Text of the submission of comments by the Indian Community Activists’ Network (ICAN)* on the Draft National Forest Policy 2018 to Noyal Thomas, DGIF, and Jitesh Kumar, Technical Officer, Forest Policy, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India: The draft policy fails to indicate the legitimacy of its evolution. In a democratic … More MoEFCC must suspend present draft forest policy, take initiative to hold in-depth consultations

Memorandum by Sagar Rabari, General Secretary, Khedut Samaj-Gujarat to Noyal Thomas, Dy Inspector General of Forests (Forest Policy), Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests and Climate Change, New Delhi on the Draft National Forest Policy dated 14th March 2018: We, the Khedut Samaj-Gujarat (KS-G) are a 1,00,000-strong membership-based organisation of farmers and agriculturists … More All kinds of commercial extraction from forests ought to be brought under strict moratorium

National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) note on detention and prevention of activists from participating in public meeting on ‘uranium mining impacts’ at Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh: The National Alliance of People’s Movements strongly condemns the high-handedness of the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), a Govt. of India undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy (headed … More UCIL-BARC must ensure all its activities are subject to strict environmental, legal regulations

China has forged ahead on developing hydropower, while other Himalayan nations have languished, Nilanjan Ghosh* explains why Of all Himalayan nations, China has made the most progress towards hydropower development. This has been driven by three major factors. First, China has insufficient reserves of fossil fuels to meet the needs of its growth aspirations. The ongoing … More Hydropower in the Himalayas: the economics that are often ignored

Open letter by Green Catalyst team*, Ahmedabad, to Arvind Agrawal, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary (Forests & Environment), Government of Gujarat, on cases relating to open burning: Green Catalyst is a group of enthusiastic college students who are willing to do something and spread awareness about Environmental Issues and its Solution. It is an initiative by … More Open burning cases in Ahmedabad impact upon health of city residents, contradict NGT directions

Letter to Manisha Nanda, principal secretary to the chief minister and additional chief secretary, Environment Science & Technology, Information & Public Relation, Tourism & Civil Aviation, Government of Himachal Pradesh: We are writing to you on the Day of Action for Rivers across the world on behalf of the concerned citizens of the State. We … More Increasing threat to Himachal riverine ecology due to hydro projects, tourism, industrial pollution

Excerpts from the Greenpeace report, “Airpocalypse II: Assessment of Air Pollution in Indian Cities”: Delhi still remains the top-most polluted city followed by many more towns like nearby Faridabad and Bhiwadi and far off Dehradun, Varanasi, and Patna. These towns are strewn along the fertile and heavily populated Indo-Gangetic basin. Together these critically polluted cities … More The extent of air pollution in India is turning into a public health and economic crisis