India

CSE 's Round Table on Mercury Pollution in Sonbhadra

Pollution in Sonbhadra area is not new and has been talked about for many years but no action has been taken to check the pollution. This has led to long term health impacts which have now started to show up in the population of the region. CSE took up a study to look at these health impacts and to investigate the possible causes.

Use of glass in construction has become a fad. But it is not the right choice for Indian climate

Use of glass in construction has become a fad. But it is not the right choice for Indian climate

What’s good insulation?

Many architects use imported, expensive and environmentally inappropriate material

Greenest of all: Model building design that helps save energy and money by exploiting the sun’s movement

Model building design that helps save energy and money by exploiting the sun’s movement

Green buildings: it’s common sense

Frenzied growth in real estate and changing lifestyle in Indian cities are inciting resource guzzling. Architects have innovative ideas to build green homes

Fact Sheets

Are environment and forest clearances a hindrance to development in the country?

No, says our study. The study analyses the environment and forest clearances granted during the 11th Five Year Plan, from April 2007 till August 2011.

The pace of such clearances during this period has been unprecedented. 

Click on the below links to find more on the study

Public private prank

Growth is back on the agenda, says the government. It is hoping that with pushy announcements foreign and Indian investment will miraculously start pouring in and infrastructure will be the name of the game once again. But this assumption ignores one crucial detail: currently, public-private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure are on the cusp of disaster. The country needs a different strategy to build public services infrastructure.

Temporary solution, permanent jam

I write this stuck in traffic. Nothing unusual. But my location makes me realise, once again, how our highway route to progress is going nowhere. The road I am using is newly commissioned and expensive. It is the 28-km Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, which was built just a few years ago to take care of the explosion of traffic between the two cities. It is access-controlled, with a 32-lane toll plaza, and was to provide easy access and a fun ride. The concessionaire—built as it is under the famous public private partnership model—took all steps to keep it prized for cars.

Going off-grid to power solution

Supply issues comprise one part of the energy conundrum, as we discussed last fortnight. The cost of energy and our ability to pay for it is the other. The matter gets vexed because the rise in price of raw material of all energy sources is accompanied by huge inefficiency in distribution and accounting. But importantly, we remain a poor country where cost of energy is a factor in its availability and accessibility for all.

Food Safety Mess

Traders say Food Safety and Standards Act rolls out red carpet for multinationals