<p>Report of joint committee constituted in OA No 133/2024 (CZ) in the matter of Devidas Khatri Vs State of Rajasthan & Others.</p> <p>The NGT, May 27, 2024 directed a joint committee to look into
Issues relating to protection of the planet continue to capture media headlines and provoke public and political debate. The United Nationsʼ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has referred to global
Unreclaimed mine tailings sites are a worldwide problem, with thousands of unvegetated, exposed tailings piles presenting a source of contamination for nearby communities. Tailings disposal sites in arid and semiarid environments are especially subject to eolian dispersion and water erosion. Phytostabilization, the use of plants for in situ stabilization of tailings and metal contaminants, is a feasible alternative to costly remediation practices.
On January 24, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, gpcb, asked 15 polluting industrial units in Ankleshwar to close down. The regulatory body said the units violated environmental and pollution
The government has confirmed prevalence of anthrax in Chittoor, Prakasam, Kurnool and Mahabubnagar districts and attributed its outbreak in the State to the leather industry thriving in Tamil Nadu close to the common border. Replying to a question tabled by G. Muddukrishnama Naidu (Congress), Animal Husbandry Minister M. Buddha Prasad informed the Assembly on Wednesday that disease broke out among sheep at Jandlapeta in Karvetinagar area of Chittoor Municipality close to the Tamil Nadu border. Five sheep and four cattle perished last month as a result. The incidence of the disease was also reported in Prakasam district in December and some
When the entire nation is working for the dream project of linking all the rivers across the nation, the Tamirabarani River, one of the two perennial rivers in Tamil Nadu, is going through a dark phase. as 70 per cent of the river stands polluted. The river, which originates more than 2,000 metres from a peak in hills of the Western Ghats above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk, flows through the Tirunelveli & Thoothukudi districts. A study conducted by Prof N Khaja Mohideen, Department of Chemistry, Sadakathullah Appa College, Palayamkottai, has revealed the highly polluted nature of the Tamirabarani River. According to the study, over 50,000 goats are sacrificed on the day of Adi Ammavasai function held at Sorimuthu Ayyanar Temple at Papanasam. The blood drains into the river and on the same day, at least around 50,000 persons shave their head and the hair is also thrown in to the river. The river becomes an open toilet for the over-four lakh people who throng the festival. Effluents from 4,961 small-scale industries (4,203 in Tirunelveli and 758 in Thoothukudi) and 19 large and medium-scale industries functioning in the river basin are sidetracked to the river. There are around 866 cremation grounds in the district and the ashes and bones, which have not burned, are also thrown in to the river. Illegal and indiscriminate sand mining has also affect ed the river. At Tirunelveli, dead dogs and pigs can be seen in the sewage pools of the Tamirabarani river bed that serves as a drinking water source for four districts. Moreover, the drainage of Ganeshapuram, Sindhupoonthurai and Meenakshipuram areas in Tirunelveli and wastes of hotels and hospitals are let into the river. Raj Mohan, a professor of a private college working in the field of water pollution says making Tamirabarani pure is impossible but steps could be taken to control the river getting more polluted. He suggests that the government should closely monitor the process of discharge of effluents by the industrial units and must not grant any new license for any more industries to set up their establishments close to the river banks.
Bangalore: G.S. Nadiger, Director (Laboratories), Textiles Committee, in the Union Textile Ministry on Thursday said that a large number of textile industries and units, particularly those in the processing sector across the country, have failed to meet many environmental laws and regulations. He was speaking at a two-day national seminar on international quality standards in textile and apparel industries and their implementation, organised by the Institution of Engineers (India), Shahi Group, Lakvinsar Projects and Infrastructure. The Principal Secretary (Commerce and Industry) Aravind S. Risbud inaugurated the seminar and released the souvenir. Dr. Nadiger said that despite stringent environmental laws and regulations, the compliance level by the textile industry has not been very satisfactory. The highly decentralised nature of Indian textile industry further complicated the enforcement of the legislation. Fragmented nature For example, he said the fragmented and small-scale nature of the industry could not support an individual effluent treatment plant (ETP) in every company. The solution to this was to have common ETPs for a cluster of industries, which would share the cost. Barring a few textile clusters, the concept of common ETP was yet to become popular in India. He said that the State Governments and the local authorities need to facilitate the eco-compliance by the textile companies by providing water, land for ETPs and dumping the sludge. The small-scale manufacturers of dyes and chemicals and processors should be sensitised and trained to comply with the laws, he added. The expert said that the Department of Forests and Environment should plug the loopholes in terms of enforcement of the laws and regulations. He said that the Union Government has prohibited the use of 112 azo-based commercial dyes releasing 22 harmful amines which should be implemented by the industry. B.L. Girija Shankar, Chairman of Lakvnisar Projects and Infrastructure said that the work on an eco-friendly textile park on a 50-acre plot at Chickkaballapur has begun. He said that the aim of the park was to use organic dyes in the manufacture of textiles to save the consumers. Former President of the Institute of Engineers B.N. Tyagaraja welcomed the gathering. S.M. Chatterjee, Chairman, Textile Engineering Division Board of the institute presided. B. Basavaraj, former Director, Department of Technical Education, D.V. Muniswamy, former Principal, S.K.S. Technological Institute, T.N. Sonwalkar, former Director of Central Silk Technological Research Institute and R.Venkatesh Babu, Chairman of Shahi Groups were felicitated.
The Orissa Pollution Control Board (OPCB) on Monday issued a closure notice to Bhushan Power and Steel (BPSL) for not making arrangements for the suitable disposal of solid waste. BPSL has been asked to stop all production till further orders, failing which stringent penal proceedings would be initiated against the company. BPSL currently produces 1.2 million tonnes of steel, which would subsequently be raised to 2.2 million tonnes through expansion drives.
Political heavyweights may be still recovering from the tectonic changes brought about by the Delimitation Commission headed by Justice Kuldip Singh after about six years' labour, but to those who have watched this barrister who came from Chandigarh to be elevated almost immediately to the bench of the Supreme Court in 1988, it was not a surprise.
Chemical effluents released from factories that came up on the outskirts of Adilabad town into the tanks of the surrounding villages caused the death of 40 quintals of fish in the last two days. Villagers and fishermen of Chanda (T) village of Adilabad staged a protest on Wednesday along with dead fish brought in gunny bags alleging negligence on the part of officials concerned in taking action against managements of private factories that released harmful effluents.
