An inter-ministerial meeting on infrastructure constraints ended up discussing the coal ministry’s accusations against the Environment Ministry of going slow in clearing mining projects that meet green norms. At the end of the meeting, the exasperated chairman of the group, a secretary from the cabinet secretariat, suggested the Environment Ministry should henceforth attend the meetings on infrastructure. The ministry should be present in the next meet and listen to the complaints...
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Govt mulls demarcating mining areas to avoid another Niyamgiri
The government is planning to put in place a more transparent mining policy by designating parts of mineral-rich regions as out of bounds for industry because of environmental concerns, a move that can avoid episodes such as the recent ban on mining at Niyamgiri in Orissa but could hurt expansion plans of companies located in such areas. The plan is to divide the country’s mineral-rich regions into so-called ‘go’ and...
More »'Vedanta standards apply to Polavaram' by Sreelatha Menon
N C Saxena, who led the committee which recommended against permitting mining of the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa, says the same approach should be adopted for Andhra Pradesh’s mammoth Polavaram hydro project, too. If there is violation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) there, too, it should not be allowed, as that is the law of the land, Saxena told Business Standard. The Polavaram dam being constructed on the Godavari river by...
More »‘Jaitapur nuclear plant needs thorough regulatory scrutiny'
The Konkan Bachao Samiti (KBS), which is opposing the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant (JNPP) in Ratnagiri, has said that several questions on the project remain unanswered. At a recent press conference, Vivek Monteiro and Adwait Pednekar of the KBS said several issues were raised at meetings held among the KBS, Janhit Seva Samiti (JSS) and officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and the National Environmental Engineering...
More »Jaitapur N-project not part of govt stay: NPCIL
Amid reports of a moratorium on projects in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district, the Nuclear Power Corporation has said that its ambitious plan to build mega atomic power plants in the region was not put on hold. "Jaitapur project is not a part of this stay," a Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) spokesman said. The NPCIL, along with French company Areva, is setting up two nuclear power plants of 1,650...
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