[Commentary] The invisible bond: Wastewater management and water for all
In 2014, India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) – one of the world’s largest drives for sanitation – which aimed to make the country open defecation free by 2019.…
Birds vs hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh: Who will win?
The proposal for 3,097-megawatt Etalin hydropower project in Dibang valley of Arunachal Pradesh in India’s northeast region has been pushed back yet again as questions regarding the project’s impact on…
[Commentary] Feni river agreement offers hope, but water sharing remains contentious
In the first transboundary river water sharing agreement in decades in South Asia, Bangladesh allowed India to withdraw 1.82 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water from the Feni river.…
Farmers demand water in return for land in Yettinahole river diversion project
Four years ago, Vasant Kumar’s wholly organic farm in Bommalapura village in Tumakuru district of Karnataka came under the media spotlight as a positive story in an otherwise grim, drought-stricken landscape. His…
Wanted: An urgent political saviour for river Yamuna
“When the rain comes down, it starts looking like a river. Otherwise, it is just like this… a drain full of dirt and filth. If you have to see it…
Water woes: Kutch’s age-old Ajrakh craft faces its nemesis, once again
Sitting in his workshop in Ajrakhpur near Bhuj in Gujarat, India's westernmost state, Sufian Khatri gingerly holds a pale-yellow, naturally-dyed piece of sample cloth. Animal and floral motifs in a…
India’s megacities, Mumbai and Delhi, sitting on a pile of waste
India’s financial capital, Mumbai, and the national capital, Delhi, are the country’s top two metro cities when it comes to solid waste generated per day. Together, it is estimated, they…
The invisible victims of an unfinished city
Nestled within the picturesque Western Ghats, the Lavasa township near Pune, Maharashtra is unlike any other hill city of India. As one drives up a smooth road amid the monsoon…
Politics in Maharashtra elections skirt around environmental issues
Between 2011 and 2014, Maharashtra's legislative assembly saw the rise of Devendra Fadnavis as he galvanised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the then ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine and…
MoEFCC expert committee gives wildlife clearance for Kaiga nuclear plant’s expansion
Clearing the final hurdle in the expansion of the capacity of the Kaiga Atomic power plant in Karwar area of Karnataka, an expert wildlife panel led by the Indian government’s…
