Illegal mining in Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kutch, reserved for chinkaras, has come under the High Court's scanner. Acting on a petition, Gujarat HC has directed authorities to take "harsh preventive actions' against all those who have been illegally mining lignite from the 657.79-sq km area of the sanctuary.

The BMC has informed the Bombay High Court that the authorities concerned are keeping the beaches of the city clean on a daily basis. An affidavit filed in response to a public interest litigation filed by a NGO Janhit Manch states that "the corporation has also made arrangement for cleaning the beaches by the beach cleaning machine daily'. The petitioner had moved court seeking to restrain immersion of idols and Nirmalya or Pooja materials during festivals which pollute the waters.

: Ignoring the state finance minister's suggestion to increase state forest coverage to 33 per cent from the existing 27 per cent earlier this month, a CPI-M-run Bural gram panchayat in Sabang block in Midnapore West has aimed to increase their revenue by felling trees reared by a group of tree-huggers. Mr Asim Dasgupta, the state finance minister, had made this suggestion while discussing the environmental impact of degrading trees at a function in Kolkata.

It could be a bitter end to a sweet, juicy story. Maharashtra is planning mega power plants in Ratnagiri district, a horticulture zone known for its finest Alphonso mangoes, which are exported to

The Goa State Pollution Control Board has directed Jain Udyog Pvt Ltd, a sponge iron plant operating at Sanvordem in south Goa, to shift its unit after taking appropriate consent from the board.

Sugarcane growers in Uttar Pradesh feel sold out to mills Frustration is growing among sugarcane growers in Uttar Pradesh. First private sugar mills refused to begin crushing and now the Lucknow

Supa dam was built on the Kali river for supplying water to forest-based industries. In October 1972, prime minister Indira Gandhi promised a compensation package for the 1,113 affected families from 44 villages. Though the families wanted the fertile Gobral village near Dandeli, the state refused since the area was under dense teak plantation. A state government-appointed committee look into the resettlement found Ramnagar unsuitable for cultivable. The government then promised irrigation facilities and the families had to move to Ramnagar in 1981. The promise hasn't materialized.

wajihuddin ahmed, a former chief justice of Sindh High Court and a former supreme court judge, is a strong voice in the lawyers' movement in Pakistan. He speaks to shahid husain on people's

Nigeria sues Tobacco company: The Nigerian government has filed a lawsuit in the High Court of Abuja against tobacco companies British-American Tobacco, Philip Morris International and

"Why shouldn't salt-making be classed as agriculture?' asks R Potharaju. "Both require land, water and sunshine, and are subject to vagaries of nature,' he reasons. Potharaju is convenor of the