Weekly Green News Update for Week 14 (March 30 to April 5), 2015
Weekly environmental news roundup from across different media networks for week 14 (between March 30 and April 5) 2015.
1. DDA invites NGOs, agencies to help keep Yamuna clean
With the civic agencies facing the heat from the National Green Tribunal for sitting on the Yamuna revitalisation project, the Delhi Development Authority has invited expression of interest from NGOs and other agencies for treating religious waste generally disposed of in the river.
2. Checking air pollution should be priority for all: Delhi govt
Asked by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar to check air pollution in the national capital, Delhi government today said that combating the environmental menace should be a priority for all concerned and must not become a subject of political wrangling.
3. Air pollution worsens as governments sit on action plans
The national capital’s poor air quality may be killing silently and slowly, but successive governments, irrespective of which political party headed them, have seemed in no hurry to act.
4. Neighbouring states add to Delhi’s air pollution woes
If you are wheezing because of the deadly Particulate Matter 2.5 in Delhi’s air, then blame the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana for polluting your breath.
5. Wet spell brings down air pollution
The unseasonal wet spell, while giving the people of Delhi a respite from the heat, had another bonus — bringing down pollution levels in the city ranked the most polluted by the World Health Organization.
6. Fine particles from construction sites add to air pollution in Delhi
Does a swanky mall, office complex or a civic establishment that adds a new feature to the facade of a Delhi area also cause deterioration in air quality or worsens health of its citizens?
7. Yamuna Restoration: National Green Tribunal Warns Authorities of ‘Coercive Steps’
The National Green Tribunal has warned authorities in Delhi of “coercive steps” including attachment of accounts and imprisonment for not implementing its orders on keeping Yamuna clean.
8. NGT orders Arvind Kejriwal-led govt to clean up garbage from Delhi streets
Amid the ongoing agitation and dumping of garbage by sanitation workers of cash-strapped East Delhi Municipal Corporation, the National Green Tribunal has directed Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government and employees of the body to ensure that no waste is thrown on city roads.
9. Confiscate vehicles dumping building, other waste on roads, orders NGT
The National Green Tribunal has passed directions, ordering confiscation of vehicles being used in illegal dumping of building or waste material on roads.
10. NGT asks DPCC, DSIIDC to submit plan on hazardous waste plant
The National Green Tribunal today directed Delhi Pollution Control Committee and Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corp Ltd to submit a complete plan on establishment of a hazardous waste disposal unit in Bawana and Narela here.
11. Delhi govt seeks compliance report of NGT orders
Just a couple of days ahead of the National Green Tribunal’s hearing of a petition against very high pollution levels in Delhi, chief secretary KK Sharma has directed heads of several departments to submit a compliance report of NGT’s earlier orders in the matter.
12. Panel on environ flow in Ganga basin to meet for consensus
A three-member panel constituted by the Centre to decide the environmental flow in the Ganga basin which gave varying opinions over the quantity and quality of water to be maintained in Yamuna, is likely to meet this week to arrive at a consensus.
13. Landmark study lies buried: How Delhi’s poisonous air is damaging its children for life
It doesn’t get bigger than this, in size, scale and rigour — scientists from one of India’s top cancer institutes tracked 11,000 schoolchildren in Delhi for three years.
14. Government faces NGT flak for slow response to illegal mining in NCR
The environment ministry has come in for criticism from the National Green Tribunal for its slow response in tackling the problem of illegal mining on the Yamuna riverbed between Noida and Faridabad.
15. NGT can’t settle issues on climate change, says MoEF
The Ministry of Environment & Forests has said the National Green Tribunal cannot settle the issue or any application on climate change as it is a subject of international conventions and protocols.
16. India not in hurry to make any carbon pollution reduction pledge to UN
The US on Tuesday made its most ambitious pledge to the United Nations to reduce carbon pollution, a move that experts say would put more pressure on countries like India to act against emissions, the chief contributor to worsening air quality.
17. Yamuna, Hindon most polluted rivers: Study
In a study submitted to the environment ministry last month, the Central Pollution Control Board has identified Yamuna and Hindon as the most polluted among 13 rivers in UP.
18. India’s largest trapdoor spider found in Gujarat’s Dang
India’s largest trapdoor spider has been found in Dang district of Gujarat.
19. Mining mafia makes a killing out of Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal
Though Punjab and Haryana are fighting a legal battle over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and politicians are busy issuing statements, the reality is that most part of the canal is of no use at present as the mining mafia has dug it up at various places to make easy money.
20. Oz firm to help install rubber dams on Yamuna
The city’s irrigation department of Agra, in collaboration with an Australian firm, is going to install several rubber check dams across the Yamuna to rid the river of pollution and ensure uninterrupted water supply in the region throughout the year.
