-The Telegraph Lucknow: Akhilesh Yadav has wrapped up his free laptop scheme and instead pledged funds for building toilets and upgrading the police force in the state budget unveiled today. "We have kept our poll promise and distributed laptops in the first phase of our programme. The stress in this budget is infrastructure and rural development," said the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, under pressure after his party slipped from 21 seats in...

-The Hindu   uttarakhand is still in dire need of a development plan that is also sensitive to the fragile ecosystem that was crippled by the floods and landslides of 2013 Santosh Naudiyal stood on the verandah of a building in Rudraprayag last December while he narrated his story. On October 1, 1994, the night of the Rampur Tiraha massacre, Santosh and his friends boarded a bus to New Delhi to participate in...

-The Indian Express   The Himalayas need special policy attention, given their strategic importance and unique vulnerabilities   The fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted increased global warming, with a 1.5-2.0 degree rise in surface temperature by the end of the 21st century. This will not only make coastal regions vulnerable to sea-level rise but also make the sensitive Himalayan ecosystem more vulnerable. The increase in temperature will...

-The Hindustan Times   In the din of elections and euphoria over new Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the loss of hundreds of lives in one of the worst Himalayan tragedies in uttarakhand has been forgotten. The policy correction promised after the tragedy remained mostly on paper and uttarakhand is back to business as usual - developing but doing little to save the fragile local ecology. The core of the promises made was to check...

-Down to Earth   Lakhwar-Vyasi project cleared by Centre this year is a violation of Supreme Court order, says expert The uttarakhand government is pushing for more hydropower projects in the state even through a Supreme Court-appointed panel of experts blamed existing hydel power projects in the state for the uttarakhand flood disaster of 2013. The panel has sought complete overhaul of the environment clearance mechanism for such projects. The state government has...