Worthies such as Ratan Tata who have been lobbying the government to go easy on Union Carbide Corporation (http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/5_27.pdf) would do well to read Carbide’s useful FAQs on the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal gas tragedy, which claimed over 10,000 lives. Worse, over 5 lakh humans, including those born after the disaster, are still suffering the consequences of the gas leak. Even now, Carbide refuses to accept any kind of...

Funds release after Kasturirangan Committee submits report Greenpeace hails India’s proposal to cut carbon intensity The Planning Commission has promised a substantial hike in funds allocation to study climate change impact and the funds will be made available after the Kasturirangan Committee submits a report. This was stated by Member (Energy), Planning Commission, B.K. Chaturvedi, while inaugurating “Power Conference 2009,” organised by Assocham here on Friday. Only on Thursday, Minister of State (independent...

Was Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh right when, holding the toxic waste at the Union Carbide/Dow Chemicals’ factory in Bhopal, he made light of the problem, saying: “I held the toxic waste in my hand… I’m still alive and am not coughing?” Is the state government in Bhopal right when it cites a series of reports, including one from the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) in Gwalior, to say that...

HAS GREEN REVOLUTION FAILED INDIA'S POOR? Green Revolution Vs Rain-fed Farming OVERVIEW: Of late India’s fabled Green Revolution has come under severe attack. Many development thinkers believe that it has unfairly skewed India’s agriculture policy in favour of the farmers whose land is already or potentially covered under irrigation. The basic criticism is that the Green Revolution has been largely irrelevant for India’s 60 per cent cultivable land which is un-irrigated. These...

Two elements in statement caused most concern; "It has deviated from the text approved by PMO" The statement issued by Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh at the pre-Conference of the Parties (COP) ministerial meeting of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held at Copenhagen during November 16-17 has caused considerable consternation among some observers of the evolving Indian policy on climate change. The crucial COP-15...