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Chennai: State environment department has denied reports on violation of Ramsar Site rules in granting environmental clearance or building plan approval within Pallikaranai Reserve Forest. "The survey numbers mentioned in media reports refer to private patta lands, not to the notified reserve forest," it said, adding that survey-based verification of boundaries and land parcels, other than the reserve forest, is not yet complete. The Ramsar site's limits will come into effect after boundary delin
Bhubaneswar: Nature lovers have a fresh reason to visit Nandankanan Zoological Park in Odisha's Bhubaneswar, as the famed wildlife sanctuary welcomed seven baby yellow anacondas into its reptilian fold on Sunday -- a rare and exciting addition that underscores the zoo's growing reputation as a haven for exotic species. The tiny hatchlings were born to a breeding pair of yellow anacondas brought to Nandankanan from the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in Chennai in October 2019. With these new arrivals, the zoo now proudly houses a thriving family of 14 yellow anacondas -- two adult males, two adul ...Read More >
Guwahati: Assam government has started an eviction drive in Goalpara district. With this eviction the district administration will reclaim around 1,040 bighas of land in Paikan Reserve Forest of Krishnai Forest Range in Goalpara. The encroachers were given a July 10 deadline to vacate the area. The Gauhati High court has earlier asked the government to clear encroachment in the forest land. A senior government officer said, "We are clearing 149 hectares. The process is likely to be completed b ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], October 16 (ANI): Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Thursday sounded an alarm over the declining elephant population in India, stressing that protecting and preserving an animal deeply embedded in the country's religious, cultural, and ecological fabric is a national responsibility. "The elephant faces a crisis, perhaps not of extinction but of attrition. The threats come from changing land use, loss of traditional habitats, fragmentation of elephant movement pathways & corridors both within and outside protected areas, pressures from mining and infrastruc ...Read More >
Kendrapara (Odisha), Jan 14 (PTI) With the annual crocodile and migratory birds' headcount exercise getting underway, the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district would remain shut for nine days from Tuesday. Several teams have been constituted to count the crocodiles and birds in the creeks, rivers, wetland sites and mangrove forests within the park and its nearby areas, an official said. Any form of human activity could disrupt the process, and that is why the national park will remain closed till January 22, he said. The restrictions for visitors will also prevent noise ...Read More >
All Central teams scheduled to assess moisture levels in newly harvested paddy across the Cauvery delta abruptly cancelled their inspections on Saturday, leaving farmers at direct procurement centres in Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruchi and Pudukkottai stranded and frustrated. The exercise, organised to advise whether the standard 17% procurement moisture limit should be relaxed after persistent rain, had been widely publicised and prompted local TNCSC staff to prepare collection centres. Growe ...Read More >
Kolkata, June 28: A political slugfest has erupted in West Bengal after a woman accused Padma Shree awardee monk Kartik Maharaj, who is posted with the Murshidabad unit of Bharat Sevashram Sangha, of allegedly raping her 12 times for six months in 2013. As per the police complaint lodged by the woman, Kartik Maharaj raped her multiple times 12 years ago promising her a job at a local school. The ruling Trinamool Congress is highlighting the issue in a major way and accusing the BJP of being silent on it since the accused monk had been reportedly close to the saffron party. The woman accusin ...Read More >
Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 13 (ANI): Amid criticisms of the eviction drive carried out by the BJP-led Assam government to evict the encroachers from the government lands, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that there is a concerted effort to change the demography of the state constituencies. From our recent eviction experience, we have seen that people originally from districts 400 km away have encroached upon lands in predominantly Hindu constituencies. There is a concerted effort to change the demography of our constituencies, Sarma said. He further said, When we go to condu ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Exploring scientific solutions to reduce human-elephant conflict across Karnataka, the forest department Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for landscape-level conservation of Asian elephants. Renowned ecologist and elephant expert from IISc, Prof Raman Sukumar, and Karnataka chief wildlife warden Prabhash Chandra Ray signed the commencement of the Rs 4.7-crore project, fully funded by the forest department.Admitting an increa ...Read More >
Kolkata: The Kolkata Traffic Police is facing a new challenge in managing vehicle parking for the upcoming Shahid Diwas rally on Monday, as persistent rainfall threatens to render designated parking fields unusable. The fresh spell of rain on Friday, with more occasional rain predicted even on Saturday, has left cops worried as they believe the Maidan area can be filled with slush.The traffic department, which initially planned to utilise various fields across the city for parking buses and cars of parade attendees, is now frantically searching for alternative solutions on the main roads, stre ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar, Oct 24 (UNI) Forest officials seized around 15 quintals of mangrove roots that bore striking resemblance to sandalwood in Bhitarkanika National Park on Friday and arrested nine persons, including five women, for trespassing into protected forest and felling trees. Ten quintals of Salacia prinoides roots and stems locally called Batara, an important mangrove species packed in 20 sacks, and five quintals of ceriops decandra roots locally called as Garani packed in 10 sacks, were seized from Kalibhanjadia forest block of the national park. The implements and tools used for cutting ...Read More >
