Counterview

By A Representative   Power and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma has submitted a detailed representation to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), expressing serious concerns over the proposed Sharavati Pumped Storage Project (PSP) in Karnataka and the broader push for similar projects across India's river valleys.

By Mohd Ziyaullah Khan  Deep within the eastern Indian Ocean, bulldozers are beginning to reshape one of India's most remote and ecologically rich territories. Great Nicobar Island, a tropical paradise covered by ancient rainforests and home to one of the world's last largely uncontacted Indigenous communities, is at the centre of a massive development plan that promises economic growth, strategic security, and global connectivity.

By A Representative   According to a new analysis, a relentless heatwave that began in mid-April has pushed temperatures in India and Pakistan above 46°C in many areas, running 5–8°C above seasonal norms. The combination of extreme heat and high humidity, three resesrchers writing in The Conversations  warn, is creating dangerously lethal conditions across the subcontinent. At least 37 people have died in India and 10 in Pakistan, though the authors note these figures are “likely to be a major underestimate” as heat-related deaths are systemically undercounted in the region. Why this heatwave is different The researchers -- Andrew King , Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at The University of Melbourne ; Mika Peace , a Heatwave Research Scientist at The University of Adelaide ; and Sana Mahmood , a Research Associate in Climate Science at The University of Melbourne -- explain that persistent high-pressure weather systems have suppressed cloud formation an...

By A Representative   A detailed complaint has been submitted to the Bharuch District Collector, the regional office of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), and the district geologist, alleging large-scale illegal soil excavation and violations of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms near the Bhadbhut Dam project site in Manad village of Bharuch district.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak   The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have long promised to decolonise India's educational system and celebrate Indian culture, history, languages, and local knowledge traditions. Their stated objective has been to shape young minds within a framework of cultural nationalism by promoting a distinctly Indian educational vision. Hindutva politics has consistently opposed the dominance of the English language and advocated the inclusion of indigenous traditions and values in educational curricula. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, introduced under the BJP government, promised to Indianise the country's educational system. In reality, however, it facilitates the privatisation, marketisation, commercialisation, and commodification of education. For a rent-seeking state, education is increasingly treated not as a public good but as a commodity for sale. This approach is fully compatible w...

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ  The editorial of the latest issue of the Economic and Political Weekly (Vol. 61, No. 22, 30 May 2026) carries a compelling and incisive title: “The Great Nicobar Project: A Holistic Folly.” Its central argument is unequivocal: the project's claims of strategic significance are questionable, while the environmental damage it will inflict is certain.

By A Representative  Jan Swasthya Abhiyan India (JSAI) organized a national conference on occupational and environmental health at Gandhi Bhavan in Bhopal on World Environment Day, bringing together representatives of labour organizations, public health experts, environmental activists, and community members from across the country to discuss pressing concerns related to workers’ health, environmental degradation, climate change, and public health. Participants from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Assam, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan attended the conference, which featured four thematic sessions on occupational health, environmental health, climate change, and water and global warming. The conference stressed that occupational health and safety continue to be major public health concerns in India, particularly for workers employed in industries, mining, construction, domestic work, and other informal s...

By  Dr. Mansee Bal Bhargava  Looking from afar, from a region unaffected by the immediate crisis, it almost seemed strategic to use water cannons against protesters in the midst of the shocking water crisis in Indore, India's cleanest city. For the police, deploying water cannons may have felt like a subtle way of delivering water, since they are not directly responsible for water management. For the protesters, it may have felt like receiving water—at least temporarily—to quench thirst, bathe, drink, or wash clothes. Through the water cannons, there was, after all, some water. This may seem better than having none at all.

By Dr. Gurinder Kaur  India is currently in the grip of intense heat waves, with most of its cities experiencing exceptionally high temperatures. According to global air quality and temperature data, 97 of the world's 100 hottest cities on May 22, 2026, and all of the 100 hottest cities on May 23 were located in India. Maximum temperatures in these cities ranged between 44°C and 48°C. The scale and intensity of this heat underline a growing environmental crisis that can no longer be ignored.

