A team of city researchers have claimed that there are over 1,000 species of fungi and more than 60 different types of lichens in and around the Sinhagad forest area.

As swine flu numbers went up to 267 last week in the city , figures show that the majority of the victims of the H1N1 virus are children, elderly citizens and pregnant women.

On August 4 alone, 17 positive cases were recorded and nearly 30 per cent of the patients were below 10 years. Records maintained by the BMC indicate that close to 22 per cent of the total number of cases detected are those of below 12 years and another 8 per cent are of above 60 years. Experts attribute this trend to the compromised immunity seen in such patients, particularly children.

In a bid to curb pollution levels in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will start CNG-based facilities at four of its crematoriums.

Eminent geophysicist Vinod K. Gaur has described as “flawed” the earthquake hazard assessment study carried out for the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant.

New Delhi Maharashtra has banned the sale and distribution of the genetically modified cotton seeds of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) with immediate effect on charges of supplying inferior quality seeds, a senior state government official said on Thursday.

“Mahyco has not received any official communication from the Maharashtra government about the cancellation of its license to sell Bt cotton seeds in the state,” the company said in a statement. “Mahyco has complied with all the guidelines set by the state agriculture department and has always provided required information to the agriculture department....We will address the concerns raised by the authority once we have received the official communication from the department,” the statement added.

The controversial Adarsh housing society building did not have a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance from either the state or central government, a former environment ministry official told the

Reiterating its stand on the Adarsh housing society, a former Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) official told a judicial panel here on Monday that the building has to be demolished as it does not have environmental clearance.

Former MoEF director Bharat Bhushan told a two-member inquiry commission set up by the state government to probe into the scam, that the Adarsh building stands in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and hence environmental clearance is mandatory.

The failure of the city’s two important dumping grounds to handle garbage efficiently has forced the civic administration to approach the steel conglomerate Jindal Group to set up a waste-to-energy plant.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has approached Jindal Ecopolis — a subsidiary of steel major Jindal SAW Ltd — to set up a waste incineration plant at one of its three dumping grounds. The civic administration is planning to approach the Asian Development Bank to fund the project.

Despite the civic administration’s assurances that the garbage collection crisis in the city has been nearly resolved, the central government mandate to adopt the Euro IV vehicle emission norms could upset the civic body’s plans.

Sources said the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ decision on implementing the Bharat Stage IV (Euro IV) emission norms in 13 major cities since April 2010 has put the brakes on important acquisitions by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s solid waste management department.

H1N1 claiming a life in Mumbai and two in Navi Mumbai over the past week, the respective civic bodies are now taking measures to ensure the situation does not turn worse.