Panchkula residents protest double garbage collection charges

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Panchkula: Residents of various housing societies are expressing frustration over being compelled to pay double for garbage collection services. Despite hiring private door-to-door waste collectors, they are still being billed by the municipal corporation (MC) for the same service.
Previously, following a dispute, the MC had waived these charges for two years.
However, this year, residents were surprised to receive garbage collection bills again, even though they continue to pay their private collectors. Col Avinash Sharma, a resident of Sun City Parikarma in Sector 20, which houses 1,113 flats, voiced his concern, stating that the MC's system is designed for streets and independent houses, not for societies.
He said residents are forced to pay both private collectors and the MC, as the latter's no-objection certificate (NOC) is essential for various administrative tasks in tehsils.
Krishan Jindal, president of the RWA of another society in Sector 20, echoed similar sentiments. He pointed out that despite receiving no waste collection service from the civic body, residents are still being charged. He called the charges unjust and demanded that the MC either exempt societies from these fees or deploy its own waste collectors to serve them.
Adding to the residents' grievances is the issue of some MC-hired waste collectors allegedly collecting monthly fee from residents, even though they are salaried employees of the corporation.
While the MC claimed in a recent house meeting that such payments are made voluntarily, many residents disagree. One resident from the sector said their collector charges Rs 100 monthly, despite the fact that they already pay annual garbage collection fees to the MC.
This has led to calls for a uniform and transparent policy to be implemented across the city.
Another unresolved issue is the lack of refunds for residents who paid garbage collection charges during the waiver period. The MC has stated that it has written to the department of urban local bodies regarding the matter but has yet to receive a response.
Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal clarified the MC's position, stating that there is no provision for waste collection from inside housing societies. According to him, the waste collection vehicles are designated to operate on roads and streets. He also explained that the charges collected by the MC are not solely for collection but also cover transportation and garbage processing.

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UPSC Key: Green India Mission, FASTag and Green Hydrogen

Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for June 20, 2025. If you missed the June 19, 2025 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here EXPLAINED New Green India Mission roadmap in climate change battle Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. What's the ongoing story: The Centre on Tuesday (June 17) released a revised roadmap for the National Mission for Green India, also known as the Green India Mission (GIM). In addition to the core objectives of increasing and restoring forest and green cover, the mission will focus on restoration in the Aravalli ranges, Western Ghats, Himalayas and mangroves. Key Points to Ponder: • The Green India Mission is a part of which Central government framework? • What is the primary goal of the revised Green India Mission? • Know the design and targets of the revised Green India Mission in meeting India's climate change objectives. • What is the importance of ecosystem services (carbon, biodiversity, hydrology) included under GIM and their long-term benefits? • Explain the role and challenges of convergence between GIM, MGNREGS, and CAMPA in achieving holistic forest restoration. • What are the strategies under GIM for urban greening and how they complement rural afforestation efforts? • Evaluate the progress and shortcomings of GIM since inception, including funding and ground implementation challenges. Key Takeaways: • The GIM is a key component of India's efforts to combat the effects of climate change. While the focus remains on improving forest cover, tackling land degradation and desertification will also feature prominently in the revised roadmap. • GIM was rolled out in 2014 as one of the eight missions under India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). Its core aim is to combat climate change by increasing forest and tree cover, and the ecological restoration of degraded ecosystems and forests. It also aims to improve the livelihoods of communities dependent on forest produce. More specifically, its objective was to increase forest and tree cover on 5 million hectares and improve the quality of forest cover on another 5 million hectares. • Between 2015-16 and 2020-21, the mission facilitated tree plantation and afforestation activities across 11.22 million hectares (mha) of land, through central and state schemes. Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, the Centre released Rs 624.71 crore to 18 states for interventions under GIM and Rs 575.55 crore has been utilised, according to an Environment Ministry response tabled in Lok Sabha this February. • Activities under GIM are concentrated in states based on mapping of ecological vulnerability, potential for sequestration (the process by which plants and trees store carbon using photosynthesis), forest and land degradation, and restoration potential. Do You Know: • The Green India Mission document was revised to account for on-ground climate impacts and feedback received from implementing partner states and scientific institutions, environment ministry officials told The Indian Express. A central focus of the revised mission plan will be on the restoration and saturation of vulnerable landscapes through regionally conducive best practices. This will see area and landscape-specific restoration activities in three important mountain ranges – the Aravallis, the Western Ghats, and the Indian Himalayas, along with the mangrove ecosystems. • For instance, GIM interventions will be synced with the Centre's recently launched Aravalli Green Wall project, aimed at combating the degradation and desertification in