-The Hindu By exempting some projects on forest land from gram sabha consent, the government has undermined the rights of local communities and their crucial role in protecting the environment In early February, the Ministry of Environment and Forests partially revoked a crucial order it had issued in August 2009, which made the consent of gram sabhas mandatory for projects seeking diversion of forest lands for non-forest purposes. Now, the ministry has...

-The Hindu The company plans to switch from gas to coal to fuel its 500 MW unit in Trombay   The public hearing called by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board on Monday to discuss the environmental impact of Tata Power Company’s plan to switch from gas to coal to fuel its 500 MW unit in the Trombay Thermal Power Station was disrupted by activists of all the major political parties in the State. The...

-The Economic Times The environment ministry has simplified the procedures for granting clearances to special economic zones as it seeks to shed the anti-industry image. A recent order issued by the environment ministry states that the environmental clearance process for SEZs will now follow the system laid out for National Industrial and Manufacturing Zones under the National Manufacturing Policy 2011. Under the new system, the central and state governments will delegate power to...

-Frontline Farmers protest against the Central clearance for coal bed methane exploration in Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu, as they fear it will devastate agriculture in Tiruvarur and Thanjavur districts.  THE woes of the delta farmers of Tamil Nadu are far from over. While the Cauvery tangle continues unresolved, they fear the proposed multi-crore project for commercial exploration and exploitation of coal bed methane (CBM) in the Mannargudi block of Tiruvarur district will prove...

-Outlook "It is a sorry state of affairs," the Supreme Court remarked today over failure of the project to clean Yamuna despite over Rs.12,000 crore being spent on it and suggested that the routing drainages of NCR region to a place outside Delhi be explored to stop release of waste in the river. Observing that Yamuna in Delhi carries not water but drains, a bench of justices Swatanter Kumar and Madan B...