-TheNewsMinute.com The SC had ordered for the interest from to penalty to be spent for improving the environment, INCluding water and soil, of the vicinity of the plant. Over the last five years, the Thoothukudi district administration has failed to not only address the angst of residents over pollution by Sterlite copper but also to utilise funds to improve the environment in the vicinity of the plant, government documents received under...

-India Climate Dialogue It does not depend on erratic electricity supply from the grid Sandeep Alse, a farmer who grows fruits and vegetables in Marathwada, a drought-prone region in Maharashtra, found it difficult to reach the market with his produce on time, due to poor infrastructure. The lack of cold storage facility in the vicinity added to his woes and much of his harvest was spoiled, making it difficult for him to...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Dealing a second blow to the Election Commission’s position on an issue in less than six months, the Delhi High Court has last week set aside the EC order disqualifying BJP’s Cabinet minister in Madhya Pradesh Narottam Mishra, on grounds of paid news. The latest HC order could draw a red line for the EC on the subject of ‘paid news’ as it says that the Commission’s...

-TheWire.in There have been no efforts to regularly compile and publish data on the social, economic and professional backgrounds of judges in either the higher or lower judiciary. The appointment of Indu Malhotra to the Supreme Court has rekindled the debate surrounding the ‘representativeness’ of the judiciary. She is only the seventh woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court in the seven decades of its existence, and the first woman...

-TheWire.in In India, caste and practices related to caste are inescapable in the waste-management conundrum. There’s a wonderful book called Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay about England in bygone days when it was still heavily rural and agricultural labour was the life of thousands of people. The recent release of the Swachh Survekshan rankings of India’s cleanest cities suggests someone should write a book called Ask the People Who Pick Up...