-The Times of India The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has come down hard on the state government over water Pollution. Denting the green image of Gujarat, CAG, in its 2011-12 'civil' report, claimed that there is an "upward trend" in the incidence of water-borne diseases due to heavily polluted water sources. It cited South Gujarat as the worst case, where industrial clusters like Vapi and Ankleshwar and Nandesari near Vadodara have been...

-The Times of India   With a year left for schools to adhere to the norms under the RTE Act, Aaditi Isaac finds out what more needs to be done  It has been two years since the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act came into force (April 1, 2010). As per RTE, every child in the age group of 6-14 years would be provided eight years of elementary education...

-The Business Standard E-waste disposal cannot ignore the informal sector The deadline for the enforcement of new electronic waste (e-waste) management norms is just a month or so away. And yet, most of the sector’s stakeholders seem quite unprepared. The E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, notified almost a year ago as coming into effect from May 1 this year, require producers of electronic and white goods to take back their products...

-PTI The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has fined 59 industrial units for unlawfully storing and disposing large quantities of hazardous waste on their premises. The industries have been asked by MPCB to pay the fine (amount not specified) and have been directed to send the hazardous waste to common treatment facilities, the 2011-12 Economic Survey of the state, which was tabled in the ongoing Budget session of the legislature, said. The facilities...

-The Telegraph On Monday mornings, the white ambassadors with red beacons go missing from the premises of the municipality in Visakhapatnam. Instead, a queue of bicycles adorns the parking ground in front of the office. Commissioner B. Ramanjaneyalu and his senior officials may be entitled to government cars but on the week’s first working day, they have to leave the comfort of their cars behind and compulsorily bike to office. It’s all part...