brackish water but is on the brink of extinction. Can government save it?

‘Tribunal order staying development on Karnataka grasslands ignored’

Environment ministry asked to filed response on Amrit Mahal Kaval allotments by end of this month or pay penalty

Another Kasaragod

Like Kerala’s Kasaragod, neighbouring Dakshina Kannada is bearing the brunt of spraying of endosulfan. While Kasaragod grabbed media …

Snakebites in rural India: A slow suppuration

Most people in rural areas die from snakebites during the monsoon season; a quarter of these are children less than 15 years of age

Waste smart cities

A survey by the Centre for Science and Environment shows how Indian cities are turning over a new leaf in solid waste management

MoEF withdraws draft amendments to solid waste management rules

Activists say amendments involve use of expensive, regressive and untested technologies for waste disposal

Cauvery row: SC directs Karnataka to release 283 cumec water to Tamil Nadu

Asks Cauvery Monitoring Committee headed-by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet within two days and decide water sharing between the two states