Environmental News and Media Roundup for Week 40, 2012

Weekly environmental news roundup from across different media networks for week 40 (starting October 1, 2012) 2012.

1. Ghazipur waste-to-energy plant trial runs soon

Delhi’s second waste-to-energy plant in Ghazipur is set to begin pilot runs by the end of October. The first one is in Timarpur Okhla.

2. Delhi trains to have green toilets by coming March

There is some good news for activists who have been asking the Indian Railways to sort out the problem of manual scavenging due to the existence of conventional toilets in trains.

3. Garbage plant to produce power, CNG

With the Ghazipur landfill site unable to take in more municipal waste, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation has started work on building two plants at the site — one to generate electricity and another to generate CNG  — using garbage.

4. Bandicoots taking over Lodhi Garden

Joggers will soon have to watch their step at Lodhi Garden. For, bandicoots are feasting on food left behind for birds by visitors, and have dug up burrows, leaving hundreds of holes that could cause cave-ins. The growing pack of rats has also gnawed into tree roots and water pipes, even causing a major leak last fortnight.

5. Capital’s date with white tiger

“Why do White tigers’ cages smell so bad?” “Because they urinate everywhere.” “Why do they do that?”

6. Civil group asks L-G to save marshes

Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan , a civil society consortium working for environment protection, has written to Delhi Lt Governor Tejendra Khanna, requesting him to save the marshes — a mix of wetland and grassland —near Jahangirpuri in North Delhi.

7. Govt for further amendment to Wildlife Protection Act

Government will bring further amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act to scientifically define wildlife corridors, a step which will save such areas from the threat of mining.

8. New lease of life for north Delhi gateways

The Tripoli Gateways, an early 18th-century structure on the Grand Trunk Road in Rana Pratap Bagh, have got a new lease of life two years after a truck crashed into them.

9. Dwarka locals up in arms over water shortage

Fed up with years of water shortage clubbed with erratic supply, not to mention six times higher tariff, thousands of Dwarka sub-city residents have declared to hit the road hoping to awaken the powers that be.

10. Jal Board’s claim of 24-hr water supply faulty: panel

Punching holes in Delhi Jal Board’s claim of 24-hour water supply through public-private-partnership model, the water privatisation and commercialisation resistance committee on Monday said the faulty agreements signed with private concessionaires would not ensure continuous water supply at consumers’ end.

11. Green Terror

The wood panelled office in Delhi’s Paryavaran Bhawan is now a ‘no-go’ zone. Its reigning green queen, Jayanthi Natarajan, once a daily fixture on television shows as Congress spokeswoman, presides in imperious silence.

12.  House Sparrow declared Delhi’s state bird

The humble House Sparrow has become the ‘state bird’ of Delhi, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who is the brain behind the decision, announced today. Dikshit, known for her environment-friendly initiatives, said the government has issued a notification declaring the House Sparrow as the state bird.

13. Investment board faces SC orders, green hurdles

A clutch of Supreme Court rulings and stiff existing environment regulations could prevent the proposed National Investment Board  from emerging as a one-stop clearance window for big-ticket infrastructure projects that the PMO and finance ministry want it to be.

14. CSR will not help society if companies make profits by corrupting political brass: Arun Maira

Spending money on corporate social responsibility activities will not benefit the society if companies make profits by “corrupting” the political brass and damaging the environment, according to Planning Commission Member Arun Maira.

Weekly environmental news roundup from across different media networks for week 40 (starting October 1, 2012) 2012.

Aastha Kukreti

Aastha Kukreti holds a Master’s degree in Environment Management and her areas of expertise range from waste management, pollution ecology, green audits, ecofeminism, environmental equity and social justice.

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