-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...

-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...

-The Hindu India’s leaders must recommit themselves to the ideas and activism of environmentalists involved with Uttarakhand Following flash floods at Chamoli in Uttarakhand, defence personnel are looking for missing persons in a mélange of rock, mud, water, and debris, airlifting rations to inaccessible villages, and repairing bridges and telecommunication networks. Social scientists are assessing the disaster’s impact on the region’s economy. Scientists and policy makers are debating whether climate change or...

-TheWire.in There should be no doubt that the Chamoli disaster is a sign of our misguided developmental priorities and proves our inability to sustainably develop ecologically sensitive zones. In 2019, a petitioner from a village named Reni, in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, had filed a public interest petition at the Uttarakhand high court. Kundan Singh’s charge was that the Rishi Ganga Power Project, set up near the village in 2005, was resorting to environmentally...

-Down to Earth Government hasn’t learnt any lessons about a river known to change course itself, say environmentalists The Bihar government will try to divert the course of the mighty Kosi river in Bhagalpur district to save an archaeological site discovered recently, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said December 20, 2020. He made the announcement at Guwaradih village in Naugachhia sub-division of Bhagalpur district. Several priceless artefacts have been found at the site during...