Weekly Green News Update for Week 16 (April 13 to 19), 2015

weekly-media-roundup

Weekly environmental news roundup from across different media networks for week 16 (between April 13 and April 19) 2015.

1. Three months for fixing Delhi’s pollution

The heated debate on addressing Delhi’s air pollution problem has got the Ministry of Environment and Forests and state agencies of NCR — including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan — cracking on the matter.

2. NCR states draw up action plan to tackle air pollution

The Centre on Monday joined the long battle for improving the Capital’s notoriously bad air quality by getting Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to commit to a three-month action plan to curb pollution in the National Capital Region.

3. Felling of trees by DMRC, PWD given rise to air pollution: HC

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday noted that the “magnitude” of trees cut by DMRC and PWD for various projects has enabled air pollution to increase in the national capital and sought reports from them and the city government on where replantation was undertaken and how much, since 2010.

4. Diesel ban: after outcry, NGT gives 2 weeks, govt wants 6 months

The National Green Tribunal on Monday gave the central and state governments two weeks to submit “reasoned and scientifically supported views” on a range of issues including a congestion tax and a cap on the number of vehicles allowed to run in Delhi.

5. Constructions in Delhi-NCR continue unabated despite NGT ban

There’s dust all over, but there’s no mask for the labourers.

6. Six people to check 16 trucks per minute, NGT must look at own monitors’ reports

Nearly 5,000 trucks passing through one checkpoint in just five hours, state transport buses without any papers, no coordination among government departments, lack of staff, and no machines to check pollution levels or the weight of vehicles.

7. National Green Tribunal permits dredging in Yamuna

Noting that dredging needs to be carried out in public interest and maintain the flow of the river, the National Green Tribunal today permitted Delhi Jal Board to carry out the process in Yamuna at Wazirabad and Jagatpur bund areas.

8. Arvind Kejriwal discusses revitalization of Yamuna, beautification of banks

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday discussed with officials the revitalisation plan of the Yamuna river and beautification of its banks.

9. Govt inaction killing people, depleting tree cover: amicus to HC

Amicus curiae Kailash Vasdev told the Delhi High Court Wednesday that “over 100,000 trees” were felled by the Public Works Department and Delhi Metro between 2006 and 2010 in the national capital and the Delhi government had not placed post-2009 data on tree felling and development projects in the public domain.

10. DDA will install cameras at 26 spots along Yamuna to stop debris dumping

A month after the National Green Tribunal issued orders to the Delhi Development Authority to protect the Yamuna river belt, the authority has decided to install 100 CCTV cameras at 26 identified locations where debris is regularly dumped.

11. Groundwater level in Noida under ‘stress’: CGWA tells NGT

Central Ground Water Authority today told the National Green Tribunal that groundwater level in Noida is under “stress” and recommended cap on number of houses being owned by individuals.

12. Yamuna a dead river, says report, even as focus on Clean Ganga

The Yamuna is almost dead, the Central Pollution Control Board has said, even as the government single-mindedly pushes to clean the Ganga and overlooks the filthy river at its doorstep.

13. NGT directs CGWA to act against illegal borewells in Gurgaon

Amid increasing water crisis in Delhi-NCR, the National Green Tribunal today directed Central Ground Water Authority to ensure that no “illegal or unauthorised borewells” are extracting groundwater in Gurgaon.

14. NGT raps civic agencies for choking trees with concrete

The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday pulled up various state government agencies, including MCG, HUDA and the forest department, for concretizing open ground around trees in Gurgaon, an unscientific act that significantly cuts short a tree’s life, and is against ministry of urban development guidelines.

15. Garbage disposal finds no takers for CSR

“Everyone is saying Clean India, Clean India, but why are we not asking where will the garbage collected go?” asks Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International Social Services organization, pioneers of building public toilets.

16. Air Quality Index fails to give clear picture

It was unable to record pollution levels in nearly half of the 28 locations it is supposed to monitor due to “insufficient” air pollution data.

17. NGT seeks samples of ambient air quality

The National Green Tribunal on Friday sought to know what steps had been taken in all the States and Union Territories to prevent vehicular pollution.

18. Haryana govt classifies Aravalli grove as ‘not forest’

Much to the ire of environmentalists, the Haryana forest department took a U-turn on its previous decision and has declassified Faridabad’s Mangar Bani as a ‘forest’.

19. In a first, University of Hyderabad to have bio-reserve

After years of neglect and rampant poaching of wild animals inside its sprawling campus, the University of Hyderabad has finally woken up to the issue and said it will develop 250 acres of land on its campus into a bio-reserve and wildlife corridor, a first such move in the country.

20. Australia Extends Support to Ganga Rejuvenation Plan

Australia has promised its full support to Ganga Rejuvenation plan.

21. Ganga rejuvenation cannot be modelled on foreign rivers: Uma Bharti

Despite getting several international offers, rejuvenation of Ganga cannot be modelled on foreign rivers as the river has cultural and religious significance, Water Minister Uma Bharti said today.

22. Ganga pollution: NGT convenes meeting of stakeholders

The National Green has convened a joint meeting of stakeholders on May 1 to discuss a strategy for making Ganga pollution-free and chalk out a workable solution.

23. India agrees to phase down potent climate-damaging refrigerant HFCs

Reversing its several years of opposition, India has, in a major decision relating to a global treaty, made a formal proposal to amend the Montreal Protocol to phase down the climate-damaging refrigerant HFCs which are used in air-conditioners, refrigerators and insulating foams.

24. Climate change makes apple take on new avatars

With global warming causing temperatures to rise and snowfall to decrease, the apple you eat might never be the same again as new varieties of the fruit find favour with cultivators looking to adapt to the change in weather patterns.

Shilpi Chakravarty

Shilpi Chakravarty is an environmental professional with a master's degree in environmental studies from the University of Delhi. She works to use her professional skills for making the planet a better place to live on.

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