-The Economic Times The state government has decided to file a case against Lavasa Corporation in Pune for violation of environmental norms at Lavasa hill resort, Maharashtra Environment Minister Sanjay Devtale has said. The case is expected to be filed in one or two days. ET has learned that the state government will also withdraw the 'special executive status' to the company. This status allows Lavasa to undertake any construction without...

A recent study finds that selective abortion of girls, especially for pregnancies after a firstborn girl, has increased substantially in India. CENSUS 2011, which brought out several positive features with regard to education, literacy and fertility rates, also confirmed the disturbing trend that had been reported for the first time in the 1991 Census – the increasing gap between the figures for male and female children in the 0-6 age...

Fresh trouble is brewing for India’s largest high profile Lavasa Lake City project near Pune, undertaken by Mumbai-based Hindustan Construction (HCC), as Maharashtra government is going to file a stringent environmental violation case against it in Pune court this week. “After consulting the legal department on Monday, we will file a case against Lavasa Corporation for violating the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and other breaches,” Valsa Nair-Singh, secretary, department of environment,...

-Express News Service   Reacting to Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh's concern over use of force against villagers opposing land acquisition in Orissa for the Posco steel project, a pressure group on Sunday said that the minister should withdraw the illegal clearance given to the company. Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) said: "The minister appealed to the Orissa government to respect 'democracy and dialogue' and refrain from coercion in taking over...

For third straight day on Sunday, the standoff between protestors and the armed police at Dhinkia village the entry point to Posco project site continued without bloodshed though the Orissa government on Friday had declared the assembly as unlawful and hinted at action if the protesters continued to restrict the officials' movement. Land acquisition officials backed by about 800 armed police have so far not been able to enter the...