one of the world's oldest mountain ranges, which acts as a natural barrier against the Thar desert. • Around a third of India's geographical area – 97.85 million hectares – underwent land degradation during 2018-19, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation's Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas. India aims to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide through additional forest and tree cover by 2030, according to its national commitments to tackle climate change submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The natural carbon sinks of forests, restored grasslands, wetlands, and mountain ecology will help offset greenhouse gas emissions and act as natural sponges and barriers in absorbing climate change impacts. • To restore large swathes of forests and degraded lands, restoration of impaired open forests is key, cost-effective and high-impact for CO2 sequestration, the revised GIM roadmap says, based on Forest Survey of India's (FSI) estimates. According to the FSI, this approach alone has the potential to sequester 1.89 billion tonnes of CO2 over approximately 15 million hectares. It also estimates that by aligning ongoing schemes and intensifying afforestation efforts, GIM can help India expand its forest and tree cover up to 24.7 million hectares. This would be enough to achieve a carbon sink of 3.39 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030, as per the FSI's projections. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Revised Green India Mission plan: Centre to focus on Aravalli, Western Ghats restoration Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme: 📍Examine the status of forest resources of India and its resultant impact on climate change. (UPSC 2020) Cost of pulses, oil imports Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies III: Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country What's the ongoing story: Rao Gulab Singh Lodi has harvested roughly 90 quintals of summer moong (green gram) from his 16-acre land in Nanhegaon village of Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district. Key Points to Ponder: • What are the primary drivers behind India's rising import bill since 2013–14. • What policy responses have been implemented? • Know the macroeconomic risks posed by India's heavy dependence on crude oil and LNG imports. • What are the implications of imported fuel costs on food inflation and household welfare? • What are the structural and cyclical challenges caused by high pulses and edible oil imports on Indian agriculture and farmers' incomes? Key Takeaways: • The government's apathy in procuring the pulses crop that's fetching Rs 6,000 or so per quintal in the open market, as against its official minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 8,682. • It's not only moong. Lodhi cultivates soyabean during the kharif (monsoon) season, sowing the leguminous oilseed in early-July and harvesting by mid-October, followed by chana (chickpea) and masoor (red lentil) during rabi (winter-spring). After harvesting masoor towards March 10 and chana around March 15-20, he sows summer moong that matures in 60-70 days. • The woes for Indian pulses and oilseeds growers come amid all-time-high imports during 2024-25 (April-March). In the case of pulses, these touched 7.3 million tonnes (mt) and valued at $5.5 billion, surpassing the previous record of 6.6 mt and $4.2 billion for 2016-17. • Pulses imports had actually registered a substantial dip after 2017-18, to an average of 2.6 mt worth $1.7 billion during the subsequent five years (Charts 1a and 1b). This came on the back of improved domestic production. India's pulses output, which stood at 19.3 mt in 2013-14 and 17.2 mt in 2014-15 and 16.3 mt in 2015-16 (both drought years), climbed to 27.3 mt in 2021-22 and 26.1 mt in 2022-23. • Much of that was courtesy of chana and moong, with scientists breeding short-duration varieties (100-120 days) requiring hardly any irrigation in the former and those amenable to growing across all seasons in the latter. Farmers today plant moong in kharif and rabi as well as spring and summer. Do You Know: • CPI inflation in vegetable oils, unlike pulses, has been ruling at double digits since November 2024, with the latest May reading at 17.9%. It explains the Modi government's decision, on May 30, to cut the basic customs duty on crude palm, soyabean and sunflower oil from 20% to 10% and the overall import tariff (after adding an agriculture cess and social welfare surcharge) from 27.5% to 16.5%. • The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects the lowering of duty to result in a 'further increase' in soyabean oil imports by India. Although its market is dominated by Argentina, 'the reduced tariff can boost the import of US soyabean oil,' a USDA report, dated June 10, has stated. • All this would mean imports likely hitting a new high in the current fiscal, even as the USDA has projected a record-breaking global vegetable oil output of 235 mt for 2025-26, led by palm (80.7 mt) and soyabean (70.8 mt). And that may not be good news for farmers like Lodhi. • The Soyabean Processors Association of India has expressed concern over the 11-percentage points duty cut, which is expected to 'flood the Indian market with cheaper imported oils'. That will make oilseed cultivation less attractive to farmers, who may sow less area and switch to other more profitable crops in this kharif season, said Davish Jain, chairman of the Indore-based association. