Shimla to levy green fee on private vehicles

Fund to be used to improve road infrastructure and promote ecological sensitivity among tourists

Dangerous deal

To promote development in hilly states, a committee recommends dilution of forest clearance rules, reward for setting up projects

MoEF failed to protect environment: Public Accounts Committee

Forest cover of India is just 21 per cent against the target of 33 per cent set by Planning Commission for 2012

States fined thousands of crores over waste — but how did NGT calculate the penalty amount?

Fine determined on polluter pays principle, equated to environmental compensation and cost of restoration

Compensatory afforestation: 70% data with ministry incorrect, writes top forest officer

Inspector General of Forests AK Mohanty sent letter to all states, alleging discrepancies

Environment ministry failed to monitor forest diversion: CAG

Report of India’s chief auditor says compensatory afforestation not undertaken in many states; CAMPA funds misused or poorly utilised

Testing time

Revisits by Down To Earth reporters to villages that undertook water harvesting offer some valuable lessons in drought management

Made to fail

Employment Guarantee Scheme, first of its kind drought relief scheme has had no impact on the drought-prone areas of Maharashtra in almost 30 …

Out of focus

The government's drought relief programmes are bound to fail in the long run. Even the Planning Commission acknowledges that funds for the …

Repeal or amend CAF: tribal organisations

A petition by tribal organisations says the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act violates constitutional rights and affects livelihoods of …

Getting more with less

System of crop intensification, specially in rice, has shown sizeable savings in water and seed usage. Yet its adoption has not spread despite …

On two legs and a prayer

Walkers outnumber people using vehicles in every Indian city. But city plans have no space for pedestrians, nor do urban roads. Will town …

Lavasa: Dream for one, nightmare for many

Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava finds how people affected by Lavasa are coping with the destruction it has caused

City on trial

Chandigarh resists luxury residential project but fails to rehabilitate its slum population to preserve its master plan

Rs 13,000 crore to be spent on green India mission in next 5 years

Parliamentary Committee on Estimates pulls up Centre for failing to increase forest cover in the country

Just like a forest

Analog forestry mimics a forest to create an economically productive and ecologically diverse landscape

Cleansing chronicle

THE SANITARY CITY: URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE FROM COLONIAL TIMES TO THE PRESENT·Martin V Melosi·John Hopkins University Press·Year&…

COVID-19 exposes fault lines in peri-urban areas

Lack of sanitation awareness prevails at a greater extent here; it is unclear how COVID-19-centric awareness campaigns will influence behavioral …

Bringing order to streets

Centre legalises street vending and gives the profession its due respect. But accommodating vendors is a challenge

Wanted: An urban equivalent of MGNREGA

Such a programme is the need of the hour not only as a measure to revive the urban economy now, but also to mitigate any further shocks to …

More dreams sans cars

From a loose concept to a concrete movement, the idea of the car-free city has evolved gradually

Himalayan plunder: Hydroelectric plans in Arunachal will effect downstream Assam too

Arunachal Pradesh is highly susceptible to landslides; debris flowing downstream will change river behaviour, fear experts 

The big challenges for Telangana

Telangana region accounts for huge chunk of natural resources of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Will creation of new state intensify existing regional …

Ten dead, six injured in Mumbai building collapse

Yet another building collapses amid allegations of illegal modifications; number still trapped unknown

Fruits of afforestation

Adivasis in southern Madhya Pradesh see salvation from malnutrition in a drive to plant fruit trees