-The Economic Times   All public data-from that on glacier meltdowns to monsoon charts to benami land--will be freely available at the click of a mouse with the launch of a national data portal next month. Modeled on US chief information officer Vivek Kundra's Data.gov.us project, the science and technology ministry's portal-- data.gov.in--aims to democratize data, and make the government more "open". "We plan to launch data.gov.in by next month. Once the National...

-The Indian Express   In yet another attack on RTI activists in Gujarat, a Porabnder-based lawyer-cum-RTI activist, Bhagubhai Devani, was grievously stabbed near his home on Friday. Devani, who suffered severe blood loss from multiple stab wounds, has pointed fingers at the former minister. An FIR has been lodged against six unidentified attackers and the activist has been admitted to the Sir Bhavsinhji Hospital. The attack came a day after the hearing on...

-The Economic Times   Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has approved two mining proposals - one by Iifco and the other by the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam - on the fringes of the Hasdeo-Arand forest region in Chhattisgarh. Ramesh set aside the recommendation of the statutory body of the Environment Ministry, the Forest Advisory Committee , to reject the proposals. With Thursday's order, coal mining will be allowed in Tara, Parsa...

-The Hindu   In a significant shot in the arm for the environmentalists, the A.P. High Court on Thursday suspended operation of Government Order 1107 alienating 972 acres of land in favour of Nagarjuna Construction Company for setting up a thermal power plant at Sompeta in Srikakulam district. Sompeta was in national focus last year when police opened fire on agitators, including environmentalists and farmers, opposed to the thermal power station on...

-The Hindu   Blocks not actually within the biodiversity-rich region, he says Stage-I forest clearance granted to three blocks in the region Ramesh over-ruled advice of his own Forest Advisory Committee to grant approval The bastion of Hasdeo-Arand has finally been broken. One year after saying that the coalfields of this heavily-forested, mineral rich region of Chhattisgarh would never be open to miners, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has finally granted a stage-I forest clearance to...