Farmers, whose tracts have been acquired by the government for the Emaar, Financial District and other projects, seem to have a remote possibility of getting them back.

The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board is vexed over the rampant burning of household trash in personal backyards in complete violation of instructions from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.

Pollution control experts say that when household garbage is burnt, Dioxins, a known carcinogen, associated also with birth defects, are released into the air we inhale. Dioxins are impossible to be removed from the food chain since these are Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBTs) which enter plants through air and water, then cattle and poultry, and finally, humans.

The urban growth in mandals in the State has declined by 3.5 per cent during 2001-11 compared with the previous decade, according Census data.

One striking feature of demographic changes in the state reflected in Census 2011 data is the sharp rise in the number of “census towns” from 93 in 2001 to 228 in 2011, indicating that people from

Andhra Pradesh government late on Wednesday decided to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2 per cent on petrol, bringing its price down by Rs1.19 per litre, a move which has been approved by the Elect

The opinion on the success of second generation of genetically modified BT cotton variety, Bollgard 2, in the state is chiefly polarised.

With the water levels in reservoirs depleting fast, complaints over an acute scarcity of water are pouring in from almost all parts of Hyderabad city. Citizens say a large number of areas in the city are short of water now.

The Water Board has started pumping water from the Osmansagar reservoir. The situation will get worse if there is no rain, as reservoirs have to get the inflows by June 15.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, has approved Hyderabad Water Board's proposal for a HUDCO loan of Rs 1,670 crore to execute the Krishna Phase III project.

“The Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery rivers have experienced dramatic changes in flow due to the construction of dams, anthropogenic contamination and other activities, National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) senior scientist Dr S. Masood Ahmad said here on Sunday.

“The Godavari would require significant intervention to protect its ecosystems and the people, who are mainly dependent on its river basins,” he added. (About 135 million people inhabit the river basins of the Godavari and Krishna.)

Some officials of the Water Board seem to have found an easy way to solve the problem of water contamination in the city. Citizens complain that they have received SMSes from officials stating that the water pollution complaints lodged by them have been attended to and the problem solved.

“I was shocked to receive the SMS on my mobile phone stating that the water pollution problem in my area has been solved. How is it possible when no official has visited my area? What’s more, I am the complainant and none of the officials contacted me to even cross check or confirm whether the water pollution complaint has been attended to before sending me that SMS,” said C. Shankar, a resident of Old Ghansmandi.