The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on Tuesday submitted in the High Court of Karnataka that all stone crushing units had been closed on June 30, 2012, following a Supreme Court order.

During the hearing of a petition by Vasanth Devadiga and others, challenging the permission for stone crushing units near residential zones, the KSPCB authorities including chairman A S Sadashivaiah, who were present in the court, said none of the leases had been renewed.

Killer landfill: Large-scale contamination leads to health hazards

Feasting dogs, scavenging crows and kites dot the three-kilometre dirt trail that leads to the settlement in Mavallipura, Bangalore’s official dump yard, a sea of plastic bags, batteries, shoes, tyres, discarded clothes and rotting food that decays in the sun and floats during the rains. The stink of garbage, which for many Bangaloreans is a vague, indistinct smell, is unmistakable and overwhelming for Mavallipura’s occupants.

In a development that may be considered a shot in the arm for environmentalists, the Additional Civil Judge (senior division) has ordered a permanent stop to iron ore mining at Kemmannugundi in the Chandradrona Hills of the Western Ghats.

Additional Civil Judge (senior division) Manjunath Nayak on Monday ordered a complete ban on mining and related activities, considering that the land is an eco-sensitive zone and located adjacent to the Bhadra Tiger Reserve.

New borewells will not be allowed in the City without permission from the Karnataka Groundwater Authority and a mandatory registration with fees, once a notification to this effect is issued in a week’s time.

To arrest indiscriminate digging of borewells and commercial over-exploitation of Bangalore’s depleting ground water, the State government has finally decided to crack the whip by proposing mandatory registrations and penalties for defaulters.

After copping criticism and concern by wildlife enthusiasts over plastic and paper littering the tiger reserves, the State forest department has now woken up to the problem.

It has now decided to make the entire Bandipur Tiger Reserve a plastic-free zone by imposing a fine of Rs 1,000 on offenders from August 15, 2012. Henceforth, visitors to Bandipur or those driving through National Highways 212 or 67 (which pass through the reserve), must be careful not to throw plastic waste like empty food packets and bottles as the tiger reserve becomes the first one to be plastic-free in the State.

Heavy rush coupled with slow speed of computers at the taluk office to obtain land records, took a toll on the patience of thousands of farmers, who staged snap protests on Wednesday night and on Thursday morning on BM Road in Hassan.

Farmers demanded that the taluk office officials speed up issuance of the records despite the latter working round-the-clock to issue the land records. The farmers for the past few days had perched themselves near the counters - day and night - to avail land records essential to avail various facilities under ‘Suvarna Bhoomi’ scheme such as crop insurance, subsidised seeds and pesticides. The last date for the scheme is June 30.

The City’s rapid growth has come at a heavy price – in the form of the loss of its lakes and ponds, according to a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report.

“These water bodies are now either repositories for sewage or have been turned into prime real estate,” a study conducted by the CSE revealed. “As a result, even with huge investments and projects for bringing water to the City – including the much debated Greater Bangalore Water and Sanitation Project (GBWASP) – the water crisis has become real and regular,” the report said.

The Centre for Science and Environment, in a report, has tore apart the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)’s projection of facade of development with an unrealistic budge. The report brings out the City’s failure to manage its sewage and precious water. CSE director Sunita Narain aptly puts it, “Bangalore is drowning in its own excreta.”

Sunita was quick to emphasise that Bangaloreans were by no means “unique”. At the la­unch of the seventh edition of the CSE State of India’s Environment Report titled ‘Excr­eta Matters’, she said cities ac­ross the country were doing equ­ally bad.

Project proposed in Kanakapur on a pilot basis. The generation of power from bamboo will be a reality soon if the Forest Department has its say.

Forest Minister C P Yogeeshwara told reporters on Tuesday that a proposal had been submitted to the government to take up the project on a pilot basis in Kanakapur taluk. Land in some parts of Kanakapura had become unfit for agriculture due to flow of sewerage water from Bangalore. Bamboo plantation can be taken up on such land and power can be generated by setting up gasifier plants, he said.

The interim report submitted by a committee formed to tackle malnutrition among children in the State has suggested several measures, declaring that the present standards were woefully inadequate.

The committee headed by Justice N K Patil has advised the government to get medically examined all malnourished children in the 0-6 age group, enrolled in anganwadi centres. For severely malnourished children, it has suggested medical examination with the assistance of paediatricians or expert doctors, within two months.