Jairam Ramesh's removal as EnvIronment Minister creates uncertainties for domestic envIronment policy and the deadlocked global climate talks. WHATEVER one may think of its overall impact, the recent Cabinet reshuffle was not exactly a damp squib. Its single most important component was Jairam Ramesh's replacement as the Minister of State with independent charge in the Ministry of EnvIronment and Forests (MoEF) by Jayanthi Natarajan, a relative political lightweight with very little...
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The Wanton Sins Of The Soil by Lola Nayar
Bellary is only the tip of the rotting earthmound. Can a new proposed legislation clear the air? Two years ago, when the ministry of mines decided to use satellite imaging to survey projects, it unearthed several “unusual activities” across the country. “The amount of mining done and material being exported didn’t match in areas where certain companies had been given licences,” recounts a former senior bureaucrat with the mines ministry....
More »The Other Scam You Forgot About by Rohini Mohan
DESPITE WHAT our reel-life heroes have shown us, perhaps it’s only possible to fight one villain at a time. Still, in his last few days on the job, Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde tried to battle two evils, with two reports that presented damning evidence of corruption in the BJP government. The first report, on illegal mining, had enough firepower to systematically dig holes in the state government. The second report,...
More »Supreme Court lifts mining ban for NMDC in Bellary by J Venkatesan
Orders EnvIronment Impact Assessment study in the area The Supreme Court, which earlier suspended mining operations in the Bellary area, on Friday partially lifted the ban and allowed the public sector National Mineral Development Corporation to undertake mining in two leases to cater for the domestic market. The Forest Bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justices Aftab Alam and Swatanter Kumar, however, rejected the plea by a private miners' association that...
More »Mining ban in Karnataka may push up steel prices by Rakhi Mazumdar
Steelmakers and mine owners, reeling under a ban on mining in Karnataka, are keeping their fingers crossed about the Supreme Court hearing scheduled on Friday. The uncertainty in Iron ore and the resultant rise in ore prices have led the steel industry to actively consider an upward revision in prices, just days after most companies mentioned of keeping product price levels unchanged. "Iron ore spot prices have been rising by $1-2 daily...
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