-Scroll.in The court refused to order a CBI inquiry into connivance of officials in the Rs 60,000 crore scam, but directed the setting up of an expert committee. The Supreme Court on Wednesday said mining companies that had been operating without necessary clearances in Odisha would be subject to a 100% penalty on the price of the ore that had been illegally extracted. The court also said that the government’s policy...

-The Indian Express Despite the obvious effect this will have on the Environment, the GST affects livelihoods and families of the waste pickers — most of whom are migrants. With the resale value on glass bottles becoming minuscule after the 18 per cent tax on glass products as per GST, waste collectors, who help recycle glass, paper and plastic, and have traditionally been a key link in the city’s inadequate waste management...

-Livemint.com Under the flagship crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Rs5,875 crore, or just 45%, has been paid to farmers, agriculture ministry data shows New Delhi: Farmers who suffered crop losses in 2016-17 are yet to receive insurance compensation for 55% of estimated claims under the flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), shows latest numbers from the agriculture ministry. The data shows that insurance companies collected Rs22,338 crore in 2016-17...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: An Environmental court in Calcutta today directed the Chhattisgarh government to halt work on 31 projects along the Mahanadi river that Environmental groups fear will reduce the downstream water flow in Odisha. The Calcutta bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued a stay order on the projects, a mix of dams, barrages, irrigation channels among them, at various locations along the Mahanadi before the river enters Odisha's...

-The Hindu Plastic recyclers protecting margins by paying less for waste plastic Bengaluru: As the nation ushered in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1, no one would have imagined that it might have adverse consequences for the Environment. But with the tax rate on recycled plastic shooting up from 5.5% to 18% post-GST, ragpicking as a livelihood seems to be turning unviable, with attendant impact on the urban Environment. Take...