Environment

Unchecked urbanisation, waste dumping: Study warns of ‘invited disaster’ as khadi floods threaten half of Surat

An action research report, “Invited Disaster: Khadi Floods in Surat City”, published by two civil rights groups, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti and the People's Union for Civil Liberties, Surat, states...

Strengthening indigenous communities means protection of the environment 

Various indigenous (Adivasi) communities constitute about 8.6 per cent...

Modi Govt’s Coal Reform Policy Quashed Over Environmental Concerns

NGT rules coal source changes need fresh environmental clearances; criticises dilution of regulatory oversight through office memoranda.

Destruction of forest in Kancha Gachibowli, Telangana violation of Congress party manifesto: CCG Statement

The destruction of over 100 acres of forested land in Kancha Gachibowli, to allow an IT hub is a violation of the Congress party’s own manifesto say retired civil servants who have constituted themselves into the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG)

Mass Deforestation, Protests, Detentions: Supreme Court halts Telangana’s reckless tree felling at Kancha Gachibowli, questions permissions

Public anger mounts as Telangana authorities bulldoze through Kancha Gachibowli’s tree cover, allegedly violating environmental norms and suppressing protests with detentions and police crackdowns; scrutiny by HC and SC to continue

Steps Towards Sustainability: MP villages show how water conservation improves quality of life, and quickly

Experiments with bunds and dohas to arrest rain water flow has rejuvenated lands making villages in Shivpuri district, MP, fit for agriculture and grazing

Catch people’s attention on pollution narrative: “Switching to public transport can lower your heart attack risk by 10%.”

Messaging and communication are key and the Indian people’s lukewarm response to spiralling air pollution is because of this: Will campaigns such as “Wearing an N95 mask reduces your PM2.5 exposure by 95%” or “Switching to public transport can lower your heart attack risk by 10%” change this making people speak out?

K’taka: fisher-folk take to the sea in defiance of Honnavar port project

Amid heavy police crackdown and government indifference, fishermen in Kasarkod stage protests, risking their lives to halt the controversial port survey

Noise Pollution Ban: Unequal standards for diverse practices?

The recent Bombay High Court judgment (23rd January 2025) addresses the contentious issue of the use of loudspeakers at places of worship and their legal standing under Article 25 of the Constitution. The case was initiated following complaints by residents about persistent noise pollution caused by loudspeakers from religious institutions (masjids), particularly during early morning and late-night hours. The court examined whether such practices constituted an essential religious function or merely a cultural practice subject to regulation under existing noise pollution laws. The court ruled that loudspeakers are not an essential part of religious practice and directed the Maharashtra government and police to take strict action against violations of the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. This ruling aligns with past judicial pronouncements while also raising questions about unequal enforcement of noise regulations across different religious communities.

Can the Swaraj path be India’s answer to climate change?

As climate change intensifies and the inadequacy of the...

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Indian Muslims need to be protected as much from the communalism of their co-religionists as majoritarian communalism: In remembrance of CM Naim

An intrepid critique of entrenched and entitled Muslim elites, CM Naim, a historian and essayist, recently passed away at 85. Here his work is remembered for its out of the box thinking and commitment to both the culture and language around Urdu; an essay that recalls his works

Delhi Court sentences riots accused for promoting hatred against Muslims, sentences him to 3 years in custody

Lokesh Kumar Solanki convicted for inciting violence during 2020 Delhi riots; court calls his conduct “fuel to already simmering tensions” but releases him citing maximum sentence already served

Harassment by Delhi Police, blatant extortion & human rights’ violation in process of identification of “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants”: Brinda Karat to HM Amit Shah

Brinda Karat, former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-CPIM), has in a letter to the union home minister, Amit Shah highlighted the blatant violation of human rights, harassment and extortion, in the ongoing process of "identification of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants" by the Delhi police and other agencies.

Bengali Migrant Workers Detained in Odisha: Calcutta High Court demands answers, seeks coordination between states

Court poses six pointed questions on detention of Sainur Islam and demands answers from Odisha over detention of youth during ‘identification drive’; Court directs West Bengal to appoint nodal officer

Thane School Horror: Principal, attendant arrested for forcing girls to strip in menstruation check, case registered under POCSO

Girls as young as 10 were allegedly stripped and subjected to invasive checks by school staff in Thane’s Shahapur after bloodstains were found in a washroom, prompting arrests, protests, and charges under POCSO and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Bihar:  SC signals that ECI should consider Aadhaar, EPIC (Voter ID card) & Ration card for electoral roll revision 

Hearing a batch of petitions challenging the sudden “special intensive revision” being conducted in Bihar by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Supreme Court (SC) pressed ECI to include Aadhaar, Voter ID Card, and Ration cards in Bihar's electoral roll revision process, since the only concern for the constitutional body was establishing accurate identity not citizenship

Mumbai’s Second Lifeline in ICU: Mumbaikars respond to call of “Save BEST”

By deliberately running Mumbai’s unique and stellar public transport system to ‘die’, the BMC backed by a land-grabbing state government is set to make transport even more unafordable for working Mumbaikars

Dissent Note: Maharashtra Special Public Safety Bill, 2024

Sweeping powers, vague definitions, and silencing of dissent entrenched in law; deliberative process exposed as political theatre