-The Economic Times Tribal affairs minister Kishore Chandra Deohas reportedly written to the governors of nine states asking them to cancel mining concessions granted in violation of the law. The Forest Rights Act of 2006 mandates the permission of the gram sabha of a tribal community for using their habitat for purposes other than customary use. So, if mining leases have been granted without the permission of gram sabhas on tribal land,...

-The Indian Express Gadchiroli: A top Naxal leader who surrendered recently has said that the government’s twin strategy of security with development has begun to hurt the Maoists, leaving the morale of their cadre affected. “The senior leadership of the party (CPI Maoist) is worried over setbacks due to Operation Greenhunt and the various developmental works undertaken by the government in remote areas of districts like Gadchiroli,” Badarpu Mallaiyya alias Shekhar, the...

-The United Nations Communities in developing countries are facing increasing health and environmental risks linked to exposure to mercury, according to new studies by the United Nations environmental agency. Produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the studies note how parts of Africa, Asia and South America could see increasing emissions of mercury into the environment, due mainly to the use of the toxic element in small-scale gold mining, and through the...

-The Economic Times When asked where the coal blocks will come up, the forest officer draws a clover-shaped map. Take the right at the traffic intersection, he says, and you will enter Pathriya Dand coal block. Keep going for 11 km and the road turns to the left, which is where Gidhmudi coal block is. Come back to the main road, cross over to the other side, and you will enter...

A 42-page study put out in January by Prayas, a noted Pune-based energy analysis group dissects India’s coal sector, raising a range of policy issues that need to be urgently addressed. The mineral forms the basis of over half of India’s, though supply to industry is increasingly an issue, even as the sector is beset with big-ticket corruption and environmental violations. Some of the challenges of the coal sector raised by...