Complaining about multiple civic agencies’ failure to keep a portion of the Mehrauli Archaeological Park clean, some residents of Ward 7 in Mehrauli sat on a dharna outside their apartment complex on Sunday.

A part of the park -- which boasts monuments like the ruins of the tomb of the 13th Century Delhi ruler Ghiyasuddin Balban, the 16th Century Jamali-Kamali mosque, the 19th Century Metcalfe’s canopy and the ruins of several other Lodhi-Mughal era structures -- has manicured lawns and footpaths where “heritage walks” have become popular with tourists.

Despite Union Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Ajay Maken’s plea to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for stopping the demolition of the houses of slum-dwellers, 43 houses were pulled down at the Golibar slum here on Wednesday, under the supervision of the Collector’s office.

The activists of the National Alliance of People’s Movement (NAPM) have alleged that Shivalik Ventures, which develops the prime property of 125 acres called Golibar, carried out the demolition in connivance with government officials.

Jaipur: The state government has decided to constitute a ‘rehabilitation cell’ for smooth rehabilitation of people living in slums and kacchi basti. The cell will perform under Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) with a separate staff and is expected to start functioning from June.

Marred by staff shortage and pressure from several quarters to clear encroachments from government land, the government granted permission to set up a different body and approved the permission for the creation of 12 posts for the cell. The consent came after JDA requested the state government to give extra manpower for carrying the tasks of relocation.

Noida: The National Green Tribunal on Monday issued notices to UP government and the Union ministry of environment and forests, among others, over allegations of massive encroachment on the floodpl

“The total area of the Vandiyur lake has shrunk from 640 acres to 577 because of encroachment”.

Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, who is known to have an eye for design and detail, is not pleased with the slapdash and sloppy finishing work seen in most government owned buildings and wants India to borrow from China where construction work is known for its flawlessness.

On Tuesday the Minister disapprovingly mentioned how little attention is paid to the “finishing” of the construction that consequently results in “building paint overlapping the woodwork and the polish on the woodwork getting on to the paint”.

Even amid the hue and cry of environmentalists over the shrinking wetlands, an effort initiated by the Revenue Department to prepare a revised data bank of the actual area of wetlands in the district has reached nowhere.

Though the updated list was expected to be completed by the end of 2012 in the district, many of the villages failed to furnish the latest records other than just forwarding the old records containing smooth figures.

The Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries (University of Kerala) and Agency for Development of Aqua Culture, Kerala, have identified the use of small mesh encircling nets as one of the biggest threats to the biodiversity of Vellayani lake, the second largest fresh water body in the State.

A participatory fish census conducted by the institutions has found that many perennial streams, which supplied water to the lake, have dried up. Paddy fields and wetlands have been land filled. The research team also noticed an alarming depletion of frogs in the lake. Pesticide contamination of the lake and shrinking of its area were other major issues affecting the water body’s survival.

For dumping garbage in the lake despite an interim order

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Southern Bench, on Thursday directed the Pallavaram Municipal Commissioner to appear before it and explain why the civic body continues to dump waste in ‘Periya Eri’ (lake) in spite of an interim order against it. Following an application from S.P. Surendranath Karthik, Madipakkam, the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi, in September last, granted an interim injunction restraining the municipality from dumping waste in the lake.

PUNE: The proposal to reserve land in merged villages for bio diversity parks (BDP) has been officially passed.