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Pulses production goes up: The success story of chana and moong FASTAG ANNUAL PASS: HOW HIGHWAY TRAVEL FOR RS 3,000 WILL WORK Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights. What's the ongoing story: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday (June 18) announced a FASTag-based annual pass of Rs 3,000 for 'hassle-free-highway travel'. He said the new system, exclusively for non-commercial private vehicles such as cars, jeeps, and vans, will address the 'long-standing concerns' regarding toll plazas. Key Points to Ponder: • What is FASTag? • What is the FASTag Annual Pass scheme? • What counts as a single trip under the Annual Pass? • Is the FASTagAnnual Pass mandatory? • Which vehicles are covered under the pass? • How will it be activated? • Are all toll plazas covered under the pass? • Will the Annual Pass fee be revised? Key Takeaways: • Gadkari said the FASTag-based passes will be effective from August 15 and valid for one year or 200 trips or crossings, whichever comes earlier. He also said that users will save at least Rs. 7,000 per pass, and the average cost of crossing one toll plaza will be only Rs 15. • FASTag is an electronic toll collection system managed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). A FASTag sticker is usually pasted on the windscreen of a car. It was launched in 2014 as a pilot project and made mandatory at every toll plaza in the country in 2021. • The new annual pass scheme, activated on the FASTag, will allow free passage of private car, jeep or van at National Highway (NH) and National Expressway (NE) fee plazas for the given duration, without per-trip user fee charges. • Once the Annual Pass completes either 200 trips or one year from the date of activation, it will automatically revert to a regular FASTag. However, the user may re-purchase the Annual Pass once the 200-trip limit is exhausted, even if the one-year validity period has not yet ended. • The pass is non-transferable and is valid only for the vehicle on which the FASTag is affixed and registered. • For the point-based fee plazas, each crossing of the fee plaza will be counted as one trip. A round trip (to and fro) will be counted as two trips. For closed tolling fee plazas, one pair of entry and exit will be counted as one trip. Do You Know: • FASTag is a sticker or a tag usually pasted on the windscreen of the car. The device uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to communicate with scanner installed at toll plazas. —Once the car crosses the toll plaza the requisite toll amount is automatically deducted from a bank account or a prepaid walled linked to the FASTag. Vehicles can drive through plazas without stopping. If the tag is linked to a prepaid account like a wallet, or a debit/credit card, then owners need to recharge/top up the tag. If it is linked to a savings account, then the money will get deducted automatically after the balance goes below a pre-defined threshold. Once a vehicle crosses the toll, the owner gets an SMS alert on the deduction. The alert is like money getting debited from accounts or wallets. • Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves to automatically identify various tagged objects. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a wireless tracking method that uses tags and readers to track objects. Transponder, receiver, and transmitter are the three components of an RFID system. The RFID reader continually sends radio waves of a specific frequency in RFID system. If the object to which the RFID tag is attached is within the range of the radio waves, it provides feedback to the RFID reader, which then identifies the object based on the feedback. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Nitin Gadkari announces FASTag annual pass at Rs 3,000 for 'hassle-free highway travel' The Great Charter: How Magna Carta came to be, and why its legacy endures Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries What's the ongoing story: Eight hundred and ten years ago, almost to the day, an English king agreed to a seminal document laying down principles that would help establish the foundations of modern democracies. Key Points to Ponder: • The Magna Carta has been hailed as the cornerstone of modern democracy-Evaluate its relevance in contemporary constitutional democracies. • Discuss the socio-political conditions in 13th-century England that led to the signing of the Magna Carta. • 'The Magna Carta laid the foundation for the rule of law.' Examine the statement with relevant examples. • How did the Magna Carta influence the evolution of constitutional governance in Britain and the USA? • Compare the ideas of justice and liberty in the Magna Carta with those in the Indian Constitution. Key Takeaways: • The Magna Carta (Latin for 'Great Charter') was signed on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede Meadows near London. English barons collectively sought to restrict King John's arbitrary orders and had him agree to several principles, most importantly that the king could only act under the law. • Last month, Harvard University discovered one of the earliest versions of the document in its collections, dating back to the year 1300, previously assumed to be a copy. 'Considered a key step in the evolution of human rights against oppressive rulers, Magna Carta has formed the basis of constitutions around the world,' Harvard Law School noted on May 15. • The Magna Carta was sealed at a time when King John witnessed several military failures. In 1204, the King of France took Normandy and Anjou. To fund expeditions to take back those lands, John raised taxes on his subjects. • The more immediate cause of the barons' rebellion against King John was his defeat in the battle of Bouvines in 1214, at the hands of the King of France, Philip II Augustus. • In the medieval feudal structure, barons were granted varying sizes of land in exchange for their loyalty and services to the monarch, such as providing knights during wars. Such was the prevailing discontent against John's treatment of the barons and his insistence on launching wars despite constant defeats, that they refused support for the battle. He then allied with the German Holy Roman Emperor Otto and the Counts of Flanders and Boulogne, but lost. Do You Know: • A critical view of the charter is that it strictly dealt with the distribution of powers among the elite – the king and the barons. On its 800th anniversary in 2015, a BBC report said 'free men' mentioned in clause 39 accounted for less than half the population at the time. 'The rest were serfs, to whom the charter did not apply. And 'men' meant men — women, except for widows, merit barely a mention in Magna Carta,' it said. Its modern links to democracy are also debatable, as it wasn't aimed at actually democratising the political setup. • English historian David Carpenter, in an essay for The Guardian, wrote that despite these lacunae, the document still resulted in 'the most radical and detailed restrictions on the ruler' in Europe. That wasn't because of magnanimity on the king's part, but because he was 'uniquely demanding and intrusive' of his subjects, 'thanks to the pressures of maintaining a continental empire' that stretched to modern-day southern France. