Pungthing Shimrang, a senior member of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issac Muviah), tells Down To Earth

On resumption of oil exploration
We have not agreed on that. We can't allow mineral resources of the state to be extracted by outsiders.

On environmental damages

SUNNYVALE, California: Call it an eco-parable: one Prius-driving couple takes pride in their eight redwoods, the first of them planted over a decade ago. Their electric-car-driving neighbors take pride in their rooftop solar panels, installed five years after the first trees were planted.

Justice M F Saldanha, former High Court judge and Chairman of Transparency International India (TII), has asked the BBMP officials to stop felling trees under the pretext of development and thereby destroying the city's green cover. In an open letter to the BBMP Commissioner S Subramanya, Justice Saldanha has said if the Palike did not stop doing so, TII members "would think of firmer methods to ensure that the city's greenery is not further destroyed.'

A long time ago, visionaries such as M Vishveshwaraya, K Sheshadri Iyer, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, and Mirza Ismail emphasised the importance of trees, parks and green recreational spaces beyond thei

THEODORE BASKARAN Commemorative volume showcasing the wealth of trees of the Indian landscape

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA), while approving the Rs 434-crore Byculla zoo makeover plan on Tuesday, stipulated that no tree be felled and no heritage structure be disturbed in the process. "We have studied the masterplan and have decided to approve it now. But in the interest of concerned citizens, we've maintained that not one tree be brought down during the modernisation of the zoo,' said B R Sharma, member secretary of the CZA. Incidentally, the BMC had recently mentioned that only diseased trees would be uprooted. While the CZA had earlier shown reservation to this condition, Sharma now stated that they would allow the BMC to make internal decision as long as their main conditions are adhered to. The long wait over, the BMC is now geared up to put the mega revamp plan

The verdant Polo jungles of Vijaynagar in north Gujarat's Sabarkantha district have a substantial population of tribals, but unlike many other tribal areas in the country that reel under poverty, ma