-Hindustan Times Mumbai: Alleging that the Centre was diluting environment protection laws to allow construction in ecologically important areas, citizens and environment groups have filed 3,971 objections against the draft environment impact assessment (EIA) notification, 2020 proposed by the Union environment ministry. On March 12, the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) presented the new rules that will replace the 2006 EIA notification, which is presently in force, in...

-Newsclick.in The lockdown has got the government talking about agri ‘reforms’ again, but the exploitation of India’s weakest farmers continues unchecked. It is a cruel irony that in the sixth week of the nationwide lockdown, the government is talking up omnibus agriculture “reforms” as if they can mitigate the growing distress in rural India. Reforms, no doubt, implies stricter compliance with online registration and payment rules, more focus on market-based pricing, and...

-Newsclick.in The draft notification pushed during the lockdown, in more ways than one, tries to minimise public participation in determining impacts of any particular industrial project on livelihoods and environment. New Delhi: In what could spell catastrophe for the lives and livelihoods of millions of citizens across the country, the Central government has sought to introduce new rules whereby environmental clearances can be granted to industrial projects on a post facto basis....

-TheWire.in/ PTI The Centre on Wednesday relaxed lockdown guidelines enabling states to bring back people stranded at different places across the country. Ranchi: The Jharkhand government on Thursday said it would bring in new guidelines to widen the scope of work under the MGNREGA to provide jobs to migrant workers returning homes, and sent buses to West Bengal for bringing back people of the state stranded there due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. Chief...

-NDTV Covid-19 lockdown: Tamil Nadu has reported over 1,800 coronavirus cases and 22 deaths so far with 452 cases in state capital Chennai, 141 in Coimbatore, 110 in Tirupur, 56 in Madurai 56 and 30 in Salem Chennai: Vegetable shops and grocery stores in Tamil Nadu will remain open till 3 pm, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said this morning after panic buying of essential goods was witnessed in major cities ahead...