-TheThirdPole.net Authorities in Himachal Pradesh want to legalise unauthorised buildings in highest quake-risk region After years of legal tug of war, the mountain state of Himachal Pradesh could see a new relaxation of its urban planning rules, despite repeated warnings about the dangers of unfettered development on its cities’ fragile terrains. According to a 2015 report on landslide vulnerability, most of the built-up areas in Himachal Pradesh, northern India, are in a high-risk...

-Down to Earth The Japanese government’s own figures reveal this, the organisation says in a report to mark 10 years of the disaster Just 15 per cent of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant’s core area in Japan has been decontaminated a decade after it suffered a catastrophic triple reactor meltdown March 11, 2011, according to a report by non-profit Greenpeace International. An overall average of 15 per cent of the Special Decontamination Area...

-Hindustan Times The move has reignited a three-decade old worry among environmentalists who have been flagging the project as a potential risk for the national capital. The Chamoli flash floods of February 7 have brought the spotlight back on the first high dam on the Yamuna scheduled to come up at Lakhwar in Dehradun and Tehri in Uttarakhand after the Union environment ministry’s expert appraisal committee recommended the 300MW Lakhwar Multipurpose Project...

-TheWire.in (Science) Never underestimate the power of human stupidity, says Yuval Noah Harari in his book, 21 Lessons For The 21st Century. If anyone doubts this truism she has only to see what we have been doing to the Himalaya for the last three decades, particularly in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, in the name of development. This stupidity also involves ignoring the pleas of local residents/villagers, the advice of experts, and...

-The Hindu An avalanche in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand early this month claimed at least 62 lives, destroyed two hydropower projects and ravaged the region. Jacob Koshy reports on how development projects are endangering the lives of people in the young and fragile Himalayas The Rishiganga river looks like an idyllic brook from the balcony of Gyan Singh Rana’s two-storey house. The former headman of the village of Raini, who is in...