-Down to Earth Water bodies have become even more critical in current times when cities are facing the challenge of rapid, unplanned urbanisation Lakes and wetlands are an important part of urban ecosystem. They perform significant Environmental, social and economic functions — from being a source of drinking water and recharging groundwater to supporting biodiversity and providing livelihoods. Their role becomes even more critical in the present context, when cities are facing the...

-Down to Earth Tribunal calls for doing away with general permissions given to commercial entities to withdraw groundwater The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has called for commercial entities to follow new rules for getting permission to extract groundwater. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) will now form the basis of granting such permissions, the NGT bench said. The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (water) and the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) were ordered by the...

-Hindustan Times Handbook of Forest Conservation Act, 1980, now reads: “Prior recommendation of Standing Committee of NBWL under the provisions of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 shall be obtained, if required, for taking developmental activities in/over an area falling within eco sensitive zones.” Railway projects, small-scale development works involving construction over less than 20,000 square metres, and under-25 MW capacity hydropower plants will not require approval from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)...

-TheThirdPole.net Going against its own orders, the government in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has ordered the fast-tracking of Environmental clearances despite manifest evidence of illegal sand mining A few months after the Jammu and Kashmir government auctioned hundreds of stretches of riverbeds for mineral extraction, companies that won the bids are mining the riverbeds despite the lack of Environmental clearance. This makes the mining illegal. But instead of...

-International Institute for Environment and Development, July 2020 The working paper entitled 'Deepening knowledge of MGNREGS’ contribution to climate resilience: A study of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh' strengthens the robust evidence base behind the climate resilience contribution of social protection, by investigating India’s largest social protection programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Guaranteeing 100 days’ paid wage labour to rural households that demand it and another 50...