A growing number of endangered olive ridley sea turtles have been getting killed in Eastern India’s coastal state Orissa by mechanized vessels defying a fishing ban on one of the world’s largest turtle sanctuaries, Gahirmatha. While the government said "no more than 800" were killed since November last year, environmentalists counter that the casualty count of these tiny turtles is actually 5,000. The problem illustrates the situation that confronts Orissa and other...

The promise of the FRA remains largely unfulfilled, says a committee set up by the Ministries of Environment and Forests and Tribal Affairs. IT seems hard for a government used to controlling most of India's common lands to let go of them. Even though it has passed a law mandating more decentralised governance of forests, the government itself is proving to be the biggest obstacle in its implementation. Other than in...

After farmers threatened to commit suicide protesting grant of mining leases in Bichwa and Tekadi villages in Saoner tehsil, two mining officials visited Bichwa to take stock of the situation. TOI on February 17 reported how four affected farmers from Bichwa threatened to commit suicide after forcible acquisition of farm land for dolomite and manganese extraction. Conservationists also said mining activity will pose threat to tiger corridor, especially against the backdrop...

Twelve transfers in five years, an illegal suspension order, a fabricated chargesheet, denial of promotion and a spoiled annual confidential report (ACR). That's what forest service officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi was awarded by the Haryana government. His 'crime'? He unearthed a multi-crore scam involving senior officials, implemented the Supreme Court's orders preventing a Wildlife Sanctuary from being destroyed and stopped government money from being spent on private lands of politically influential...

The Kerala Irrigation Department has sought permission for the transfer of forest land for constructing the Periyar dam. The executive engineer of the Minor Irrigation Department (MID), Kumily, has approached the Kerala Forest Department (KFD) with a request for allotting 50 hectares for the project. The KFD, however, is in a fix over the allocation of the land as it fears widespread environment and ecological imbalances in the Periyar Tiger Reserve,...