-The Business Standard The Western Ghats need local environmental governance What sets the report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, headed by Professor Madhav Gadgil, apart from most other reports delivered by such government-appointed committees is that it does not view environmental factors in isolation from development imperatives. Nevertheless, its recommendations pay careful attention to the need for protection and preservation of the biological wealth of one of the world’s hot...

-The Hindu The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction to the Centre to allot the entire 2000 MW to be generated by the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project to Tamil Nadu. In its order, the First Bench comprising the Chief Justice M.Y.Eqbal and Justice T.S.Sivagnanam said the petitioner had not even made any representation to the authorities concerned regarding the matter. It was a policy...

When it comes to thrusting nuclear power down the throats of unwilling people, official India sets a record of violations of dignity and rights that is embarrassing. Which other government but India's maligns all anti-nuclear protesters as foreign-inspired and lacking any agency? Where else would the police file 107 FIRs against 55,795 peaceful anti-nuclear protesters, but at Koodankulam, charging 6,800 with "sedition" and "waging war against the State"? And which...

Of late, a childhood friend's 80-year-old mother has taken to writing. Emboldened by her single-mindedness, memories dulled by a lifetime of contingencies now respond readily to the daily rustle of pen on paper. One memory stands out in Surjit Kaur's mind. In 1957, as a fresh eyed schoolteacher from Delhi she went on an educational tour to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. It was 10 years after Independence...

The much-awaited power generation from the Rs.14,000-crore Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is likely to begin in June. The trial run of the first unit (1,000 MW), after loading the reactor with fuel (enriched uranium), will begin on June 10. “The dummy fuel has been removed; now, we are waiting for the clearance of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for loading the real fuel. The AERB's nod is expected in another...