The Karnataka government is actively considering the possibility of changing the location for a proposed steel plant of Posco in north-central Gadag district; instead offer the South Korean major an alternative land elsewhere in the state. The move comes after the farmers of Halligudi village stiffly opposed plans to acquire their “fertile” land ahead of starting work on the project.

The Rajya Sabha discussed the severe drought situation in Karnataka and in States such as Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has sought a response from the Karnataka government to the demand for a CBI probe into the entire gamut of mining activities that took place in the State since 2002.

Following a petition filed by T J Abraham, a resident of Bangalore, the CEC has written to the Karnataka chief secretary seeking a reply to the petitioner’s allegations. Abraham had pleaded before the CEC that mining activities, including dereserving of forests and granting of permission for mining by past governments headed by former chief ministers S M Krishna, Dharam Singh and H D Kumaraswamy, should be probed.

Tension prevailed at some places in Haveri district on Tuesday, due to protests and stampede during distribution of Bt cotton seeds.

Farmers break barricades in a bid to collect seeds from an outlet of Bt cotton seeds company in Haveri district on Tuesday. The increase in demand for the ‘Kanaka’ variety of seeds and shortage of supply led to the rush. In Haveri city, police resorted to mild lathicharge as around 12,000 farmers fell over each other to collect the seeds.

Experts say a bigger area will help set up anti-poaching camps, aid patrolling

The delay in acquiring land on the northern fringes of the Nagarahole National Park has cost the tiger population dear. A view of the Devmachi Forest The demarcation boundary in Doddaharave, between Periyapatna and Kushalnagar range in the north of Nagarahole, has turned into a favourite destination for poachers. According to Forest Department statistics, eight instances of poaching had been reported from the area since January 2009.

The City’s biggest water body, Bellandur lake, faces the threat of extinction finds a study by the Energy and Wetland Research Centre (EWRC) and Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES) of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

slow death A view of the Bellandur lake. The lake is being dried up to pave the way for concrete structures (residential complexes). The day is not far when nearly one fourth of the people in the City are forced to consume highly contaminated water. A study by Dr T V Ramachandra - senior scientist, EWRC,

Input cost of agriculture has gone up considerably due to steep increase in price of fertilisers, in the past one year, said Agriculture Minister Umesh Katti on Monday.

Speaking to media, the minister said price of DAP (Diammonium Phosphate), which is widely used by farmers, has shot up to Rs 19,014 per tonne in 2012 from Rs 12,300 per tonne in 2011.

Funds released by the Centre not utilised properly: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has picked holes in the implementation of the Centrally-assisted solar photovoltaic project in the State during 2005-07. The project launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in January 2006 encouraged the use of solar lighting systems in rural areas to bring down the consumption of kerosene.

Water woes for Bangaloreans will continue with fresh government data demonstrating that the current level of water supply in India's IT capital is almost four thousand million cubic metre short of the requirement, exposing 22 lakh people to water scarcity every year.

Every drop countsThe shortfall is in the prevailing situation. If City aquifers become barren due to over-exploitation, an additional 24 lakh will have a tough time getting their daily water supply from civic authorities, geologists have forewarned. The warning is based on water data collected by the Karnataka government's mines and geology department from 10 deep wells in Bangalore, between April and December 2011.

The area under forest cover in Karnataka has increased by four square kilometres, according to a latest report of the Forest Survey of India. It says the change has been noticed in the assessment year of 2009, compared to the survey carried out in 2008. The report was put in the public domain recently.

Sources in the State government told The Hindu that the change for the better was being seen for the first time in about a decade. What was noteworthy was that at a time when forests were being “plundered in terms of their flora and fauna and conservationists facing a tough challenge,” the increase, though negligible, marks a refreshing change.”