Experts believe that given the demographic reality of millions of landless people in India, providing forest lands to all such people is unrealistic and ecologically unsound.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), between June 1 and July 10, the overall rainfall in the country was deficient by 14 per cent.
Overall, the allocation for the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Ministry of Science and Technology is a meagre 0.64 per cent of the total budget.
The survey lays strong emphasis on increasing the overall energy usage in the country.
During cyclones, when storm surges have devastating impacts on coastal communities, mangrove roots and branches form a barricade against the intrusion of saline water and also act as wind breakers.
About 80 per cent of degraded lands in the country lie in nine states — Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.
Cities in central and western India are seething this summer with “severe heat wave conditions” prevailing across parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The ministry was previously held by Dr. Harsh Vardhan who was, and still is, in charge of Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Technology.
About 6,389 traditional marine fishing boats, 7,240 nets, 2,524 fish ponds of area 587 hectare, three fishing harbours, six fish landing centres and five fish farms in Odisha have been damaged in the storm.
Odisha has witnessed seven major cyclones in the last 50 years but the state has shown marked improvement in its disaster preparedness.
In November 2018, the US had granted a six-month additional waiver to eight countries, including India and China, the biggest importers of Iranian oil.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the LDF is contesting in all the 20 seats, the CPI(M) on 16 seats and the CPI on four.
As per data compiled by the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, a human rights organisation in the state, there have been 108 cases of human rights violations since 2008 where probes or enquiries have been ordered.
The Tamil Nadu polls are also a crucial test for the local leadership. DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi’s son MK Stalin, who succeeded him as the party president, Edapadi Palaniswami, the current chief minister and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam are all facing the heat of electoral mandate.
Civic issues such as the infrastructure woes concerning the state of roads and sanitation facilitates are bound to have an impact on electoral preferences in Bengaluru and Mysuru.