Environment

Last month, BBMP started deploying SWM (Solid Waste Management) Marshals to check littering, garbage dumping etc and penalise offenders under the new SWM Bye-laws. The Marshals booked 1129 cases in September, issuing steep penalties under the new bye-laws. This, along with 774 cases booked for the plastic ban, earned BBMP over Rs 14 lakh in fines that month. Now, BBMP is planning to provide handheld devices to the Marshals, to enable them to issue digitally-printed challans to offenders on the spot. Speaking to Citizen Matters, D Randeep, Special Commissioner (SWM) at BBMP, said that predefined fines for each offence would be…

In the far past, afforestation was largely a means to generate income from timber and other products. Today, it is integral to our survival. Loss in green cover and increased concretisation in urban areas has led to cities becoming ‘urban heat islands’, which pose significant threats to not just human populations but also contribute to global climate change. In countries like India that are highly vulnerable to climate breakdown, forests are an integral element towards mitigation. Tree cover of almost 1.6 million hectares was lost between 2001 and 2018 in India - nearly four times the geographical area of Goa -…

In a relief for green crusaders in India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, the Supreme Court, on October 7, ordered status quo in the Aarey tree-felling case and directed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Maharashtra government not to cut down any more trees for a controversial metro car shed project till the next hearing on October 21. The same day, October 21, as Aarey’s fate will be decided by the Supreme Court, the people of Mumbai will go to vote for the government that will take forward the decision over the next five years. Assembly elections for the state of Maharashtra are scheduled on…

In a relief for green crusaders in India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, the Supreme Court, on October 7, ordered status quo in the Aarey tree-felling case and directed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Maharashtra government not to cut down any more trees for a controversial metro car shed project till the next hearing on October 21. The same day, October 21, as Aarey’s fate will be decided by the Supreme Court, the people of Mumbai will go to vote for the government that will take forward the decision over the next five years. Assembly elections for the state of Maharashtra are scheduled on…

Sarsa, a small river that flows through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, is considered a holy river in Sikh religious tradition. It was on the banks of Sarsa that Guru Gobind Singh’s Khalsa Army fought the Mughals. Though the Khalsa army lost that battle, its effect was far reaching. It led to Guru Gobind Singh’s separation from his family and the martyrdom of the Guru’s four children. To avenge their deaths, Banda Bahadur, a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh who was especially sent by the Guru to avenge the martyrdom of his children, laid the foundation of a professional Khalsa Army, which…

Close to 20 people killed in the city itself, several missing and over 3000 requiring rehabilitation -- Pune is grappling with the situation in the aftermath of the September flash floods, as the city and its adjoining areas saw over 100 millimetres of rain over a period of two days. While efforts are on to redeem the situation, environmentalists and analysts say that the writing had been on the wall for some time. And the authorities had even been warned about it… Flashback to August 2019 In the first week of August, Pune experienced floods after around 100000 cusecs of…

For residents of India’s IT capital, Bengaluru, a neighbourhood park (NP) is not an uncommon sight. Their role in providing the urban population a recreational space has been appreciated by both the residents and the municipal corporation. However, their contribution to supporting the urban ecosystem and sheltering urban biodiversity has been underestimated. In a new study, a group of urban ecologists from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) have challenged this view. They say parks, despite their small size, can serve as “stepping stones” that facilitate the movement of birds, butterflies, and insects between larger green areas. The study…

Translated by Sandhya Raju "மரம் வளர்போம், மழை பெறுவோம்" - சுற்றுசூழலை பேணிக் காக்க மாநிலம் முழுவதும் இந்த வாசகத்தை காணலாம்.  கல்வி நிறுவனங்கள் முதல் தொண்டு நிறுவனங்கள் வரை, முக்கிய நாட்களை கொண்டாட,  மரம் நடும் விழாவை தவறாமல் ஏற்பாடு செய்கின்றன. இந்த முயற்சிகள் உண்மையாகவே பலன் தருகிறதா?  நடப்படும் மரக்கன்றுகள் எவ்வாறு உள்ளன? இவை நகரத்தை பசுமையாக மாற்றுகிறதா? சுருங்கி வரும் பசுமை கடந்த இருபது ஆண்டுகளில் சென்னையின் பசுமை போர்வை வெகுவாக குறைந்து உள்ளது. வர்தா புயலின் தாக்கத்தில் பல மரங்கள் வேரோடு சாய்ந்ததில், சென்னையில் பதினைந்து சதவிகித மரங்கள் குறைந்துள்ளதாக கேர் யெர்த் டிரஸ்ட் நடத்திய ஆய்வில் தெரிவித்துள்ளது. நகர்புறத்தில் முப்பத்திமூன்று சதவிகித பசுமை இருத்தல் வேண்டும் என கூறப்படுகிறது. சென்னை மெட்ரோ போன்ற உள்கட்டமைப்பு வளர்ச்சி காரணமாகவும் சென்னை நகரின் பல பகுதிகளில் மரங்கள் சாய்க்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. நகரமயமாக்கல் நகரத்தின் பசுமை போர்வைக்கு பெருத்த…

We have just come to the end of a week that has seen unprecedented mobilisation across our cities and towns over the issue of climate change and environmental justice. On September 23rd, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg came up with yet another passionate and angry outburst against global leaders at the UN Climate Action Summit 2019. "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can…

We have just come to the end of a week that has seen unprecedented mobilisation across our cities and towns over the issue of climate change and environmental justice. On September 23rd, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg came up with yet another passionate and angry outburst against global leaders at the UN Climate Action Summit 2019. "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can…