Heena Sharma Blog

On Monday, the Supreme Court directed the Maharashtra government to not cut any more trees in the Aarey colony till October 21. The trees were being cut to build a depot for Mumbai metro. Appearing for the Maharashtra government, Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta assured the apex court that no trees will be felled. Further, the Supreme Court also ordered the release of all the activists who have been arrested during protests. The court has asked the Union Environment ministry to be a party in the matter. Now the matter will be taken up by the Forest Bench of the Supreme Court. Next hearing has been scheduled for October 21. Earlier, a sessions court in Mumbai on Sunday granted bail to 29 protesters arrested over the last two days on charges of obstructing and assaulting police personnel on duty during protests against felling of trees at Aarey colony. Additional sessions court judge H C Shende of the holiday court ordered their release on certain conditions including the pr...

Air pollution, both outside and inside homes, is a silent and deadly killer responsible for the premature deaths of seven million people each year, including 600,000 children, according to a UN Special Rapporteur on environment and human rights. David Boyd, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada, said that over six billion people, one-third of them children, are regularly inhaling air so polluted that it puts their life, health and well-being at risk. Every hour, 800 people are dying, many after years of suffering from cancer, respiratory illnesses or heart disease directly caused by breathing bad air. Air pollutants are everywhere, largely caused by burning of fossil fuels for electricity, transportation, and heating, as well as from industrial activities, poor waste management and agricultural practice. Women and children, who in many less wealthy countries spend a lot of time at home, are disproportionally affected by indoor air pollutio...

The government has banned manufacturing, use, sale, distribution and storage of plastic materials such as bags, spoons, plates and other disposable items Current Affairs News : Retailers, especially food and grocery chains, are grappling with the newly-implemented plastic ban in Maharashtra, saying that it is impractical in many instances. "For liquid items, what alternative do we have. When we have to move goods from one market to another, there is no alternative. Wherever it is possible, we have used an alternative but in many places, we do not know what to do," said Rakesh Biyani, joint managing director at Future Retail. Neville Noronha, managing director of D-Mart, said that the ban was unfair in commodities such as fresh produce and staples, among others, which are sold in small quantities. "If manufacturers can package the product with plastic, we also should be allowed to package products at the shop floor," he said. The government ...