Mainland Discourse

Across India, there is a bonding of searing pain, especially in its northern and eastern peripheries. The hurt and tumult envelops families and communities in a shroud of despair, whether it is in the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir or earlier in Punjab. The media misses the point that lack of services exacerbates alienation and therefore fuels insurgency. Read more »

As POSCO hits green roadblocks, the mega project seems doomed

THE ODISHA government is trying hard not to sound defensive, after the Meena Gupta Committee report pulled it up for violating the local people’s forest rights while giving the nod to POSCO for setting up its proposed $12 billion steel plant. Earlier, a joint committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had reached the same conclusion, and reported several irregularities. Read more »

GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS TO ASSESS INDUSTRIAL WASTE DUMPED AT UCIL, BHOPAL

Geophysical investigations are used to identify buried industrial waste that cannot be easily identified by visual inspection. Geophysical investigations are used to identify buried industrial waste that cannot beeasily identified by visual inspection. Now in Bhopal, there are heaps of industrial wastes lying at different places that can be easily seen at the ground surface. It is with this objective that geophysical investigations have been carried out. The waste materials constitute mostly of solid waste (off specification products resulted from the manufacture of pesticides), terry residue from distillation unit, burnt and unburnt produce (NEERI, 1996). READ COMPLETE REPORT

Final report on the assessment of Hazardous Waste in the Areas around Union Carbide India Ltd., Bhopal

M/s. Union Carbide India Ltd. (UCIL), manufactured carbamate pesticides and the associated intermediate chemicals at their Bhopal unit from 1969 to 1984. The solid, semi-solid, liquid and tarry wastes generated during the manufacture of pesticides and associated chemicals were dumped by UCIL within their premises from 1969 to 1984. Download the report

Source: http://moef.nic.in/

Report on the Economics of Biodiversity

The environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh  launched a landmark report that demonstrates the economic significance of biodiversity loss and eco-system degradation. This report suggests a tiered approach to analyzing problems and ascertaining suitable policy responses. The Minister gave a keynote address highlighting the importance of putting a monetary value on biodiversity and the ecosystem as a method to emphasise the similarity between economic development and conservation. Download the report

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Launch of National Green Tribunal

New Delhi, 19th October, 2010

The Chairman of the National Green Tribunal, Shri. Justice LS Panta, along with the Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh held a press conference today to announce the Notification of the NGT. This occasion marks the culmination of a long endeavour to have a specialised body to determine and adjudicate all matters relating to the Environment. The Body, now officially established, will subsume such existing quasi-judicial bodies as the National Environment Appellate Authority and will enjoy original jurisdiction in cases of substantial questions related to the environment

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