Weekly Environmental News Roundup for Week 10, 2025
Weekly environmental news roundup from across different media networks for Week 10 (3 to 9 March) 2025.
1. Mist sprayers on power poles to curb pollution in NDMC areas
New Delhi Municipal Council launched its pilot initiative for installing mist sprayers on electricity poles on Friday.
2. Delhi turns to AI to block vehicles beyond permitted age from refueling
From March 31, the Delhi government will roll out an AI-based automated system to prevent the refueling of vehicles beyond the permitted age.
3. Digital helpdesk, drones for monitoring: Pollution control panel plans to leverage tech in Delhi
Filing complaints with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee may soon become as easy as chatting on WhatsApp.
4. Water supply to be hit in various parts of Delhi
The Delhi Jal Board has warned of temporary water supply disruptions in several parts of Delhi, including Rohini, Mangolpuri, Sultanpuri and Janakpuri among other areas, over the weekend.
5. Residents of Delhi’s Maharani Bagh cry foul over ‘smelly’ water
Residents in parts of Maharani Bagh in southeast Delhi on Wednesday said that the water supplied to the area over the past few days has a foul smell, and said that they suspect that it has been contaminated with sewage, resulting in health issues among people in the locality.
6. DPCC plans expansion of state labs to facilitate real-time water testing
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has proposed granting ‘state’ laboratory status to all labs in government colleges and those under the Delhi Jal Board to facilitate real-time water testing across the national capital, officials said on Monday.
7. 5 water bodies in Delhi in urgent need of plan for revival: Forest dept
Delhi’s forest and wildlife department has told the National Green Tribunal that five of the 19 water bodies under its jurisdiction have either completely dried up, are being dumped with sewage or are encroached upon, and need interventions and an action plan for revival.
8. NDMC to seek nod from NGT to resume borewells
New Delhi Municipal Council hopes to resume its 80-90 borewells near Old Fort, Mathura Road and other areas in Lutyens’ Delhi following the reports of rising water table levels in the region.
9. 1,300 tonnes of garbage removed from Yamuna in 10 days: Parvesh Verma
Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Parvesh Verma, inspected the Yamuna by boat on Wednesday and said 1,300 tonnes of garbage had been removed from the river in the past 10 days.
10. Delhi L-G inaugurates Amrut Biodiversity Park, ‘aim is to increase green spaces’
The aim is to provide the people with a clean and refreshing environment while also increasing green spaces in the city, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said on Friday while inaugurating the Amrut Biodiversity Park in the Capital.
Amid the newly-elected BJP government’s push to curb pollution, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said proper bio-medical waste management is imperative for environmental protection and public well-being.
12. 54,000 trees to come up on reclaimed part of landfill
Lieutenant governor V K Saxena and chief minister Rekha Gupta Tuesday launched a bamboo plantation drive at Bhalswa landfill, during which 2,000 saplings were planted on a five-acre plot reclaimed after biomining a portion of the dumpsite.
13. Invasive subabul takes root, is now Delhi’s dominant tree
For the best part of a decade, Delhi’s agencies have focussed on weeding out the vilayati kikar (Prosopis juliflora) — an invasive tree species from Mexico — from the Capital’s landscape.
14. Where India’s tech goes to die: Delhi’s e-waste graveyard a hazard to health and environment
Mohammed Salman rhythmically pounds his hammer, crushing heaps of discarded electronic devices at a small workshop tucked away in one of Delhi’s most impoverished suburbs.
Asserting that no new “mountain of garbage” would be created in Delhi, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday said the Bhalswa landfill, spread across 70 acre, will be cleared by next March.
It’s a global hotspot for methane emissions, but Delhi’s “garbage mountain” is having a devastating effect on the lives of millions of people nearby – despite government promises to fix it.
17. Ahead of unusually warm summer, govt report says only 32% hospitals equipped to treat heatstrokes
Despite the marked rise in suspected heatstroke cases in 2024, 68 percent of India’s government hospitals lacked cooling facilities to treat heat-related illnesses, a new government report has revealed.
18. 50,000+ flats built for Delhi’s poor have no takers. It’s an ivory tower-sized national waste
As one enters the expansive complex of the 3,000-plus one-BHK flats in Ghogha village in Delhi’s Narela—some 40 km from Connaught Place in the heart of the national capital—one encounters strange graffiti on the wall of one of the many decaying buildings that have stood uninhabited there since 2010, when they were built.
19. Hry CM Saini orders overhaul of Gurugram water channel
Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday directed the state irrigation department to remodel the Gurugram Water Supply Channel Project, replacing the proposed open channel with a fully covered 70-kilometre pipeline.
20. Ahmedabad first urban centre of focus on climate budget
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation becomes India’s first local body to include a climate chapter in its budget, allocating ₹5,619.58 crore for climate action.
21. Why afforestation funds used to buy laptop, iPhone? SC to Uttarakhand
The Supreme Court on Wednesday took strong exception to the Uttarakhand govt spending funds and penalties paid for diversion of forest land, that were to be utilised for re-creation of forest, for purchase of laptops, iPhones, fridges and coolers, and sought the state govt’s response within a fortnight.
22. Form expert panels to identify forests: SC tells states, UTs
The Supreme Court on Tuesday set a six-month deadline for states and Union territories to complete the exercise of identifying forests by appointing expert committees and carrying out the scientific demarcation of land.
23. Should IAS officers appraise forest babus, wonders Supreme Court
Supreme Court on Wednesday sought assistance of solicitor general Tushar Mehta in resolving the grievance of Indian Forest Service officers against their being written by IAS officers as per the last June office order issued by Madhya Pradesh government.
24. Warmest winter yet: How all major Indian cities are getting hotter by the year
Delhi’s winter chill is fading.
25. Rising temperatures drive 41% surge in peak power demand across India in 2023: Report
India’s peak power demand surged by 41 per cent during the summer months of 2023, driven by and frequent heatwaves, a new report by Climate Trends has found.
26. Brazil warns Trump effect risks ‘triple negative’ for climate
Action to curb global warming is at risk from a “triple negative” effect triggered by the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House, Brazil said on Thursday, as it prepares to host U.N. climate talks later this year.
