-The Times of India BHUBANESWAR: The furore against the state government resuming land acquisition for South Korean steel giant Posco seems to be spilling out of national borders with Netherland-based Friends of the Earth International appealing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, chief minister Naveen Patnaik and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to stop police 'excesses' at the proposed Posco site in Jagatsinghpur district. The foreign NGO, which has been fighting for environmental...

-The Hindu Thousands of acres of uncultivable Forested hills in Haryana, Gurgaon and Faridabad face the same prospect Gurgaon: Two decades ago when Sunil’s parents sold off 25 acres of their family’s share of land in the Mangar Forests of Faridabad, they and other villagers thought the buyers were fools to buy it up because they were assured that they could continue to use it for grazing cattle and firewood. Today, 25-year-old...

-Down to Earth MoEF waives requirement of obtaining gram sabha certificates for linear projects. Will it dilute Forest rights of people? Gram sabhas or village councils will no longer have the power to reject building of roads, railways, transmission lines or other such linear projects. The Union ministry of environment and Forests (MoEF), on February 5, exempted developers of such projects from the requirement to obtain  consent of the gram sabhas to...

-The Indian Express The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has recommended diverting over 500 hectares of Forest land for an iron ore mining project in the Saranda Forest division of Jharkhand, part of the core area of the Singhbhum Elephant Reserve, India's first reserve for elephants. The FAC is a statutory body that advises the environment ministry on diverting Forest land. Its recommendations are not binding. The Singhbhum reserve, created in 2001, is spread...

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) has been the target of criticism from industry groups to the Prime Minister for allegedly holding up infrastructure and industrial development through its system of green clearances. But a recent analysis of 5 years of decision-making put out by an environmental group suggests why these attacks might be misplaced, given the ease with which every single of 262 proposed hydropower and irrigation projects...