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Across the Aisle: Magna Carta does not assure liberty FRONT PAGE Cash couldn't have been in store without consent of Justice Varma, family: Panel Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance Main Examination: General Studies II: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity. What's the ongoing story: Underlining 'implied responsibility', the three-member panel of judges, which probed the allegation of cash being found at the official residence of Justice Yashwant Varma in Delhi when a fire broke out there on March 14, held him responsible for 'misconduct'. Key Points to Ponder: • Who is Justice Yashwant Varma • Why Justice Yashwant Varma is in news? • What you know about Justice Varma case? • Discuss the significance of judicial accountability in ensuring the independence of the judiciary in India. • The Justice Varma case highlights what? • The judiciary is expected to remain impartial and independent of political influence—analyse judicial appointments and removals impact this independence. Key Takeaways: • In its 64-page report, the panel, comprising Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana, Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, and Justice Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, said when the government allots a residence to a public servant, it 'carries with it the responsibility upon the occupant to keep the premises free of items or material which may give rise to suspicion in the eyes of the common man'. • The report, indicting Justice Varma, was formally submitted on May 4 to then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna. After the CJI forwarded the report to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government initiated the process of bringing an impeachment motion against Justice Varma in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament. • On the issue of lapses by the police, and why a panchnama was not made by the Tughlaq Road police immediately after the fire was doused, the panel said that while the police were 'slipshod' in their action, the issue was beyond the committee's remit. • The committee devised its own procedure, ensuring that 'all the incriminating material, including the statements of all the witnesses recorded during the enquiry' were shared with Justice Varma and video recording the statements of the witnesses so that these 'could not be challenged at a subsequent point of time and also for confirmation whether such statements were in sum and substance recorded correctly'. • The report also pointed out contradictions in the statements of Rajinder Singh Karki, who was Justice Varma's private secretary. According to the report, Karki said in his deposition that 'he came to know about the burnt currency in the house for the first time after six to seven days after the fire incident.' Justice Varma had also stated in his earlier statements to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court that his staff was not aware of any discovery of cash on the night of the fire. Do You Know: • If the committee renders a guilty finding, the report of the committee is then adopted by the House in which it was introduced, and the judge's removal is debated. • For an impeachment motion against an SC or HC judge to go through, at least two-thirds of those 'present and voting' in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha must vote in favour of removing the judge — and the number of votes in favour must be more than 50% of the 'total membership' of each House. If Parliament passes such a vote, the President will pass an order for the removal of the judge. • The process of impeachment of a judge of the Supreme Court is laid down in Article 124(4) of the Constitution of India. Article 218 says the same provisions shall apply in relation to a judge of the High Court as well. • Under Article 124(4), a judge can be removed by Parliament through a laid-down procedure on only two grounds: 'proved misbehaviour' and 'incapacity'. • In other words, for an impeachment motion against an SC or HC judge to go through, at least two-thirds of those 'present and voting' in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha must vote in favour of removing the judge — and the number of votes in favour must be more than 50% of the 'total membership' of each House. • Once the MPs submit the motion, the presiding officer of the House can either accept or reject it. If accepted, a three-member committee, comprising two judges and a jurist, is constituted to probe the complaint and determine if it is a case fit for initiating the process of impeachment. • The committee includes one judge from the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of a High Court if the complaint is against a High Court judge, or two Supreme Court judges if the complaint is against a sitting judge of the apex court. • As Article 124 (4) of the Constitution says, the motion for impeachment 'has to be supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-third of the members of the House present and voting' – in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. • So far there have been four attempts to impeach High Court judges and two to remove Supreme Court judges, with the last being in 2018 against then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. None of the motions cleared the entire process. