Environment

11 items tagged Environment.

2026-09-04
CAQM in talks with Punjab, Haryana and ISRO to improve stubble fire estimation ahead of winter
The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas said on 3 September 2026 that it is in discussions with Punjab and Haryana to improve the measurement of stubble burning fires ahead of the winter pollution season. CAQM chief Rajesh Varma said satellite fire counts from overhead passes may not give the most accurate picture of the extent of farm fires, and that the Commission has asked ISRO to develop a basic ground truthing protocol this year to get a better estimate than fire counts alone. The move is part of CAQM's preparation to manage the sharp seasonal rise in Delhi NCR's air pollution linked to paddy stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana each October and November.
2026-09-04
Chhattisgarh tops the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari 'Catch the Rain' campaign nationally
Chhattisgarh emerged as the top ranked state in the third phase of the Ministry of Jal Shakti's Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari and Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Catch the Rain campaigns, with close to 78,000 water conservation structures completed, according to an official statement. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai presented the state's water conservation model at the Ministry's departmental summit in New Delhi on 2 September 2026. Five Chhattisgarh districts, Surajpur, Mahasamund, Balod, Balodabazar-Bhatapara and Kabirdham, also ranked among the country's top 10 districts for water conservation. The state credited a community led approach, including a 5 percent model pioneered in Koriya district under which farmers voluntarily set aside 5 percent of their land for groundwater recharge structures.
2026-09-01
National Biodiversity Authority disburses Rs 5.68 crore under Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism
The National Biodiversity Authority disbursed Rs 5.68 crore to State Biodiversity Boards and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils under the Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism, primarily linked to the commercial use of 139 varieties and 28 hybrids of Okra, along with Cucumber and Watermelon varieties. Gujarat received the largest share among states at Rs 88.79 lakh, followed by West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. The Authority also disbursed benefit sharing funds to a CSIR National Chemical Laboratory unit in Pune, linked to an ABS amount received from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.
2026-08-30
Tamil Nadu notifies three elephant corridors in Hosur Forest Division
The Tamil Nadu government has notified three elephant corridors in the Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary in the Hosur Forest Division, enabling the trans Cauvery migration of elephants and other large mammals between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The notified corridors, the Jawalagiri Ulbanda Thaggatti corridor (18.50 km), the Jawalagiri Panai Anchetty corridor (20.90 km) and the Bilikkal Jawalagiri corridor (2.20 km), were among 41 corridors that an expert committee had earlier identified for recognition. The Chief Wildlife Warden's recommendations followed proceedings before the Madras High Court, which had been informed that the notification was in its final stages of consideration.
2026-08-29
Assam's Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation completes 25 years
The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Panbari, near Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam, entered its 25th year of operation on Friday (28 August 2026), having been established on 28 August 2002 as India's first dedicated facility for hand raising, treating and rehabilitating orphaned and injured wild animals before their release into natural habitats. Jointly run by the Assam Forest Department and the Wildlife Trust of India in partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, CWRC has responded to more than 10,000 wildlife rescue cases over 25 years, with nearly 68 per cent of treated animals successfully released back into the wild. The centre has also contributed to conservation programmes including the reintroduction of rhinos into Manas National Park and the rehabilitation of Asiatic black bear cubs and rescued wild buffalo.
2026-08-29
NGT issues notice to Centre over dilution of 'construction free zone' status for Ganga floodplains
The National Green Tribunal's Principal Bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Srivastava and Expert Member Afroz Ahmed, issued notices on 25 August 2026 to the central government and other respondents over a notification that amends the definition of Ganga floodplains. The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti's notification of 7 August 2026 amends the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authority Order, 2016, replacing the earlier blanket mandate that floodplains 'shall be construction free zone' with a formula requiring them to be maintained only 'to reduce pollution sources' and preserve groundwater recharge functions, while also introducing a graded definition of active, regulatory and warning floodplain zones based on one in five, twenty five and hundred year flood return periods. The tribunal has not stayed the notification, which remains in force, and has listed the matter for its next hearing on 27 October 2026.
2026-08-28
Karnataka to call special legislature session against Kasturirangan report notification
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on 26 August 2026 announced that the state would call a special session of the legislature to discuss the Centre's draft notification implementing the Kasturirangan committee report on ecologically sensitive areas in the Western Ghats, and to pass a resolution opposing it. He said the draft would affect livelihood and farming activity in 1,449 villages across 33 taluks and 10 districts, spanning about 20,668 square kilometres, and imposes conditions on infrastructure, mining, power, construction, tourism and road development in the area. Shivakumar noted that the state Cabinet had already rejected the Kasturirangan report in September 2024, but that the Centre had now notified the draft unilaterally.
2026-08-25
Supreme Court bars construction within 100 metres of Rajasthan's Jojari river
A Supreme Court Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta on Monday (24 August 2026) banned any construction or development within 100 metres of the Jojari river in Rajasthan, hearing a suo motu case on contamination in the river. The Bench also prohibited hazardous industries within 500 metres of the river's flow path, pending scientific determination of the high flood line and ecological buffer zones. The order follows earlier directions in the case, including one on 7 August asking the Rajasthan government to set up an Integrated Coordination Group to address pollution in the Jojari, Bandi and Luni rivers. The matter is listed for further hearing on 22 September 2026.
2026-08-25
Study flags gaps in India's bioinvasion policy through African Bermuda grass spread
A study published this month recorded the naturalisation of African Bermuda grass (Cynodon nlemfuensis), a globally known invasive species, along roadsides and disturbed grasslands in the Himalaya and the Western Ghats, two of India's biodiversity hotspots, based on field surveys conducted between 1995 and 2024. Researchers found the species colonising these habitats at an early, localised stage rather than in landscape scale infestations, which is exactly the stage at which an Early Detection and Rapid Response strategy is most effective and least costly. The study highlighted that delays in identifying such biological invasions allow invasive species to spread unchecked, pointing to gaps in India's current bioinvasion monitoring and management policy.
2026-08-22
NGT flags delay in Gorakhpur effluent plant meant to protect the Ganga
The National Green Tribunal was told on 19 August 2026 that a common effluent treatment plant meant to stop untreated industrial effluent from Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority's units reaching the river Ami, a tributary of the Ganga, remains delayed because Uttar Pradesh has not forwarded the revised detailed project report to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). NMCG's report to the tribunal said it is pursuing the state government and implementing agencies for expeditious processing of the report. The proposed plant, to be built in phases with an initial capacity of 2 million litres a day, would treat effluent discharged through the Saraya drain near Gorakhpur's Adilapur village.
2026-08-17
Three new cascade frog species described in Northeast India
Researchers led by Professor S.D. Biju of the University of Delhi described three new cascade frog species of the genus Amolops after more than 15 years of fieldwork: Amolops ammachi from Tripura's Jampui Hills, named after Kerala social worker Padmini Varkey, Amolops sendenyo from Nagaland, and Amolops bella from West Bengal. Cascade frogs are typically found around rocky waterfalls and fast flowing forest streams.