Aysha Sadak

The Tamil Nadu government's move to shrink the Pulicat Bird Sanctuary's eco-sensitive zone for industrial development, including the Adani-Kattupalli port expansion, is raising alarms. Environmentalists and locals warn of severe impacts on biodiversity.

The Atal Bhujal Yojana, launched in 2019, addresses India's groundwater crisis by encouraging community-driven water management and sustainable farming practices.

Cooum has 118 sewage outfalls, as per the initial enumeration by the CRRT. Nearly 70,000 families live along the course of the river, whose illegal sewage inlets are drained into the rivers.

In March the US NOAA Coral Reef Watch issued a red alert for the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu. They stated that "above normal” sea surface temperature is likely to trigger mass bleaching and coral mortality in the region.

Bengaluru faces a severe water crisis due to excessive groundwater extraction through borewells, with demand far outstripping natural recharge. However, despite depleting resources, authorities plan to drill more borewells.

Between 2018 and 2022, there was a 30 per cent increase in the polluted river stretches in Namami Gange-focused states. Among the five states, only West Bengal has shown improvement in the reduction of contaminated rivers.

The Central Water Commission's data reveals severe water scarcity in southern India, with reservoir levels at just 15% of total live storage capacity. Despite this crisis, IPL matches are being hosted in water-stricken cities, raising concerns.

Most households, hotels, and guesthouses in Ladakh have their own private borewell to meet over 80% of their water demand. The groundwater resources are extracted without regulation.

Cases of villages that have been officially certified as having 100% coverage of functional tap connections, having only pipes, no taps, and often no actual supply of water have been rampant, according to The Hindu.

As per experts, amendments to the 50-year-old Act were necessary to reflect the country’s ever-changing social, economic, and environmental realities. But the latest introduced changes weren’t exactly what was expected.