Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan heads regional editions as Deputy National Affairs Editor. A journalist for over 20 years, he has written extensively on social sector with special focus on environment and political economy.
Articles by Chetan Chauhan
CIC upholds DoPT’s non-disclosure to RTI, goes by SC order
By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON FEB 10, 2021 04:22 AM IST
The government appointed former Supreme Court judge Pinaki Chandra Bose as the first Lokpal of the country on March 19, 2019.
Don’t blame only climate. The Chamoli disaster was also human-induced
PUBLISHED ON FEB 08, 2021 09:07 PM IST
If the present pace of Himalayan destruction continues, a future disaster will be devastating. Nature will strike back again. Damaging today and repairing tomorrow is not an option. India has only one option — save the Himalayas
Not just climate change, Chamoli disaster was human-induced
UPDATED ON FEB 08, 2021 12:15 PM IST
Stone quarrying, blasting of mountains and digging of tunnels in the base of the mountain system for two dams on Rishi Ganga and Dhauli Ganga rivers played havoc with the local ecology
Govt denies RTIs on agri laws citing court hearings
By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON JAN 22, 2021 04:31 AM IST
Several RTI applications have been filed with the agriculture ministry and Niti Aayog since November 27, when farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh started their protests against the three farm bills.
Bird flu spreads to 10 states, govt says human threat low
UPDATED ON JAN 12, 2021 09:02 AM IST
Union minister says no scientific reports on transmission of bird flu to humans.
Bird flu spreads to 10 states, govt says human threat low
PUBLISHED ON JAN 11, 2021 11:53 PM IST
New Delhi:
Bird flu spread to 10 states on Monday with Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand confirming the viral outbreak, which experts said would be difficult to control because a large number of birds in the wild had been infected
5 states have reported bird flu outbreak: Here’s all you need to know
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JAN 06, 2021 07:35 PM IST
Centre has issued advisory to all states, asking them to test the droppings of migratory and poultry birds to prevent the spread
MSP only real risk protection for farmers, says new study
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON DEC 20, 2020 08:10 PM IST
In Punjab, 90% of the agri produce is traded at markets regulated under the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act by licensed commission agents. Bihar abolished the APMC Act in 2006 and traders and private players can buy produce directly from farmers.
Punjab farmers got 30% higher crop price than their Bihar counterparts due to MSP, says new study
By Chetan Chauhan {Edited by Narender S Thakur}, New Delhi
UPDATED ON DEC 20, 2020 08:11 PM IST
Findings of University of Pennsylvania’s institute reveal that deregulation of markets helped traders more than cultivators; also, private players did not help in creating agriculture infrastructure
In a first, Parliament committee to examine functioning of RTI, information commissions
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON DEC 16, 2020 07:49 PM IST
A Rajya Sabha official privy to the development said the committee decides on the agenda after taking inputs from all members.
Govt made record payments under MGNREGS this year
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON DEC 14, 2020 04:47 AM IST
The rural development ministry, which administers the world’s biggest job guarantee scheme, was allocated Rs 84,900 crore in two instalments to fund MGNREGS in the year ending in March 2021.
Centre left with mere 10% NREGA funds as scheme sees 243% jump in Corona times
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON DEC 11, 2020 01:07 PM IST
The higher demand for MGNREGA work was because of close to 20 million workers returning to their villages from cities after the Central government announced a nation-wide lockdown on March 24.
Evidence ignored to appease vote bank, claims new book
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON DEC 10, 2020 08:00 AM IST
In the book, Kanth said that a year before Gandhi’s assassination, another similar murder of a political leader held many crucial clues.
Bad-air law drafted, cleared in less than a week
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON DEC 09, 2020 08:30 AM IST
On October 16, the Supreme Court said it was setting up a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur for monitoring stubble burning and air pollution in the NCR and nearby areas, considered to be some of the most polluted in India, particularly in the winter months when post-harvest crop residue burning in Punjab and Haryana causes the capital to be shrouded by smoky haze.
Deficient rain may have added to pollution spike
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON NOV 12, 2020 10:01 AM IST
The northern plains have not seen substantial rainfall since last week of August. In September, rain deficiency in the region hovered between 80% and 92%, resulting in below normal monsoon rains , forcing farmers to harvest their crops early.
