Thapar had strong reservations about Project Cheetah, India's initiative to reintroduce African cheetahs into the wild. He argued that India does not have the necessary habitat or prey base to support free-ranging cheetahs and that the authorities lacked experience in managing spotted felines in the wild.
Modi had a night halt at Sinh Sadan, a forest guest house managed by the state forest department, in Sasan after his arrival from Somnath where he offered prayers at the Lord Shiv temple, the first among 12 jyotirlingas, on Sunday evening.
The Centre has disallowed installation of mobile towers in core or critical tiger habitats in the country, according to new guidelines by the environment ministry.
The roads will reduce the distance to the border considerably and make easier the movement of Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel, who at present have walk up to 25 kms to reach there, officials said.
100 square kilometre of Panna Tiger Reserve could go under water, writes Nitin Sethi.
DLF's upcoming project Mall of India in Noida, projected to be one of the largest in the country, has been served a notice to stop all construction activities till a clearance from the National Board for Wildlife is obtained.
The National Board for Wildlife, headed by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, rejected some big projects, including a port project in Gujarat, signalling that the ministry would not clear projects in ecologically sensitive zones.
In his letters to Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Thackeray said it would be appropriate to opt for alternative alignment of Akola-Khandwa line considering the long-term irreversible impact the work will have on endangered species like tigers.
Bird watchers and conservationists can heave a sigh of relief as the Centre has shot down a road-widening proposal that would have caused death of the Karnala Bird Sanctuary, some 60 km South-west of Mumbai. The standing committee of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) of the environment ministry in a recent meeting rejected the state government's plan for diverting a chunk of land from the sanctuary for widening of Mumbai-Goa highway.
The high court has directed the state government to file its response.
The prompt approval to set up a radar station on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands signalled the Modi government's intent to deal with China on its own terms.
Even while the union budget may not have announced many direct schemes for Gujarat, the state has been a major beneficiary under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first 100 days in office.
Rules for mining, roads, power and irrigation projects relaxed.
The Narendra Modi-led government has issued around 50 fresh guidelines easing conditions for industry in about six months, beside launching an online system for applying environment clearances.
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