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.
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.
The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government has given environment clearance to five projects since it took charge on May 26.
Favours stricter impact mitigation rules, monitoring.
'Not even a single rupee from the electoral bonds should be allowed to be used in the election.' 'If it is used in the election, it will taint India's electoral process itself.'
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.
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.
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 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.'
From toys, footwear and furniture to insulated flasks, smart meters, and air coolers - the Central government over the last decade has mandated higher standards for production and imports of such items. Sample this: Till 2014, there were 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 106 products. By the latest count, there are 156 QCOs on 672 products.
The pacts were signed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and German Development Minister Gerd Mller.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved seven multi-tracking projects of Indian Railways at an estimated cost of around Rs 32,500 crore, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The proposed projects, which will be fully funded by the Centre, will help increase the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation. The projects covering 35 districts in nine states -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal -- will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2,339 km and provide employment of an estimated 7.06 crore man-days to the people of the states.
Sitharaman, who was holding the Commerce portfolio (Independent charge), was on Sunday promoted to the Cabinet rank as was Goyal.
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.
Singh spoke to Ramesh and emphatically told him that there was 'no confusion' in the government over its approach towards China with which it wanted to have 'constructive engagement'.
'Interim Budget has ignited the entrepreneurial spirit.'
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.
Withdraws petition from green tribunal, makes fresh plea for Lanjigarh project.
The result is a big blow to the military establishment, revealing the limits of 'political engineering'. It reflected the anger of the electorate, especially its younger voters, who have spoken decisively against the persistent harassment and victimisation of Imran Khan's political party, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
'People should realise that what we are fighting for today is actually for tomorrow, for future generations.'
India is set to offer oil blocks for exploration by the end of the year following a clearance in principle from the ministry of environment and forests for award of blocks under the fifth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy.
The Environment Ministry on Thursday issued a show cause notice to Mundra Port & SEZ Limited, a private port and special economic zone being developed on the west coast of the country, for alleged violation of the provisions of the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification.
The MoEF will have to pass the order on this issue by December 16.
With over 3,000 species of plants, 26 interconnected lakes and the 250-year-old Great Banyan Tree -- the largest in the world -- the Indian Botanic Garden is a veritable treasure, discovers Payal Singh Mohanka.
The German authorities had taken custody of Ariha Shah on September 23, 2021, when she was seven months old, alleging that the parents harassed her.
He said the cheetahs are adapting to the weather and the habitat and establishing their territories and "we should give them time to do that".
A day after OBC leader Swami Prasad Maurya resigned from the Uttar Pradesh cabinet citing apathy towards the backward classes, Dara Singh Chauhan too resigned as minister in the Yogi Adityanath government.
Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on Thursday said mining should be allowed in 90 per cent of the areas classified as no-mining zones by the Environment Ministry and a proposal will be tabled before Cabinet soon, after ascertaining the views of different ministries.
In the second phase, the single-use plastic will be banned in all Air India flights.
8 Asiatic lions in the zoo in have tested positive for COVID-19 after their saliva samples were thoroughly examined by CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, Rakesh Mishra, advisor of the premier research institute said.
The ED had attached Sai Resort NX, constructed over the land located at Gut no: 446, Murud in Ratnagiri's Dapoli, in January.
Bhutan firmly abides by the one-China principle meaning Taiwan and Tibet are part of China and stands ready to work with China for an early settlement of the boundary issue and advance the political process of establishing diplomatic relations, it said.
It has been a turnaround for Javadekar, who was earlier stripped of the charge of two key departments of Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs as a minister of state.
PMO's stance came as part of a reply to the whistle-blower forest officer, Sanjiv Chaturvedi, after he dragged the PMO to the Central Information Commission for denying information under the RTI Act.
Many government departments, including Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Revenue and Forest, Brihanmumbai Municipal Commission, Home, Environment Ministry, Public Works Department and Uran Land department, were issued summons directing them to produce before the commission, all documents pertaining to the scam-hit Adarsh Society on Monday. However, except BMC, all the departments sought one week's time to submit all the files along with an index.
'The state government, state forces, commandos, police, they are all with the Meiteis in attacking Kuki tribals.'
Transportation via inland waterways is cost-effective and more environment-friendly than rail or road transportation
