Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta's Sterlite Copper on Monday came out with an advertisement inviting expression of interest (EoI) for carrying out plant "restart activities" at its Thoothukudi unit in Tamil Nadu, that got closed more than five years ago following an order issued by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). The EoI for restart comes when the company is still awaiting the final judgement on the issue, and the court has only allowed it to do maintenance work. "We have initiated the upkeep and maintenance activities at the plant as allowed by the Supreme Court vide its order dated May 4, 2023, in coordination with the district authorities.
The total cost for procurement of 41,000 LMGs will be Rs 3,000 crore while over 3.5 lakh Close Quarter Battle Carbines will be bought at a cost of Rs 4,607 crore respectively, defence ministry officials said.
Tamil Nadu says it's intriguing only BJP-ruled states top the list, while industrialised states are given a go-by.
Successive governments focused on altering the clearance processes but largely gave a pass to the second, and essential, element of environmental regulations for monitoring pollution levels and how industries followed conditions laid down for clearances.
As visibility remained poor and the city choked due to a haze, the Centre for Science and Environment asked the Delhi govt to roll out stringent plans for controlling winter pollution.
'I expect normalcy to return in one or two days,' says Tuticorin's new Collector Sandeep Nandur.
Central Ground Water Authority declared Arajiline block, where the bottling plant in located, as "over exploited" in 2011
What will the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government do to answer the queries and fears of investors who will want to be doubly sure they would not be harassed at a later date, as has been happening to Sterlite, should be interesting to watch, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The NGT directed the Delhi govt not to implement the scheme unless it established that it was not counter-productive.
The first two units of the Kudankulam nuclear plant will discharge 6.3 billion litres of waste water every day right onto the beach. This discharge will trigger a slow-motion disaster that will poison beaches, devastate near-shore fisheries and choke the livelihood of fisherfolk in the vicinity, says Nityanand Jayaraman.
'... the government provides adequate cash and kind support for the poorest of the poor for survival... ...conditional cash and skilling support for the economically poor to raise their incomes to adequate levels... ...and make functional arrangements for providing unemployment allowance to the vulnerable poor during disasters like the present one.'
The Manali-Leh National Highway-3 was blocked after heavy rainfall triggered landslide in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Friday.
The top court observed that even in reserve forests, there are no concrete roads and the safari vehicles ply on forest roads.
In its UP Vision Document, the BJP had promised it would shut down illegal and mechanised abattoirs in the state if it came to power.
The National Green Tribunal on issued notices to Madhya Pradesh government and organiser of three-day event 'Vaicharik Mahakumbh', to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, for alleged violation of environment laws.
Mercury hovered around 40 degrees Celsius in large parts of the country on Monday as the Indian meteorological department predicted heat wave conditions in parts of east India over the next four days and the northwest region over the next two days.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the 24-hour average concentration of lung-damaging fine particles known as PM2.5 in Delhi-NCR shot up from 243 micrograms per cubic metre at 6 pm on Thursday (Diwali day) to 410 micrograms per cubic metre at 9 am on Friday, around seven times the safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre.
Authorities lifted Section 144, which does not allow assembly of more than four people.
Better living conditions must be an integral part of all political campaigns. But this will only happen if the public pressures the political class to understand the irreversibility of climate change and make the environment a crucial part of their manifestos.
The impact of the explosion "was so massive" that the factory, which was being run from a residential building, collapsed, the police said.
The plant had been kept shut in violation of the order of the NGT and a subsequent interim order of the top court.
Thirteen cities of the country had an average Air Quality Index above 400, which falls in "severe" category, with seven of them in Uttar Pradesh, five in Haryana and one in Bihar, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
Many countries found Maggi noodles to be safe for consumption.
It is believed that the crop residue burning in the nearby states of Punjab and Haryana are contributing to polluting the air.
Life Insurance Corporation of India has over Rs 7,000 crore in tax demand pending against it, the biggest across various categories.
Once called India's garden city, this upper middle-class residential area in Bangalore has India's most toxic air, says Devanik Saha, IndiaSpend.com.
A city resident doesn't find Delhi to be livable anymore.
Pollution levels in Delhi during the Diwali period are likely to remain in the higher end of the 'very poor' category in the absence of emissions due to fireworks, the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR said.
13 out of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in India. Most shockingly, the latest Central Pollution Control Board statistics reveal that the pollution levels in Gwalior, Raipur and even little known Kashipur are higher than that of Delhi which means we have some of the most polluted zones in the world.
The rotation policy followed by the BCCI and the travel route for the visiting team forced the BCCI to schedule the first match of the tour in Delhi
In a video message, Parrikar, 62, appealed people to continue praying for his health.
New Delhi's overall air quality index read 456 at 4 pm, up from 425 at 4 pm on Tuesday.
'Modi knows the people here are opposed to this project, but he is using the might of government to push this port down our throats.'
While Delhi boasts of one of the best metro systems in the world and decent infrastructure, reckless construction, legalising unauthorised colonies, and the worsening water and air quality dent its image of being a robust cosmopolitan city.
There cannot be a complete ban on firecrackers and the mechanism to stop their misuse has to be strengthened, the Supreme Court said on Monday setting aside the Calcutta High Court order banning firecrackers during Kali Puja, Diwali and other festivals this year to check air pollution amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The industry players couldn't hide their disappointment.
One of the 22 Indian crew manning a crippled cargo ship which collided against a bridge in Baltimore has suffered a 'minor injury' while the rest are all safe aboard the vessel, owners of the Singapore-flagged ship said on Wednesday.
Villagers have been protesting against the Sterlite factory since February 12, with an effigy of Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal as the backdrop. More than 75 days hence, the dharna continues, the summer vacation seeing children joining the protest.
Mark Scialla had interviewed several people on December 28 and 29 on alleged health issues faced by them due to the now closed Sterlite copper plant. Rambha said the visa clearly stated that the American national should not embark on any work except tourist activities.
'If the BJP comes back to power, Sterlite will open in one week.' 'If the Congress comes to power, it will open in one month.'