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Cash at residence: Govt likely to bring motion to impeach Justice Varma THE EDITORIAL PAGE THE MISSING MINING DRIVE Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies-II, III: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests, Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment, Science and Technology. What's the ongoing story: It is near-impossible to secure mineral supply chains from overseas — even the US is struggling. As a country that is geologically rich, India must explore within Key Points to Ponder: • What are critical minerals? • Why critical minerals are significant for India's economic and strategic security? • Discuss the objectives and key features of the newly approved National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM). • Analyse the role of critical minerals in India's transition to renewable energy, electric mobility, and high-tech manufacturing. • Explain the global supply chain dynamics of critical minerals. • How does the Critical Minerals Mission align with India's broader industrial policies such as 'Make in India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'? • What is the difference between critical minerals and rare earth elements? • Which country has the most rare earth deposits? • What effects does China's dominance over the processing of rare earth magnets have on global supply chains? Key Takeaways: • The president of the world's largest economy has put critical minerals at the core of his foreign and domestic agenda. The reason Donald Trump wants to 'annex' Canada and Greenland is to have control over their vast mineral wealth. The only reason he is remotely interested in solving the Russia-Ukraine conflict is the potential for the US to access Ukraine's rich mineral resources. • At home, Trump is opening up vast tracts of federal land — previously on no-go lists — for mineral exploration on a fast-track basis, cutting approvals time from a year to less than a month. Minerals have also taken centre-stage in the global trade war. China is using its disproportionate control over rare earth materials to threaten the US and the rest of the world with the debilitating consequences of restricted supply. • The fourth industrial revolution, which involves AI, robotics and big data, is also mineral-intensive. For example, any digital or digital connectivity infrastructure requires copper in large quantities. Copper is critical because of its electrical conductivity. • Data centres, the backbone of big data and AI, consume a lot of copper. They also consume large amounts of energy. To mitigate climate change, a lot of this needs to be sourced from renewable sources. There are several other examples of the mineral intensity of emerging technologies. As the adoption of these technologies grows, the demand-supply gap of critical minerals will grow. Do You Know: • Critical minerals that are essential for economic development and national security, and the lack of availability of these minerals or the concentration of extraction or processing in a few geographical locations could potentially lead to 'supply chain vulnerabilities and even disruption of supplies'. This is true for minerals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, titanium, and rare earth elements, which are essential for the advancement of many sectors, including high-tech electronics, telecommunications, transport, and defence. • One of the definitions cited in the report characterises a mineral as critical when the risk of supply shortage and associated impact on the economy is (relatively) higher than other raw materials. This definition of a critical mineral was first adopted in the US and the subsequent legislation that resulted from the analysis, the report said. The European Union also carried out a similar exercise and categorised critical minerals on the basis of two prerequisites: supply risk and economic importance. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Govt approves Rs 16,300-cr National Critical Minerals Mission ECONOMY Green hydrogen: Govt, industry bullish, but demand falters a mid-global head wind Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. What's the ongoing story: Stakeholders in India's nascent green hydrogen sector remain bullish that the alternate fuel 'is going to be big', but weak export demand — driven by geopolitical instability and policy reversals in key markets — is slowing down the pace of expansion. Key Points to Ponder: • What is green hydrogen? • Hydrogen and its Types • How green hydrogen differs from traditional emissions-intensive 'grey' hydrogen and blue hydrogen? • How is the policy set to boost domestic production of green hydrogen production? • What are the facilities to boost export of green hydrogen? • What are the challenges and opportunities associated with the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme in India. • What are carbon credits and how does India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) aim to operationalize them? • Compare and contrast the green hydrogen policies of India with those of developed nations such as Germany or Japan. Key Takeaways: • At an industry event on Thursday, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Secretary, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, said, 'One key factor, from an entrepreneur's perspective, is market visibility. That market — due to a variety of reasons such as geopolitical tensions and policy backtracking by some governments, including the US where the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) is stalled — has created some skepticism about whether this transition will move forward.' • The IRA, widely seen as the most significant net-zero carbon emissions intervention in the US, is under threat from President Donald Trump's proposed 'Big Beautiful Bill', currently up for Senate consideration. It includes production tax credits meant to incentivize the deployment of low-carbon hydrogen. • The MNRE Secretary said India is in discussions with Europe, specifically the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, to ensure that green hydrogen and its derivatives exported to these countries are transported smoothly. Reduction of import duties on India's green hydrogen exports is also a part of ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Europe, he said. • ReNew, a major renewables player in India, is developing a green ammonia project in Odisha. However, weak export demand remains a major hurdle for offtake. Do You Know: • Green hydrogen, produced by powering electrolysers with renewable energy, is a key feedstock for green ammonia, made by combining hydrogen with nitrogen. Green ammonia has applications as a low-carbon fertiliser and as a fuel for shipping. • A new report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Bain & Company, and RMI released on Thursday said, 'The slowed momentum primarily stems from the current high production costs along with nascent enabling infrastructure and high financing costs. Current production costs — $4-$5 per kg of green hydrogen vs. $2.3-$2.5 per kg of grey hydrogen typically (some industries may procure at higher costs) — are not yet competitive.' • In 2023, the Central government launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission, setting a target of 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen production capacity by 2030, backed by an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore. Under the mission, the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme aims to support both green hydrogen production and electrolyser manufacturing. • The CII report outlines five immediate demand-side strategies to accelerate green hydrogen adoption. It recommends blending small amounts of green hydrogen into existing grey hydrogen or piped natural gas supplies for high-volume sectors such as refineries, fertilisers, and city gas networks, while factoring in technical feasibility. It suggests encouraging substitution in niche industries such as glass, ceramics, and chemicals where switching is cost-neutral. Public procurement, especially for green steel, can also help scale domestic demand. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍India's green hydrogen push For any queries and feedback, contact Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. Priya Kumari Shukla is a Senior Copy Editor in the Indian Express (digital). She contributes to the UPSC Section of Indian Express (digital) and started niche initiatives such as UPSC Key, UPSC Ethics Simplified, and The 360° UPSC Debate. The UPSC Key aims to assist students and aspirants in their preparation for the Civil Services and other competitive examinations. It provides valuable guidance on effective strategies for reading and comprehending newspaper content. The 360° UPSC Debate tackles a topic from all perspectives after sorting through various publications. The chosen framework for the discussion is structured in a manner that encompasses both the arguments in favour and against the topic, ensuring comprehensive coverage of many perspectives. Prior to her involvement with the Indian Express, she had affiliations with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) as well as several coaching and edutech enterprises. In her prior professional experience, she was responsible for creating and refining material in various domains, including article composition and voiceover video production. She has written in-house books on many subjects, including modern India, ancient Indian history, internal security, international relations, and the Indian economy. She has more than eight years of expertise in the field of content writing. Priya holds a Master's degree in Electronic Science from the University of Pune as well as an Executive Programme in Public Policy and Management (EPPPM) from the esteemed Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, widely recognised as one of the most prestigious business schools in India. She is also an alumni of Jamia Milia Islamia University Residential Coaching Academy (RCA). Priya has made diligent efforts to engage in research endeavours, acquiring the necessary skills to effectively examine and synthesise facts and empirical evidence prior to presenting their perspective. Priya demonstrates a strong passion for reading, particularly in the genres of classical Hindi, English, Maithili, and Marathi novels and novellas. Additionally, she possessed the distinction of being a cricket player at the national level. Qualification, Degrees / other achievements: Master's degree in Electronic Science from University of Pune and Executive Programme in Public Policy and Management (EPPPM) from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta ... Read More

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Jharkhand: Stone mining is driving nilgai into fields, destroying harvest

Sirajoodeen Ansari, a 65-year-old farmer, has watched season after season of hard labour go to waste. 'First, I cultivated paddy, but it was completely ruined. Then I planted maize. Again, it was completely destroyed. And when the rabi season arrived, and I sowed wheat, not a single grain was spared by the nilgai,' says the farmer from Murumdag village in Chhatarpur block, Palamu district of Jharkhand. Ansari is not alone. In this arid patch of Palamu, where water is scarce and the soil unforgiving – farmers wage a nightly vigil over their fields. For two and a half months, they lie awake, patrolling the wheat under the moonlight, yet any momentary lapse, 'even the blink of an eye', as one farmer puts it, is enough to miss the speedy descent of the nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) that strips the crop bare. Protected under Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, these animals move with impunity. Mahfooz Alam, another resident of Murumdag, describes their makeshift defence mechanisms, 'I would take four dogs into the fields and tie them at the foot of my charpoys [rope cots] so that if any nilgai comes, the dogs would bark, and it would wake me.' Despite such precautions, Alam lost his entire harvest this year to destruction by the nilgai, sustaining a loss of Rs 1 lakh. Just 10 years ago, such devastation was unheard of. 'Back then, the land yielded so much lentil that after saving enough for our own needs, we used to sell five quintals,' Alam recalls. 'There were no nilgai to worry about; we simply planted and harvested.' The turning point came with the onset of stone-crusher mining in the area, the village residents complain. As heavy machinery tore through the earth, it disrupted the animals' natural habitat and drove them onto farmland. For farmers like Ansari and Alam, the toll is more than financial; it is a loss of security and dignity. 'How long can we guard our fields?' asks Alam. 'If I stay awake all night, I must sleep during the day – and then the nilgai strike', referring to the extent of the problem where they are now concerned about nilgai attacking their fields at all times of the day. Both the farmers have borrowed money from relatives to meet their farming expenses, and they are now trapped in a cycle of debt. With their farms being run over by the nilgai, they have lost any hope of repayment. With mounting debts and diminishing yields, the farmers face an uncertain future. 