The decision to set up a nuclear power station with U.S.-made reactors at Kovvada in Ranasthalam mandal of Srikakulam district has caused serious concern among environmental and social activists. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is confident of completing the land acquisition process for Kovvada and four other coastal-based plants within one and half years. It wants clearances for the plants as fast-track projects. Sources have told The Hindu that...

World leaders arriving at the United Nations conference in Copenhagen next week will be greeted with over100 real-life stories demonstrating the devastating impact global warming has on lives and livelihoods of people around the world. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today installed the UN Climate Wall - high-tech touch-screens broadcasting the sights and sounds of a changing climate - near the conference hall where the majority of the world's heads...

In his engaging book on a love affair between a Hyderabadi princess and an Englishman in the 18th century, William Dalrymple reminds us that “the road from Hyderabad to the port of Masulipatam was one of the most beautiful in the Deccan”. In unearthing this fact from travelogues of the time, Dalrymple draws attention not just to the wealth of Hyderabad, inherited from the richest kingdom of the Deccan, Golconda,...

At a time when there is growing concern about the causes of increasing discontent and alienation among tribals, it is important to recall a very important law for improving the governance of the Scheduled Areas in such a way as to protect the interests of tribals. The reference here is to the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 (briefly called the PESA law). If this Act had been properly...

Wants exclusion of tiger reserve area falling within its purview  Says construction of dam will disturb the core habitat of wild animals Minister concerned at the ecological implications of project NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has asked the Centre to review the Ken-Betwa river-linking project in Madhya Pradesh in view of the ecological implications. In a letter to Union Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, Mr. Ramesh...