-The Hindu They also allege borewells are being dug without permission Chennai: Environmentalists and naturalists are shocked at the conversion of traditional agriculture land into resorts and digging of borewells in the ecologically sensitive Sirumalai forests in the Dindigul forest division. Sirumalai is popular for its hill banana, which is grown only there. Basically, it is a catchment area, where sixty per cent of flora found in the Western Ghats, are available. This...

-The Hindu Instead of opening a debate on the Gadgil panel's report on the Western Ghats, the government has chosen to sideline and replace it with another by an alternate group This is a challenging time in India's development history where a number of tenets of environmental governance are being questioned by the imperative of growth. Environmental governance in India is under assault, and is thus in need of both fresh thinking,...

-The Hindu The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has served notices to 14 authorities directing them to remove all boards, nails and advertisements from trees falling under their jurisdictions and has directed the authorities to de-concretise the trees. Following a petition filed by Aditya N. Prasad and others, the Tribunal issued notices to three Union Ministries - Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Human Resources Development and the Ministry of Urban Development...

-The Hindu Campaign launched across tribal hamlets near sanctuary explaining dos and don’ts Mumbai: Buildings and infrastructural activities, ill-treatment by authorities and apathy of human encroachers to the animals inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), the only wildlife sanctuary in India adjacent to a large metropolis, is leading to increased conflict between people and leopards, a report published after a year-long project has said. From 2000 to January 2013, there have been...

-The Times of India The Chhattisgarh government fudged records, concealed facts, changed policy and altered decisions while the Union environment ministry overlooked all such illegalities to open up 1,899 hectares for mining in Hasdeo Arand, one of the best patches of forests in central India. Initially, the Centre had decided to protect Hasdeo Arand by making it a no-go zone for miners. The Chhattisgarh government too had moved to get the dense...