THE Tamil Nadu government introduced with much fanfare the samathuva mayanam (common graveyard) concept during the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime with the proclaimed goal of ending all caste-based discrimination at burial-cum-cremation grounds. An official announcement was made that panchayats which set up samathuva mayanams would get an “incentive grant” of Rs.1 lakh for promoting communal harmony. A few panchayats had received the incentive when the government appeared to beat a hasty...

The ministry will soon introduce a system to get a third party to conduct environmental assessments for projects in ecologically sensitive areas like wetlands or projects that involve multiple sectors, he said. "Frankly speaking, environmental impact assessment reports prepared for projects are bit of a joke. Under the system we have today, the person who is putting up the project prepares the report. Even reputed government institutions do cut and paste...

With 1.8 billion people threatened by absolute water scarcity by 2025, and two-thirds of the world’s population facing potential shortages, countries must better protect and manage forests to ensure the provision of clean water to vulnerable communities, a United Nations-backed forum warned today. “Forests are part of the natural infrastructure of any country and are essential to the water cycle,” said UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Forestry Department Assistant Director...

Pune district administration inspects hill city site Report to be submitted to Environment Ministry We have the required permissions: Lavasa A site inspection of the Lavasa hill city conducted by the Pune district administration has revealed that 7,78,86, 600 cubic feet of mining has been conducted in two villages by Lavasa Corporation Limited (LCL). The comprehensive data regarding the remaining 17 villages is still being consolidated by the authorities, according to Pune Additional...

Despite poor participation of local villagers in the anti-Posco rally organized by Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) at Balitutha, the entry point to the Posco project site near Paradip, the PPSS leaders today reiterated their resolve not to hand over 2900 acres forest land to the South Korean company for its steel project. The PPSS rally particularly turned into a damp squib as four MPs of West Bengal, who had earlier...