All of Us Will Suffocate and Die’: High Court to Centre on Delhi Gymkhana Eviction Notice
Visual Credits: Wikimedia Commons
The Delhi High Court questioned the Centre’s move to take over nearly 200-year-old properties, including the iconic Delhi Gymkhana Club, Delhi Race Club, and Jaipur Polo Grounds, purportedly for “public purpose”, reported the HT.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said these heritage and open spaces serve as vital “breather” for Delhi residents in a city grappling with pollution, and replacing them with high-rise structures could cause the Capital to “suffocate” and eventually render it unfit for its inhabitants, the newspaper said.
“What are you going to do with all these heritage structures? Even Gymkhana is a heritage structure. What are you going to do? Make 20-storey buildings? Delhi will suffocate. You do all that you want to. [That area] is a little breather we have. That is all also going to go. All of us will suffocate and die,” the court remarked to the Centre’s standing counsel Ashish Dixit.
The observations were made while the court was hearing a petition filed by the Indian Polo Association (IPA) challenging an eviction order issued on May 20 under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act. The order directed the vacation of the 15.20-acre Jaipur Polo Grounds by June 4.
Top Court-directed Plantation for Illegal Felling of 1,100 Trees in Ridge Gets Namo Oxygen Park Tag
Compensatory plantation ordered by the Supreme Court after Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) illegal felling of over 1,100 trees in Southern Ridge in 2024 was inaugurated as Namo Oxygen Parks. The trees in the reserve area were felled to widen the road leading to Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences in south Delhi, reported TOI and the Tribune.
The newspapers said that on World Environment Day, Union ministers Bhupender Yadav and Kirti Vardhan Singh, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta and environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa inaugurated 18 Namo Oxygen Parks spread over 185.4 acres across Delhi. Officials said the locations included Karala, Pansali, Prahladpur Banger, Shahpur Garhi, Alipur and Tikri Khurd in north Delhi; Maidangarhi and Satbari in south Delhi; and Dhoolsiras in west Delhi.
Industrial Pollution Allegations Surface After Mass Fish Deaths in Assam’s Kharkhari River
Thousands of fish have been found dead in the Kharkhari River in Assam’s Boko area, “raising concerns over possible industrial pollution and its impact on local livelihoods and aquatic biodiversity”. India Today reported.
The incident was reported along a stretch of the river from Shola to Trilochan, where residents observed large numbers of dead fish floating in the water and scattered along the riverbanks. Species reportedly affected include Puthi, Khalihna, Dorikona and Borali, all of which are commonly found in the river ecosystem.
Local residents have alleged that untreated industrial effluents discharged from the Chaygaon Industrial Centre may have contaminated the river water. Community members have specifically raised concerns about the operations of Brahmaputra Biochem Pvt. Ltd., alleging that wastewater released from the facility has entered the river without adequate treatment. The recurring fish deaths have affected families dependent on fishing and river-based resources for their income. Local fishermen expressed concern over declining fish populations and the potential long-term impact on their livelihoods.
Environmental observers have warned that continued discharge of pollutants into the river could result in significant ecological damage, affecting aquatic habitats, biodiversity and water quality. Experts note that prolonged contamination may also have implications for food security and public health in communities that rely on the river
Wealthiest People Cause $1trillion a Year of Damage to the Climate, Study Says
A Greenpeace probe calculated that wealthiest contribute nearly $1 trillion of damage a year with ownership-based emissions, the Guardian reported. Through their ownership of companies and private financial and physical assets, from oil producers to property developments, the super-rich are responsible for an outsized slice of the greenhouse gases that are overheating the planet, the outlet said, adding that the “top 1% of people by wealth, through their shareholdings and investments, control about a quarter of global annual emissions in total.”
Greenpeace has calculated the “climate debt” of these high net worth individuals, by attributing to them their share of the damage done to the climate by the assets they own. By this reckoning, the world’s richest cause nearly $1tn a year of damage to the climate.