-India Today Groundwater is being extracted in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan at a rate faster than it's replenished, according to the latest report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). The status of groundwater extraction - the proportion of water drawn out to annual recharge - in Delhi and the three states is more than 100 per cent. In Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Lakshwadeep, Pondicherry and Daman and Diu, the...

-The Telegraph In her recent book, Green Wars, the environmental journalist Bahar Dutt, writes: "The editor of a leading media house, everytime I pitched a green story, would invariably complain: ‘Environmentalism is stalling growth; all I am interested in is double-digit growth for this country.'" The idea that environmental protection and economic progress are at odds is widely held among India's elite. It is shared by newspaper editors, economists, businessmen, and, not...

-Deccan Herald The Green Revolution has changed life in Indian villages, but the main beneficiaries were the landlords. Daily labourers remain poor and marginalised. The limits of using ever more fertiliser and pesticides are becoming apparent. Many farmers are confused because extension services want them to reconsider practices they were told to abandon not that long ago. A member of the Santal tribe, an Adivasi community, assesses things from the village perspective. Since independence...

-The Times of India   AURANGABAD: The groundwater level in the Marathwada region has increased by 1.8 metres till May 2014 as compared to the corresponding period last year, according to a pre-monsoon survey conducted recently by the Groundwater Survey Development Agency (GSDA). Last year, the groundwater level till May was recorded at 11.44 mt, while this year it stood at 9.64 mt till the same period. Deputy director of GSDA, P L Salve,...

-The Hindustan Times While BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's 'Gujarat development model' has caught the nation's fancy, a new United Nations (UN) report says Gujarat is one of the most water-starved states in India. The UN World Water Development Report 2014 observes that unsustainable use of water for agriculture is the prime reason for the groundwater level falling in most parts of Gujarat. "The issue of groundwater overdraft in India has been...