-The Indian Express Chennai: The fate of Sterlite Industries, and that of thousands of people of coastal Tuticorin, now depends on the south bench of the National Green Tribunal, which is hearing the company's petition against its closure ordered by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). The biggest copper smelting unit in the country, part of the Vedanta Group, moved the tribunal after the TNPCB ordered closure of the plant following...

-The Tribune Chandigarh: At a time when the property prices have skyrocketed in the urban areas, affordable housing may well be within the reach of the ‘aam aadmi' in Haryana. In fact, with a view to attract the private builders to go in for affordable housing, the Hooda Government is set to launch its ambitious "Affordable Housing Policy-2013" to provide housing to the lower strata of society with an eye on...

-The Hindu New, more fair and transparent norms for iron ore mining are now being put in place in many States Hit by debilitating mining curbs (including an outright ban in some States) and a clampdown on exports through high duties, India’s iron ore industry today is a pale shadow of what it was for much of the last decade, despite some recent forward movement on restarting iron ore mining in Karnataka,...

-The Times of India GHAZIABAD: The air in Ghaziabad, even in relatively greener areas such as Indirapuram, Vaishali and Kaushambi, is nothing short of a poisonous cocktail. Prolonged exposure to the air in the city, among the top five 'most critically polluted cities' in the country, can lead to a number of respiratory diseases, most of which directly affect the lungs. Centre of Science Environment's (CSE) analysis of government data and Global...

The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, the 73rd amendment and the landmark PESA and Forest Rights Act (FRA) have progressively acknowledged the rights, and special powers of the Gram Sabha in deciding developmental projects as well as playing a role in protecting the ecology and forests. But a clutch of clever exemptions in recent months are ensuring that centralised authorities take away the same powers through the back door, without routing...