The Orissa government today decided to resume land acquisition for Posco’s 12-million-tonne steel plant project from May 18, having got the final nod from the Environment Ministry. “The Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and Jagatsinghpur district administration will jointly take up land acquisition work from May 18,” Priyabrata Patnaik, the nodal officer for the Posco project, said today. The Union Environment Ministry on May 2 granted final approval for the diversion of 1,253...
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Labour reform slips out of list as India Inc has greater worries by Devika Banerji
Archaic labour laws are not affecting India's manufacturing sector as much as problems related to land, water, licences and clearances, a government panel's study shows. With the findings of the Planning Commission study, changing rigid labour laws, so far suspected to be the main hurdle before the manufacturing sector, is likely to drop on the government's list of priorities. The sector contributes 15% to India's GDP. "Against popular perception, we...
More »Centre to enact law to define drinking water standards by K Balchand
In India you have quality standards specifications for soft drinks, but none for potable water. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, under the Ministry of Rural Development, is now seeking to correct the record, and, thankfully, the exercise will cover urban habitations too. The department has found the current legal environment for enforcing and regulating drinking water standards very weak in the country as they focus on issues related to...
More »Jairam lifts stop-work order on Maheshwar Hydel project
Work on the project was put on hold a year ago Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has lifted the stop-work order on the Maheshwar Hydel Power Corp Ltd., implying that he was yielding to pressure from the Prime Minister's office and Madhya Pradesh politicians across political lines. However, while project promoters are now free to construct the remaining five spillway gates of the dam, the lowering of the...
More »Endosulfan Ban Highlights Need for Alternatives by Marcela Valente
The upsurge in the use of the toxic pesticide endosulfan, targeted for prohibition by the international community, illustrates one of the dilemmas of intensive agriculture in Argentina and Latin America in general. "There is always a natural solution," insists farmer Alicia Alem, a member of an Argentine cooperative that produces cereal and forage crops without chemical fertilisers or pesticides. "In terms of wheat, for example, the cooperative gets exactly the same yield...
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