Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain DoPT, Atomic Energy as well as all important policy issues and portfolios not allocated.
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.
Shikha Garg was on her way to attend a United Nations Environment Programme meeting.
'The day I took charge, the PM told me you do the following -- stop imports, talk to all stakeholders and involve them to make mining more industry-friendly without affecting the environment.'
'Never ever have so many states across the country declared animals as vermin as they have in 6 to 8 months.'
'If the authorities go about completing this project the way they have proposed, this is going to cause a HUGE environmental impact not only on Malabar Hill but also on the rest of the city.'
The NGT had constituted a committee headed by a former Uttarakhand high court Judge to monitor the project.
Infrastructure major Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) on Friday expressed hope that it would soon get environment clearances for the first phase of its Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) Lavasa project, a hill city being developed near Pune.
The ministries of coal and environment and forests are currently in the temporary charge of the prime minister and all the indications are that the current power minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, might be moved to Maharashtra as chief minister, creating a vacancy, top sources in the government said.
Of these, 14 have received environmental clearances and four forestry clearances.
His tenure will end in December this year.
As many as 449 infrastructure projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns totalling more than Rs 4.29 lakh crore, according to a report. The ministry of statistics and programme implementation monitors infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore and above. Of the 1,736 such projects, 449 reported cost overruns and 547 were delayed.
A complete ban on mining activities in areas of national parks, tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries could be on the anvil if the government agrees to the recommendations of a high-level environment ministry panel.
Jairam Ramesh's tenure as Minister of Environment and Forests cannot be assessed in a hurry; there are lots of positives there, but also many question marks, says Himanshu Thakkar
The demand for minerals, boulders and sand is so great that it has fueled a black market and the goons who control this trade do not hesitate to kill law enforcement officers and reporters who have tried to expose them.
The two signed an agreement on Monday to study and clean the Ganga.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has shot down the Andhra Pradesh Government's proposal to convert the existing two-lane highway passing through India's largest Nagarjunasagar-Srisailman Tiger Reserve into four lanes.
An animal rights activist on June 15 asked the court to quash the three notifications that declared nilgai (blue bulls), monkeys and wild boars as vermin in the states of Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, respectively.
The insensitive babus were not bothered and the politicians knew the tigers do not vote.... Please cancel the tiger as India's national animal as we are shamefully and disgustingly incapable of protecting the sanctity of its habitat.
The Steel Ministry on Wednesday said it may seek from the Environment Ministry speedy clearance to Posco's Rs 54,000 crore (Rs 540 billion) project in Orissa.
Report consists of recommendations for dividing the Western Ghats region into various ecologically sensitive zones.
With CPCB saying that the air quality is not severe now, the SC partially lifted its ban.
Last month, the FAC passed the buck to the tribal affairs ministry to see if the project proponents violated any tribal rights.
The environment ministry has proposed to offer wasteland available with it to investors through multi-stakeholder partnership.
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.
'With just 2.4 per cent of global landmass, India houses six to eight per cent of planetary biodiversity and hence is a prime target of wildlife criminals.'
Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal is credited with fast-tracking many issues that are caught in red-tape. The minister says the environment ministry's controversial policy barring mining in forest areas has left him troubled.
Acting on the Supreme Court's order, the Army has begun the process of taking over the possession of the scam-tainted Adarsh building at Colaba in South Mumbai.
'He selects certain portfolios that he has personal interest in, and he does not give them to a senior leader. The responsibility is given to a junior minister who then directly reports to Modi or to the small team of bureaucrats working with Modi.' 'I noticed this first in Gujarat where Modi worked mainly with two ministers, Saurabh Patel and Amit Shah,' says Aakar Patel.
Clearance for many strategic roads have been delayed because the ministry of environment and forests as well as respective state forest and public works departments have been sitting on the proposals without realising their importance to national security, reports RS Chauhan
It would also hit the over 20 helipads that were being planned by corporate houses, hotels and individuals.
The international climate change talks, which started in Copenhagen today, will see a 35-member official delegation from India. The attempt will be to negotiate a new global climate treaty to replace or extend the 1997 Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012.
The government on Friday said the auction of explored coal blocks may take place either by December or the beginning of the next year.
The Vedanta Group, which was issued a show cause notice for allegedly flouting environment laws, will appear before the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) on Thursday
In the third reshuffle since coming to power, Prime Minister Modi raised the strength of his Council of Ministers from 73 to 76.
As many as 403 infrastructure projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of over Rs 4.05 lakh crore owing to delays and other reasons, according to a report.
'From environmental impact assessment to forest clearances, this has turned out to be an unscientific road-widening project with catastrophic consequences.'
The Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, an autonomous institute under the ministry of environment and forests, invites applications for its various Management Development Programmes
A fresh petition was filed on Friday in the Supreme Court against the environmental clearance given to the controversial Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.
Opposition parties in Lakshadweep and Kerala are up in arms against various measures initiated by the Administrator of the group of islands, terming them as 'anti-people' and have sought his recall.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances