-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Environment and forest minister Veerappa Moily on Wednesday rolled back a major hurdle in the forest clearance process for projects like roads, transmission lines and pipelines that pass through villages and forest land, reintroduced in July 2013 by his predecessor Jayanthi Natarajan. The Environment Ministry has clarified on January 15 that linear projects would be able to get a forest clearance without procuring the consent of all...

-Press Information Bureau Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, United Progressive Alliance, inaugurated "SAMARTH 2014: Celebrating Diversity" organized by the Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment here today. Speaking at the inaugural function Smt. Gandhi said that this event will help in creating awareness about the abilities of persons with disabilities and will go a long way in engendering an inclusive & enabling environment for them. Smt. Gandhi said there is...

-The Times of India GREATER NOIDA: Projects will not be given green clearance if these are opposed by local panchayats (village councils), petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily, who holds additional charge of the environment and forests ministry, said on Tuesday. "I have rejected Niyamgiri (project of Vedanta group) because all the panchayats have rejected the proposal... When the panchayats reject, we cannot go ahead with it. We have made a rule that...

-Outlook After a row over implementation of a expert committee report, the Centre has ruled out appointment of any more panel to study Western Ghats in an attempt to address concerns of the six states through which the ecologically-sensitive hills traverse. Environment Minister M Veerappa Moily said the states concerned should appoint committees respectively to assess the kind of activities that could be allowed in the tract. After the committees submit their...

-The Financial Express Veerappa Moily says environment will be protected but won't be biased against industry. After Posco and Tawang, environment minister M Veerappa Moily has cleared the state-owned NHPC's 520 MW Teesta-IV hydro-electric project in Sikkim, thus having approved three big projects in three days, which were stuck despite having clearances from all other statutory and related bodies. Veerappa Moily, who approved the Teesta project on January 9, said at the Express...