Hydropower

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February 12, 2021 The havoc points to the faultlines in the developmental planning of ecologically sensitive areas.
The glacial burst in Chamoli is nature’s way of telling the state not to play havoc with the local ecology. (Image: Down to Earth)
December 26, 2019 Policy matters this week
The Mandovi river disputed between Karnataka and Goa (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
December 6, 2019 A report by the India Rivers Forum highlights the need to focus further than the main stem of the Ganga river.
Distant snow clad mountains, the smaller hills and the Ganga river (Image: Srimoyee Banerjee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
November 27, 2019 Policy matters this week
An irrigation well at Randullabad, Maharashtra (Source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
Business interests and environmental crisis: A book review
While the environmental crisis threatens to impact the ecology and livelihoods in India, business interests take over sustainable solutions. Posted on 05 Jun, 2016 07:03 AM

A number of Asian countries are going through environmental crisis. Nowhere is the impact felt so seriously than in India, where the crisis threatens to affect survival. It is also impacting biodiversity, ecology and livelihoods. In this context, it becomes important to understand how nature and the current environmental crisis are being addressed in policy discourses.

Business profits and the environmental crisis (Source: India Water Portal)
Release water from private dams: Bombay HC to Maharashtra Government
Policy matters this week Posted on 01 Jun, 2016 10:01 PM

Bombay HC demands release of water from private dams

A dam in Maharashtra (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Subarnarekha is dying. Who’s responsible?
The pitiful state of Subarnarekha stands testimony to the changing times. The river is being slowly killed by the greed of the rich and the apathy of the powerful. Posted on 28 May, 2016 05:46 PM

It would not be an exaggeration to say Subarnarekha (Line of gold) is a film that left an indelible mark on Indian cinema. The film, by Ritwik Ghatak, is inspired by a river by the same name and narrates the reality around the river which flows through the present day Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, before draining into the Bay of Bengal.

India’s steel city dumps its waste into Subarnarekha, the river of gold
Identify and notify wetlands in 5-10 districts: NGT to States
Policy matter this week Posted on 24 May, 2016 10:22 AM

NGT gets tough over wetland notification

Deepor Beel in Assam (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Delayed by a week, monsoon to reach Kerala by June 7: IMD
News this week Posted on 17 May, 2016 01:57 PM

Monsoon delayed by a week, to reach Kerala by June 7: IMD

Rainfall in India (Source: Varun Duta Gupta via IWP's Flickr Photos)
Mangrove nurseries protect coasts and livelihoods
Mangrove plantations in coastal Odisha are not just protecting people from storms and cyclones, but also opening up new livelihood possibilities. Posted on 13 May, 2016 01:40 PM

Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur are among the most vulnerable districts affected by cyclones and climate change in coastal Odisha. In the last few decades, the coasts of Odisha have witnessed three major devastating storms.

Mangrove Nursery at Naupal ( Source: Regional Centre For Development Cooperation)
Government schemes converge at Sarda Panchayat in Sambalpur, Odisha
Thanks to the successful implementation of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) scheme, villagers began to believe in collective action and community development. Posted on 24 Apr, 2016 11:41 AM

Since India became independent in 1947, the central and state governments have introduced various rural development schemes, and have been trying to get them to converge. While this effort hasn't been as impactful on a large scale, there are some success stories. Sarda Panchayat in Sambalpur, Odisha is one.   

View of Sarda village, Odisha
Quenching thirst and poverty in cities--with sugarcane juice
Two cane juice sellers on the streets of Pune tell their stories. Why do they labour all day for Rs 500 on a good day, and what do they hope--for themselves and their children? Posted on 18 Apr, 2016 11:06 PM

What's not to like about sugarcane juice in summer? Would you drink as much of it or more if you knew that those selling it in Pune where I live, are people who have migrated temporarily from drought-affected villages in rural Maharashtra, and are counting on juice sales to get through the whole year?

Mobile sugarcane crushing carts on the streets of Pune (Source: India Water Portal)
Draft of new Wetland Rules 2016 is out
Policy matters this week Posted on 12 Apr, 2016 12:37 PM

Environmentalists unhappy with the draft of new Wetland Rules 2016

Deepor Beel in Assam (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Environmental regulation in India: The need to move beyond procedural lacunae
The paper questions the EIA process and says that unless the issues are resolved, it could erode the very legitimacy of the government to regulate and deliver dignity and equality to all citizens. Posted on 08 Apr, 2016 01:03 PM

One of the tasks that the current government had promised to work on is the fast tracking of the process of appraisal of projects seeking environmental approvals from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. The article titled 'Environmental regulation in India: Moving 'forward' in the old direction' published in th

Environmental regulation and citizen participation (Source: India Water Portal)
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