HYDERABAD: With the kharif season underway and farmers facing an acute shortage of urea, agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has written to the Centre, urging immediate intervention to ensure timely and sufficient supply of the critical fertiliser. In letters addressed to Union minister for chemicals and fertilisers JP Nadda, Tummala highlighted the alarming gap between the state's demand and actual supply. The minister said the Centre had allocated five lakh metric tonnes of urea to Telangana for the months of April, May, and June. However, only 3.06 lakh metric tonnes have been suppli ...Read More >
NEW DELHI, Aug 13: The climate change-driven worst-ever deficient rainfall in Meghalaya has taken a toll on its famed golden-hued heritage crop Lakadong turmeric. Recent studies by the Meghalaya Climate Change Centre identified Laskein as one of the state's 25 blocks where this turmeric farming is facing "high" or "very high" risk from climate pressures. According to the studies, farmers are struggling with extreme weather events such as unpredictable rainfall, poor soil health, and increased pest attacks. Nearly 14,000 farmers across 43 villages, who grow Lakadong turmeric on about 1,753 h ...Read More >
Chennai: State environment department has denied reports on violation of Ramsar Site rules in granting environmental clearance or building plan approval within Pallikaranai Reserve Forest. "The survey numbers mentioned in media reports refer to private patta lands, not to the notified reserve forest," it said, adding that survey-based verification of boundaries and land parcels, other than the reserve forest, is not yet complete. The Ramsar site's limits will come into effect after boundary delineation and notification are completed, it said. The department said 698 hectares at Pallikaranai we ...Read More >
CHENNAI: The state government notified the establishment of the Greater Flamingo Sanctuary at Dhanushkodi in Ramanathapuram on 524.78 hectares of land on the occasion of World Environment Day on Thursday. This apart, the state forest department also reinforced its workforce with a major recruitment drive and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) certified industries under the Voluntary Green Rating of Industries initiative, a first-of-its-kind. Marking the occasion, Chief Minister MK Stalin handed over the appointment letters along with the rating certificates to the industries. He ...Read More >
Sambalpur: The population of Indian Bisons (Gaur) in Odisha's Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary has increased to 788 from 659 in six months, a forest officer said. The authorities of the Hirakud wildlife division conducted the census from May 11 to May 13, this year and published the report Friday. As per the report, the total number of Indian Bison in the wildlife sanctuary was 788, which includes 315 juveniles (less than 2 year old) and 128 newborns (less than 3 months). Of the total bison population, 315 (40 per cent) are juvenile. For the first time, the census of Indian Bisons was conducted ...Read More >
Guwahati, July 15: Every major eviction drive to reclaim Assam's encroachment forest and government lands is a result of painstaking legal groundwork, clearances from courts and not a sudden administrative action, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday. Addressing concerns about the legality and impact of recent evictions across the state, Sarma told the press at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Dispur that the process of preparing for each eviction often takes years. "People think we can just go and remove encroachers overnight. But in reality, every single eviction you see - from Bura Chapo ...Read More >
Kendrapada: Altogether 117 crocodile nests were spotted in Bhitarkanika National Park during a counting conducted from July 1 to 13 this year. Last year, the count was 114. The counting exercise conducted in India's second largest mangrove forest after Sundarbans, is considered a challenging and risky operation due to the presence of numerous crocodiles in the water bodies and mangrove forest."Female crocodiles are particularly aggressive during nesting and hatching seasons, as they guard their n ...Read More >
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala's wetlands, a lifeline for biodiversity and livelihoods, have witnessed a slight decline of 58 hectares between 2019 and 2024, according to a new geospatial study that assessed temporal changes using multi-date satellite data. The study, conducted by the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) using Sentinel-2A MSI imagery within a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework, revealed that the total wetland area in Kerala shrunk from 1,52,826 hectares in 2019 to 1,52,768 hectares in 2024. The study also documented the disappearance of three w ...Read More >
Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh): The adult male Caracal was spotted in the camera surveillance system of Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, within the Bhanpura-Garot assembly constituency area, along the Chambal River, on Thursday night. This records as the first confirmed sighting of the species in a protected area of the state in several years. Caracals, known locally by the same name, are extremely shy, nocturnal carnivores, renowned for their exceptional agility and speed. Weighing between 7-18 kilograms, these wild cats prefer dry, bushy, rocky terrain and open grasslands. The species is curr ...Read More >