How the Punjab bills will negate new laws
By Chetan Chauhan and Navneet Sharma | Hindustan Times, New Delhi/Chandigarh
UPDATED ON OCT 21, 2020 04:03 AM IST
The Punjab version of bills is aimed at addressing the concerns of farmers and may be adopted by other non-National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-ruled states, including a provision to protect the Minimum Support Price (MSP) that government procurement agencies pay for farmers’ produce.
Punjab negates legally debatable Central farm laws: What you need to know
By Chetan Chauhan and Navneet Sharma | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON OCT 20, 2020 04:46 PM IST
The Punjab government’s bills are aimed at protecting farmers’ interests and may be adopted by other non-National Democratic Alliance-ruled states
Farm fires increase in Punjab, Haryana despite assurances
By Chetan Chauhan, Gurpreet Singh Nibber and Neeraj Mohan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi/Karnal/Chandigarh
UPDATED ON OCT 17, 2020 04:46 AM IST
On Thursday, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh claimed that Delhi’s air pollution problem was because of local factors, but data from the Punjab University’s Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana, shows a three-fold spike in stubble burning incidents in Punjab as compared to 2019 (3,996 incidents from September 21 to October 15 as compared 1,266 in same period last year), with just 6 farmers booked for farm fires.
Delhi’s rising air pollution may have an invisible Covid link
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 16, 2020 09:17 AM IST
The pandemic has resulted in reduction in use of public transport, leading to more use of personal vehicles in the national capital. More vehicles on road mean more emissions and with poor dispersal, it leads to higher ambient air pollution levels
A Covid-19 twist in Delhi’s fight against bad air?
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 16, 2020 06:28 AM IST
Experts say that while the Covid-19 pandemic has restricted activities, it has resulted in fewer people using public transport, leading to more use of personal vehicles.
Key posts vacant as RTI law completes 15 years
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 13, 2020 05:33 AM IST
With the passage of time, the burden of replying to the applications increased, leading to a higher backlog of RTI applications.
15 years of RTI: One-third of information commissions headless; misuse an obstacle
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 12, 2020 05:23 PM IST
With the passage of time, the burden of replying to RTI applications increased, which increased response time, leading to a higher pendency of cases
Bihar election wide open, repeat of Maharashtra situation cannot be ruled out
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON OCT 06, 2020 09:41 AM IST
Officially, Nitish Kumar is the NDA’s chief ministerial candidate in Bihar but the LJP’s exit can create an impression that BJP can have its own CM, if the party wins more seats than the JD (U).
Farm bills are welcome, but farmers need a rights-based protection law | Analysis
UPDATED ON SEP 25, 2020 05:44 AM IST
A base price will ensure a fair price for every farmer, removing MSP limitations, which cover only 22 crops. Such a mechanism would help both farmers and private buyers as it will bring about transparency and accountability in the farm trade
Mercury rises in north as monsoon loses steam
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 20, 2020 04:59 AM IST
The sultry conditions may last for the next 10-13 days, the experts added, at least till the monsoon fully withdraws from the region without any rainfall.
Monsoon misses north India in September, hits south and east hard
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 18, 2020 07:45 PM IST
The usually warmer weather with temperatures ranging from 32 degree Celsius in hills of Himachal and Uttarakhand to 39 degrees in Delhi, five to eight degrees above normal, has impacted horticulture
May take decades to clean Ganga water, say experts
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 17, 2020 04:55 AM IST
The dissolved oxygen level, or the amount of oxygen available to living aquatic organisms, has improved at 27 locations and the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), the amount of oxygen consumed by bacteria while they decompose organic matter, and faecal coliform (FC) content, a measure of the suitability of water for consumption, has improved at 42 and 21 locations, respectively.
Ganga’s water quality improved between 2014 and 2019, experts say pace is slow
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 15, 2020 11:11 PM IST
The maximum improvement in River Ganga’s water quality has happened in the hills of Uttarakhand, primarily due to effort been made to contain the flow of human and animal sewage.
GST row: Most states likely to opt for borrowing Rs 97k crore
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 09, 2020 01:14 AM IST
An acceptance by states, which is likely to be confirmed to the Union finance ministry soon, will put an end to the controversy surrounding the GST compensation payments.
Haryana, Madhya Pradesh may face legal challenges over quota in jobs
By Chetan Chauhan | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 22, 2020 01:05 AM IST
On Thursday, Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala said his government would bring a bill in the upcoming assembly session proposing reserving 75% of private sector jobs for locals.