'Forget about the next generation; from this year, I will not do farming,' says Alam in anger. Alam and Ansari are among the last handful of farmers in their village who are still farming. 'The rest have either left farming and migrated to work as labourers or are doing some other work,' explains Ansari. But these individual losses are part of a much larger trend. According to the latest data obtained by Mongabay India from Jharkhand's District Forest Department, since 2000, when the state of Jharkhand was formed, Palamu district has recorded 4,787 human-animal conflict incidents, with Rs 38.9 million paid in compensation so far. Of these, 586 were crop damage cases – destroying over 300 hectares of farmland – while 23 involved livestock losses and 54 were incidents of house damage. So far, these conflicts have claimed 10 lives and injured 22 people. In case of death due to a nilgai attack, there is a provision for compensation of Rs 4 lakh. For crop damage, compensation ranges from Rs 10,833 per hectare to a maximum of Rs 21,666. However, neither Alam nor Ansari was aware of this compensation. Stone mining 'There are several reasons for the increasing human-animal conflict: population growth, infrastructure development, and mining activities,' says Satyam Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer, Medininagar, the administrative headquarters of Palamu district. 'Population growth and infrastructure development are purely push factors, but mining acts as both a push and a pull factor,' he adds. He means that mining not only destroys ecosystems and pushes wildlife out but also draws human settlements and activities deeper into forest areas, increasing the likelihood of conflict. The Medininagar Forest Division, which covers all seven forest ranges of Palamu district – Chainpur, Chhatarpur East, Chhatarpur West, Kundri, Manatu, Mohammad Ganj and Patan – spans over 154,000 hectares. 'We have a large, notified forest area, but the quality, density and canopy cover of the forest land itself are not very good,' says Kumar. Of the seven forest ranges in Palamu, only Manatu and Kundri still have healthy tree cover. 'In those two ranges, human-animal conflict is very low,' Kumar explains. 'But in the other ranges, there are so many stone crushers.' Where crushers and mines break up the forest, wildlife moves closer to villages, looking for water and grazing land. 'For tree regeneration, you need water and good soil. You do not want pollution.' When dust from mines settles on leaves and soil, young shoots cannot grow. The hard, polluted ground cannot hold water, and seeds fail to sprout. The mining industry brings more than dust. 'Habitat fragmentation is taking place,' says Kumar. 'The water table is dropping, so forest productivity is going down. Natural ponds and streams are drying up. Even the nilgai cannot find water.' With fewer rainy days and polluted soils, forests lose their natural balance. Plants die, animals wander into farmland, and conflict rises. Early findings To assess the impact of mining and crusher operations on local biodiversity, the Medininagar Forest Division has launched a pilot study at the beginning of 2025 at sites with the highest concentration of extractive activity – Itakdag, Murumdag, Bachkoma, Charai, and others in Palamu district. Under the chairmanship of the Divisional Forest Officer, a dedicated team — guided in part by Indian Forest Service probationer Navaneeth BR — is conducting a preliminary evaluation using Forest Survey of India reports, recent satellite imagery, and on-the-ground observations. 'The initial findings reveal that mining and crusher operations have had clear negative effects on flora, fauna, and water bodies – damage that is already exacerbating human-wildlife conflict in the region,' says Navaneeth BR. As part of this preliminary investigation, a comparative study is being carried out between villages located in mining zones and those outside them. Initial observations indicate that areas with rampant illegal mining have experienced greater biodiversity loss, reduced water bodies, and increased human-animal conflict. In contrast, villages without illegal mining have shown improvements in biodiversity, an increase in water bodies, and a decline in human-animal conflict. Mongabay India also visited three villages where the study is being conducted, Murumdag, Cherai, and Bachkoma and documented the same patterns of habitat degradation and biodiversity loss. As one crossed the rural roads of Chattarpur block, clouds of dust, the distant roar of crushers, and convoys of laden lorries made it impossible to ignore the scale of disturbance to both wildlife and local communities. Current mining laws Kumar says current mining laws aren't strict enough. Companies only need to stay 250 metres from the forest edge – too small a distance since dust still drifts in and stops young trees from growing. He argues the buffer should be at least one kilometre. The law also calls for a green belt around each mine and sprinklers to control dust. In Palamu, though, most mines and crushers ignore these rules: they remove green belts, skip dust systems, and over-pump groundwater, says Satyam Kumar. Without strong oversight, forests bear the full brunt of mining. 'And with only a 250-metre buffer, the forest remains under constant pressure from illegal mining,' he adds. The impact is visible. According to Forest Survey of India data, between 2011 and 2021, Palamu's water bodies shrank from 6,929.21 ha to 4,985.54 ha – a decline of 1,943.67 ha (about 28.1%). Over the same decade, very dense forest cover fell from 5,369.35 ha to 5,149.01 ha, a loss of 220.34 ha (about 4.1%). When asked about the decline in very dense forests, Harsha Kumar – a GIS expert with the Palamu Forest Division – points to deeper structural issues. 'It's not just about dense forest – there's hardly any regeneration happening,' he says. 