By Vikas Meshram   Banswara , located at the southernmost tip of Rajasthan , is home to Ghatol block's Delwara Lokiya gram panchayat. In the village of Mahuwal, which falls under this panchayat, lives Baksu Bhai, an ordinary farmer. His family of six includes himself, his wife, and their children. For their livelihood, they have four bighas of agricultural land and a small grocery shop in the village. Together, these two sources of income could barely meet the family's basic needs. The farming depended on the seasons and the rains, and the shop was constrained by the village's limited purchasing power.

By Shankar Sharma*  India has set an ambitious target of expanding its nuclear power capacity from the current 9,000 MW to 100,000 MW over the next 20 years. The recently enacted SHANTI Act has added fresh momentum to this push. However, these developments have also raised serious and credible concerns among environmentalists and civil society groups across the country.

By Prof Hemantkumar Shah  Organic farming refers to cultivation without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Organic manure can be bought and sold, while natural farming generally involves the use of locally available materials as inputs. In India, the term “ organic farming ” is often also used for natural farming. In 2023–24, only about 2.5 to 3 percent of India’s total cultivated land, around 45 lakh hectares, was under organic farming. 

By Sudhansu R Das    A country is not merely a territory marked on a map. It behaves more like a living organism — growing, weakening, healing or declining depending on the environment in which it exists. Just as a human body requires nourishment, protection and balance to survive, a nation too needs strong institutions, healthy natural resources, ethical citizens and a clear vision for development.

By Priya Sharma, Dr. Mansee Bal Bhargava  On April 17, 2025, a Lake Walk at Ulsoor Lake hosted by Drop Talk brought together citizens and experts to reflect on the urgent need for connecting science and society in conserving Bengaluru’s lakes. The session, part of the ongoing Lake-Pond and Water Education series by Dr. Mansee Bal Bhargava, featured Prof. T. V. Ramachandra of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), a leading voice in ecological research and advocacy.  

By Shankar Sharma*  There is a sort of newfound euphoria sweeping India with respect to nuclear power — and in particular, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). In political speeches, policy documents, and newspaper editorials, the word "nuclear" has acquired a fresh, almost romantic glow, as though a technology once synonymous with catastrophe at Chernobyl and Fukushima has been quietly reinvented.  To be sure, the challenges of climate change and India's growing electricity demand are real and urgent. But enthusiasm is not a substitute for analysis. A hard look at the global evidence, the domestic cost picture, and the practical hurdles of nuclear deployment raises questions that this national conversation urgently needs to confront.

By Kuntal Mukherjee*  As fresh warnings emerge about the possible return of El Niño conditions and their likely impact on the southwest monsoon , concerns are once again growing across rural India. For urban India, El Niño may appear as just another climate phenomenon discussed in weather bulletins. But for millions of farmers, especially in central and eastern India, it can mean failed crops, mounting debts, water scarcity, distress migration , and deep psychological stress. In a country where agriculture remains heavily dependent on monsoon rainfall, the threat of an El Niño year is not merely meteorological; it is social, economic and humanitarian.

By Bharat Dogra   The Hindustan Times, a leading newspaper, reported on May 20, 2026, that twice this season the country’s highest daily temperature has been recorded in the city of Banda , located close to the Ken river in Uttar Pradesh, in the Bundelkhand region (which comprises 14 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh).

By Vikas Meshram   An invisible enemy has now made its home on farmlands across the world — and that enemy is the raging fury of rising temperatures. The picture painted by the joint report “ Extreme Heat and Agriculture ” from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is not merely alarming; it is directly linked to human existence itself. 

By Rajkumar Sinha*  According to recent studies, urban areas are witnessing a much sharper rise in temperatures than rural regions. The planet is currently heading toward an additional 1.9°C of warming — far beyond the target envisioned under the Paris Agreement . A team of climate scientists associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has noted that India’s average temperature increased by nearly 0.9°C during the decade between 2015 and 2024 compared to the early twentieth century (1901–1930). In western and northeastern India, the hottest day of the year has already become 1.5°C to 2°C warmer since the 1950s.

By Bharat Dogra   The National Alliance of People’s Movements has strongly criticized the arrests and repression of villagers and activists protesting against displacement linked to the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) in the Bundelkhand region . However, opposition to the controversial project has not been limited to grassroots groups. Since its inception, the project has faced criticism from government bodies, court-appointed authorities, retired officials and environmental experts.