There is clearly a direct trade-off between exploitation of natural resources and conservation of environment and human habitat . In the past, due to lower environment consciousness, the trade-off was always decided in favour of exploitation. This is deplorable. Yet, environmental fundamentalism can also exact a high cost that will prevent a number of people to remain without access to basic necessities of life. This apparently intractable trade-off has to be resolved....

Edible oil imports have surged to a record 9.24 million tonnes last year and were estimated to be nearly Rs 38,000 crore. They have emerged as the third most important import item, next only to petroleum products and gold. India is now the world’s largest importer of cooking fats, meeting more than half of its requirement through overseas supplies. Considering the country’s huge and fast-growing demand for cooking oils, such...

Has Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), one of India’s best-known peoples’ movements, run out of steam? Or is it still relevant in its new avatar as a force to reckon with? After all, the NBA has failed to achieve its primary goal of blocking big dams on Narmada, including the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat. The short answer to the question of NBA’s achievement is that it has forced a paradigm...

Curative plea filed in Supreme Court on anniversary of tragedy Coinciding with the anniversary of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the Centre on Friday filed a curative petition seeking enhancement of the compensation of $ 470 million determined by the Supreme Court in 1989 on the ground that this settlement was arrived at on the basis of assumptions of truth unrelated to realities. The Centre as parens patriae (parent of the...

Rules Restrict construction, dumping of untreated waste, industrialisation Harvesting, dredging can be carried out in wetlands with permission from authorities The Union government on Thursday notified rules for conservation and management of wetlands that Restrict harmful activities such as construction, dumping of untreated waste, and industrialisation, to prevent damage to these sensitive ecosystems with high biodiversity values. The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010, are aimed at ensuring better conservation and preventing degradation...