-Live Mint India needs to move away from wild swings in making environment policies The Western Ghats, spread over six states in western and southern India, cover an area of approximately 165,000 sq. km. They are home to a unique ecosystem in the country that is under threat from human activities. Nearly 59% of this area has been exploited: habitation, plantation or agriculture. Only 41% of the area is a natural...

-The Hindu Shimla: The people of Sutlej valley have rejected the draft study report on the cumulative environment impact on the river basin presented by the Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun, on behalf of the Himachal Pradesh government. Local representatives and environmentalists said over the weekend that a month's notice should have been given for the public consultation after sharing the executive summary of the environment impact assessment (EIA)...

-The Hindu The area will turn into a ‘no-go zone' for mining and thermal power plants The Environment Ministry has decided to turn approximately 60,000 square kilometres of the Western Ghats across six States into an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), banning mining, quarrying, thermal power plants and polluting industries over the entire range. All other projects would be allowed only with the prior consent of gram sabhas (village councils) in the zone. The...

-The Telegraph Three of the nine experts assigned the job of saving the Ganga resigned from a high-powered central body today, voicing their frustration at being kept out of the loop and the "furious pace" of clearing projects they had repeatedly opposed. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who chairs the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), the three said the government had not convened a single meeting of the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Good monsoon, between June and August, has substantially increased the water storage position of several reservoirs and river basins across the country, raising hope for bumper harvest for 'rabi' (winter-sown) crops and spurt in hydro-power generation. Water storage position data - released by the Central Water Commission (CWC) this month - shows that the country's 85 key reservoirs have collectively reported increase of around 35...