'Let's say in 2011, there was open forest, and plantation work was underway. The division covers 1,688 sq km, but how much can we realistically plant? Even if we manage one sq km per year, in 10 years, that's only 10 sq km added through plantations. Meanwhile, mining can destroy 25 sq km in the same period. So even if we gain ten square km through planting, we lose far more to mining.' Forest guards are also ill-equipped to deal with illegal mining. 'Each forest guard is responsible for nearly 30 sq km of forest territory, but it isn't one contiguous block – 2 sq km here, 4 sq km there, 8 sq km elsewhere… that's how fragmented it is,' says Kumar. Most guards are unarmed and poorly equipped, leaving them vulnerable to periodic attacks by the mining mafia. In one recent incident, five forest guards were brutally beaten, according to the FIR registered at the Chhatarpur Block Police Station on March 23, 2025. When contacted, forest guard Ashutosh Tiwari explained, 'All of us live in fear of the mafia – none of our attackers have been arrested. We have no weapons, so when we're beaten, there's no justice.' Palamu currently has over 300 legally registered stone-crusher units, according to the Jharkhand Department of Mines and Geology. But those official numbers may only be the tip of the iceberg. Village residents and Satyam Kumar both estimate that unlicensed – or outright illegal – crushing units could outnumber the legal ones by a wide margin. 'All night, you can hear tractors roaring from the forest edge, blasting loud music and crushing stone,' says Kanhai Prasad of Charai village. He shows the damage, and even his mesh netting can't stop. 'Ours was once a prosperous village, but not anymore.' He has set up a mesh net around a plot near his house to protect the vegetables he is already growing from nilgai. The 64-year-old farmer owns six acres of land, but it isn't all in one place. As the nilgai invasion intensified in his village, his cultivated area kept shrinking. Now, he can only farm the three bighas (about 2.2 acres) right next to his home. 'How can I possibly guard all of it by myself?' he says in frustration. Way forward 'To combat man-animal conflict, we're zoning the entire Medininagar Forest Division into three distinct areas. First, zones that are comparatively richer in biodiversity and already have water sources will be developed further to create even better habitats,' says Kumar. Second, in the scrub and open-forest zones, we will carry out massive plantations of native species under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority, or CAMPA, and Green Credit Scheme, alongside grading operations and the creation of new water bodies. Third, for the completely rocky areas, we will consult expert institutions – such as the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and the Institute of Forest Productivity in Ranchi, as well as other specialised bodies – to advise us on the best grading techniques.' 'Even if the government gives us nothing more,' Ansari sighed, 'just enough mesh fencing per acre – and we'd stand a chance.'

Time of India

5 hours ago

• Time of India

Rispana-Bindal road projects: Concerns grow over environmental impact, lack of rehab plan

Dehradun: Concerns over the Rs 6,500 crore Rispana-Bindal elevated road project, which is touted as a 'solution to Doon's traffic woes' have intensified with several stakeholders, including residents, activists, and thousands of slum dwellers who may be displaced, expressing apprehension regarding the proposed 26-km elevated corridor, planned over the Rispana and Bindal riverbeds, aims to ease city traffic and offer a quicker route to Mussoorie. But activists claim it may cause irreversible ecological damage and permanently alter Dehradun's skyline. On Tuesday, the Dehradun Citizens Forum hosted a Town Hall Meet on the project at The Doon Library & Research Centre. The session featured a presentation by PWD engineer Jitendra Tripathi and consultancy firm Spectrum. Attended by over 100 professionals from diverse fields, the event saw strong calls for the immediate public release of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and an inclusive cost-benefit analysis. Participants also urged that river rejuvenation efforts proceed independently of the corridor project. Officials said detailed project reports (DPRs) have been prepared and submitted to the state govt for approval. The criticism about the project centres on two fronts -- environmentalists fear the project will severely impact the Doon valley's ecology, while social activists warn of the large-scale displacement of residents once construction begins. The project also contradicts previous claims by the state govt to rejuvenate the rivers. Activists fear that such a large-scale infrastructure undertaking will leave no scope for restoration and could mark the end of these rivers. They are demanding transparency, environmental safeguards, and clear rehabilitation policies before work starts on the elevated road network. "There is both curiosity and concern among residents across Dehradun about the elevated roads being built over the fragile riverbeds of Rispana and Bindal," said social activist Anoop Nautiyal. "With pillars up to 15 metres high, this corridor risks permanently changing the city's ecological fabric. We're demanding that the Environmental Impact Assessment report be made public so that citizens can engage meaningfully and assess the true costs." Activists also called for public involvement in planning major infrastructure projects, especially those that claim to serve public interest. "There is often a stark contrast between govt claims and ground realities," said Manoj Dewaria, a resident of Kanwali Road. "They say it's to ease traffic, but what about the thousands of families whose future now hangs in the balance? There's been no talk of compensation or rehabilitation. What kind of public policy is this?" With project details still unclear, activists have filed several RTIs, but responses have been vague. One such reply from the PWD, accessed by TOI, stated: "In light of increasing traffic pressure in Dehradun and unavailability of space for road widening, the construction of the Rispana-Bindal elevated corridor is proposed. This will provide relief from traffic congestion in Dehradun. The project is under process and until its completion, specific details cannot be provided. "