Environmental News and Media Roundup for Week 16, 2013
Weekly environmental news roundup from across different media networks for Week 16 (starting April 15) 2013.
1. It’s official: fewer saplings planted for each tree felled in the Capital
A statement on Delhi forest department website confirms the fear of the civil society groups and makes it official that fewer saplings are being planted to make up for the green cover loss.
2. Plot owners in Delhi to abide by new green norms
Owners of plots of size 3,000 sq m and above will soon have a list of mandatory provisions to abide by. Management action groups have proposed an amendment to the Master Plan 2021 wherein local bodies need to ensure that building plans for such plots have a number of environment-friendly features in place.
3. Leaking pipes, dirty water and an ailing DJB
Lack of access to clean drinking water is not limited to India’s hinterland. As many as 24.8% Delhi’s households don’t get piped treated water. In fact, several colonies get water that is as good as sewage.
4. PWD’s patchy work killing Delhi’s greens
It does not matter how many laws are put in place and how many times civic agencies are pulled up for violating them, tree offences continue unabated. Junior-level staff and labourers carrying out work on ground seem to be clueless about the rules.
5. Ring Road greens get a breather from iron nails
Delhi government’s Public Works Department, which had hammered more than 4,000 nails in 1,000-odd trees on Outer Ring Road in west Delhi, has begun the repair job.
Household waste contributes 80 per cent of sewage in Delhi. As sewage systems are not provided in unplanned areas, waste water generated there is discharged into drains. Non-utilisation of installed capacity of sewage treatment plants is another major issue.
7. Water woes soared for tony south Delhi in 2012: DJB
Water problems for posh south Delhi have soared, forcing residents to call up Delhi Jal Board’s emergency service stations more often.
8. To keep growing, Delhi must change
In the past 10 years, Delhi and its suburban National Capital Region registered a population growth of 21% and 55%, respectively, making Delhi-NCR the world’s second largest urban agglomeration after Tokyo.
9. Explorer sees green hope in recycling
You don’t become the first person to walk to the north and south poles unless you’re robust. But visits to landfills in the capital were enough to make Robert Swan sick. “I was on steroids because the filth made me nauseous,” Swan confesses to TOI.
For centuries, Delhi’s primary source of water used to be its water bodies — step wells and dug wells. As the population increased, the demand rose, putting tremendous pressure on the earlier “ample” water supply. The city, obviously, had to look for other sources — the Yamuna basin and groundwater.
11. Summer migratory birds arrive in Delhi
With the rise in temperature, stunningly beautiful winter birds such as Greater Flamingos and Greylag Goose have left for central Asia and Siberia. A few of those still around will also fly back shortly. But that’s no reason for birdwatchers to lose heart.
12. Only rain god can quench Delhi’s thirst
Amid Delhi’s ever-rising demand for water and falling supply, there’s a ray of hope that can help save the national capital and its surrounding towns from going thirsty in the near future — rainwater
13. No subsidy on solar panels
In a move that may discourage residents to opt for solar energy, the Delhi government has discontinued the subsidy it used to offer on the installation of solar panels from April 1.
14. Millennium depot to stay on riverbed
The DDA’s decision to change the land use of the area on which the Delhi Transport Corporation’s Millennium Bus Depot stands has environmentalists up in arms. The agency has decided to change the land use from ‘river and water body’ to ‘transportation.’
15. Environment ministry to soon fix green norms for SEZs, realty sector, roads
The environment ministry is likely to decide on a second set of key changes in green norms meant for SEZs, roads and the real estate sector, especially multi-storey buildings, next week. The committee it had formed on easing green regulations for clearances impacting these specific industries and sectors has submitted its report and the ministry is likely to take a view on it in the coming days.
16. Shift Asiatic lions from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh: SC to Centre
The Supreme Court on Monday directed concerned organizations to shift Asiatic lions from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh.
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