With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
The Andhra Pradesh government's attempt to ride roughshod over the Environment Protection Act 1986 to allow a massive private thermal power plant on the wetlands of Srikakulam district has failed.
The top court took note of the submission that the definition of forest under the 2023 amended law on conservation leaves out nearly 1.99 lakh sq km of forest land from the ambit of 'forest' which can be used for other purposes.
As many as 417 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of more than Rs 4.77 lakh crore in September this year, an official report said. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, which monitors infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore and above, out of 1,763 projects, 417 reported cost overruns and as many as 842 projects were delayed. "Total original cost of implementation of the 1,763 projects was Rs 24,86,402.70 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 29,64,345.13 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of Rs 4,77,942.43 crore (19.22 per cent of original cost)," the ministry's latest report for September 2023 said.
While the responses of the candidates were predictable, depending on which side they belonged to, an interesting point slipped through when Rahul Shewale cited the Dharavi Redevelopment Project as a scheme that would add to Mumbai's importance. No big infrastructural project in Mumbai, he said, could be successful without the Centre's nod.
The Department of Disinvestment, which is looking at mopping up Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) from the sale of shares in public sector units this fiscal, has raised about Rs 1,325 crore (Rs 13.25 billion) so far.
Pune's Lavasa Lake City has run into rough weather with the environment ministry slapping a showcause notice on Lavasa Corporation for carrying out construction activities without its approval in 25,000 hectares.
The 'Indira Gandhi award for best debut film' and the 'Nargis Dutt award for best feature film on national integration' have been retitled with the names of the late prime minister and legendary actor being dropped as part of a raft of changes for the National Film Awards, according to a notification.
The advisory body had not met for the past three years.
A ministry official said just like an internal financial audit, a green audit would protect stakeholders.
The environment ministry was ready to take a re-look into the "safety" aspects of the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu if such a need arises, Union Minister Jayanti Natarajan said on Friday. The environment minister's statement came a day after the Supreme Court made it clear that it can stop commissioning of the controversial Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant if it finds that the mandatory safety requirements for it have not been put in place.
Based on discussions with stakeholders, the ministry is proposing to allocate Rs 26,400 crore for FAME-III subsidy alone with electric two wheelers getting around Rs 8,158 crore, electric buses Rs 9,600 crore and electric three-wheelers Rs 4,100 crore, according to sources in the know. Along with some other components like setting up an innovation fund and money for testing , the total allocation could cross Rs 33,000 crore, estimates suggest.
Air pollution may lead to a faster spread of Covid-19 infection as it causes coughing and sneezing, government officials told a parliamentary panel on Friday, according to sources.
The water resources ministry told the NGT panel it has not granted permission for 'World Cultural Festival' being organised by Art of Living foundation.
The Environment and Forests Ministry has put on hold construction of Nirma's 1.91 tonne per annum capacity cement plant, along with its captive power and coke oven plant near Padhiarka village in Bhavnagar district. It has sent them a show-cause notice, as to why its environment clearance of December 2008 should not be revoked.
Soon after stalling Vedanta's proposed bauxite mining project in Orissa, the Environment Ministry on Tuesday said the licence granted to mining firms supplying the mineral to its alumina refinery is under scanner.
What is urgently needed are transparent and highly credible mechanisms for mapping actual impacts on the ground -- and sifting the truth from claims made by different sides of the dispute, says Rajni Bakshi.
The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government has given environment clearance to five projects since it took charge on May 26.
Facing flak from industries over alleged delay in projects due to green rules, Environment Ministry on Monday came out with a new proposal of "compensatory afforestation" to help them get early forest clearances.
Ariha Shah was placed in the custody of Germany's Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt) on September 23, 2021 after the then seven month-old baby suffered an accidental injury. She has been in foster care since then.
Favours stricter impact mitigation rules, monitoring.
'We used to give these boxers a hammering in the ring and now they are teaching youngsters how to defend. Come on man!' 'People like Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar were among the top boxers in the world, but instead of choosing them to train young boxers they are picking people who are yes men.'
The Union finance ministry will meet CEOs of public sector banks to discuss issues related to cybersecurity in the wake of the Rs 820 crore (Rs 8.2 billion) fraud that hit Kolkata-based UCO Bank last month.
An unhappy Patnaik also said that Ramesh, the Environment Minister, had given no indication of Tuesday's decision not to give clearance to the group's proposed $1.7 billion bauxite mining project in the state when he met him in Delhi on Tuesday.
Gujarat will host the next round of G20 meetings from March 27 to April 4, during which three conclaves will be held in the state on a range of issues, where delegates from different countries will converge for participation, an official said.
In the last 10 days, at least two high-profile companies joined the long list of those whose mega projects have come under the ministry's scanner.
This follows an hour-long meeting Jaiswal had with Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh for resolving major issues hurting coal production.
'The larger story of systematic destruction, which can and has been quantified, goes mysteriously missing from any political and/or public discourse about the ongoing devastation in the Ghats,' notes Prem Panicker.
Younger cheetahs that are habituated to management vehicles and human presence are preferred candidates for relocation to India, international experts involved in Project Cheetah have told the government based on lessons learnt from the initial experience in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park.
This is the question that comes again and again in the mind of every Mumbaiker regarding the Navi Mumbai airport. Though the proposal has been going back and forth to the Union Environment Ministry many-a-times, the ministry is yet to give a green signal to the project citing environmental concerns.
Contesting Environment Ministry's show-cause notice, Mumbai's scam-hit Adarsh Housing Society on Monday demanded an immediate end to proceedings against it, insisting that it had got all the required clearances and the contention otherwise was "misplaced and incorrect".
Seeks talks after court battle lost.
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions for the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Karnataka.
The pacts were signed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and German Development Minister Gerd Mller.
'The home ministry has made a serious allegation to the media without providing a scrap of evidence to back it up. We think this shows how worried the ministry has become.'
The former footballer who later became editor of a vernacular daily Naharolgi Thoudang, has managed to strike a chord with the youth, promoting entrepreneurship through programmes such as 'Start-Up Manipur' as an alternative for young people who were being attracted to insurgency.
The batch of five experts will also play a role as interpreters between India and China sides during border personnel meetings, sources said.
Sources told PTI that the Environment Ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee of Coastal Regulation Zone at a meeting asked Posco to give additional information on the captive port near its proposed 12 million tonnes per annum plant in Jagathsinghpur in Orissa that is also awaiting green nod.
Accusing the Congress of playing vote bank politics, Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde over his proposal to state governments to review terror cases against members of the minority community.