Guwahati: Assam's Goalpara District officials confirmed on Friday that nearly 95% of alleged encroachers have vacated over 1,000 bighas of forest land in Paikan Reserve Forest ahead of a scheduled eviction drive. Goalpara Deputy Commissioner Khanindra Choudhury reported that the district administration stands ready to support the forest department's operation. Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge! "Around 90-95% of the settlers have already moved out, dismantling their makeshift establishments and taking their belongings. Only permanent or brick str ...Read More >
Mumbai: The Supreme Court has stayed a May 2 order by the Bombay High Court in a PIL which challenged continued waste dumping at the Kanjurmarg landfill and sought its relocation on the grounds that the site was protected forest land. The PIL was filed in 2013 by the NGO Vanshakti.HC had ruled that 118 hectares at Kanjurmarg, used as a landfill for over 15 years, remained forest land and must be restored as such. The state govt, represented by solicitor general Tushar Mehta and advocate Siddharth Dharmadhikari, filed a special leave petition (SLP) seeking an urgent stay. The SLP argued that th ...Read More >
New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Trades worth nearly Rs 3.21 lakh crore have been conducted through the electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform during the last five financial years, the government said on Friday. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur said, "From 1st April, 2020 to 31st March, 2025, trade worth Rs 3,20,766 crore has been conducted through electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)". The minister was replying to a question by Congress member Randeep Singh Surjewala. "The inter-state trade volume on the e-NAM platform ...Read More >
IMPHAL : Manipur governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Sunday urged all the sections of the society to work collectively for long lasting peace and harmony in Manipur adding that absence of conflict will not bring peace. Bhalla made the statement during the 134th Raising Day celebration held at the 1st Battalion Manipur Rifles Parade Ground, Imphal. He said police have been taking a vital role during the crisis in maintaining law and order and to protect people especially during 2023 Manipur violence, ...Read More >
CHENNAI: MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Tuesday urged the state government not to grant any permission, including environmental clearance, to Vedanta to carryout Tungsten mining in Arittapatti at Melur. In a statement, he said that the Union Ministry of Minerals and Mines, has recently held a nationwide auction for mining mineral resources and awarded Hindustan Zinc Limited, a subsidiary of Sterlite Vedanta, a license to mine tungsten mineral in a land spreadover 5,000 acres in Melur, Madurai. Pointing out that the state government has declared Arittapatti village as a biodiversity heritage ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 5 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led the World Environment Day celebrations by launching a major reforestation effort to revive the 700-km-long Aravalli mountain range, aimed at strengthening the region's ability to combat climate change, tackle air pollution and improve groundwater levels. The prime minister also announced the expansion of the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" campaign, which encourages people to plant saplings in honour of their mothers. According to the Centre, the Aravalli Green Wall Project will play a key role in helping India create an additional car ...Read More >
The construction of the camps has been under a cloud since early 2024 and faced scrutiny from the environment ministry as well as the National Green Tribunal's principal bench and eastern zone bench (Kolkata). The Union environment ministry's regional office in Shillong has directed the Assam forest department to take legal action against Special Secretary (Forest) M K Yadava for authorising two commando battalion camps on forest land in "gross violation" of the law, official documents show. Th ...Read More >
Senior advocate Nikhil Goel pointed out that some of the villages in the area were entirely dependent on sand mining. File The Supreme Court of India on Thursday (April 2, 2026) said the sand mining mafia, who carry "better weapons than the police" and kill those who come in their way with impunity, were the "modern dacoits" of Chambal. The oral observation from a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was in response to an oft-repeated submission from the Madhya Pradesh government tha ...Read More >
A whopping 518 lakes, constituting 74%, have either disappeared or shrunk in Jammu and Kashmir that has resulted in the degradation of ecosystem and climate insecurity, according to the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Conservation and Management of Lakes for the period up to March 2022. The report highlighted that 315 lakes, 45% of the total 697 lakes in J&K that constitute a water area of 1,537.07 hectares, have disappeared. "These lakes included 80 lakes (25%) ...Read More >
Sambalpur: The population of Indian bison (Gaur) in Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary has increased to 788 from 659 in six months, a forest officer said. The authorities of Hirakud Wildlife Division conducted the census from May 11 to May 13 this year and published the report Friday. As per the report, the total number of Indian bison in the wildlife sanctuary is 788, which includes 315 juveniles (less than 2 years old) and 128 newborns (less than 3 months old). Of the total bison population, 315 (40 per cent) are juvenile. For the first time, the census of Indian bison was conducted at Debrigarh d ...Read More >
Guwahati: The Assam government on Saturday launched a massive eviction drive to evict 1080 families allegedly encroaching upon about 140 hectares of forest land in the Paikan Reserve Forest in Western Assam's Goalpara district. Amid the protest of those being evicted, the state administration said that drive was primarily to curb human-elephant conflict and restore ecological balance in the area. In order to maintain law and order during the eviction drive, joint teams of the Forest Department and Assam Police have been conducting intensive patrolling, making public announcements via loudspe ...Read More >