Even though the Central Government agreed to link the wages paid under MG-NREGA to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPIAL), it shied away from paying statutory minimum wages in various states of India. Their logic for this: Lack of clarity on who will bear the extra financial burden—the Centre or the states? A letter from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to UPA and NAC Chairperson Sonia Gandhi dated 31...
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No large-scale destruction of forest land at Lavasa: team by Amruta Byatnal
Chairman of the expert team of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) Naresh Dayal said on Friday that prima facie there was no large-scale destruction of forest land for the controversial hill city project, Lavasa. Speaking to journalists on the third and final day of inspection, Mr. Dayal said that contradictory to the allegations made by social activists Medha Patkar and Anna Hazare, Pune's water supply would not be affected...
More »We are open to correction: Lavasa by Amruta Byatnal
“Mistakes are obviously committed while undertaking big projects and we are open to corrections,” said Lavasa Corporation Limited (LCL) Chairman Ajit Gulabchand for the time first time on Friday since the controversy over the hill city started. However, he added that “these corrections should not make business impossible.” Mr. Gulabchand was speaking to the media after meeting a team of experts from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) which was...
More »MoEF to pass final order on Lavasa by January 17
Bombay High Court gives one week-extension to the Ministry The Bombay High Court on Friday gave an extension of one week to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to pass its final order on whether the planned hill-city Lavasa near Pune has violated any environmental regulations. The Ministry will now pass the final order by January 17. Additional Solicitor-General Darius Khambatta told TheHindu: “The MoEF applied for and was granted an...
More »MoEF team begins 3-day Lavasa visit by Nisha Nambiar
An 11-member technical team from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) visited the Lavasa hill station project, 65 km from the city, on Wednesday for a detailed assessment of the Rs 3,000-crore project in Pune district. The team will be in Pune for three days to ready the report on the project. The construction of the project was held up for want of environmental clearance. The team is conducting the...
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