-TheWire.in The delta has shrunk by 20% because of diversion of land and climate change. Water-intensive agriculture and industrial practices are adding to the problem. Despite being one of the oldest water-regulator structures in the world that is still functional, the Kallanai dam or the Grand Anicut looks almost empty with not much water to regulate. Located near Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, it was built across river Kaveri around 2000 years ago...

-Press Release by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) dated 25 March, 2019 The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) commissioned perhaps the largest ever Voter Survey in any country. The survey was conducted between October 2018 and December 2018, prior to the General Elections to the Lok Sabha 2019. It covered 534 Lok Sabha constituencies with 2,73,487 voters participating in this exercise spread among various demographics. The three main objectives of...

-Hindustan Times Hasdeo Arand is one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest in central India, spanning about 170,000 hectares. The Union environment ministry has given environmental clearance for open cast coal mining in Parsa in Chhattisgarh’s dense Hasdeo Arand forests, in a decision that could have far-reaching consequences for forest cover conservation in India. Hasdeo Arand is one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest in central India,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Just a day after Haryana amended the law to allow construction in sections of the ecologically sensitive Aravalis and also protect previous construction, the Supreme Court stayed the decision, slamming it as wilful adventurism that violates the court’s previous orders. The court said the Haryana government’s action was “obnoxious and contemptuous” and expressed annoyance at its “temerity” to violate the SC order that banned mining and...

-Mongabay.com Illegal rat-hole mining in Meghalaya persists despite ruinous effects on the environment The efforts to reach the 15 miners trapped in an illegal coal mine in the East Jaintia hills of Meghalaya since December 13 continue, but they began belatedly and have faced many problems. Doomed from the beginning First, the Meghalaya government has no idea what happens inside these rat-hole mines, which are barely 2 ft wide, since mining is a private...