-The Times of India Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan has overruled objections from her officials to break the Forest bureaucracy's monopoly over the annual Rs 10,000 crore bamboo trade and declared it a 'minor Forest produce' instead of a 'tree' under Forest laws. This will allow tribals, instead of Forest departments, to harvest and auction bamboo, which is one of the major raw materials for the paper, pulp and board industry, from their...

-The Times of India Non-government wildlife experts on board the PM-chaired National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) are planning to write a joint letter to PM Manmohan Singh complaining of alleged illegalities and malpractices of the environment ministry. In a move that could further embarrass the government, they are also considering using the letter to the PM later in the Supreme Court to oppose some green clearances given by the ministry and some...

-PTI As part of its efforts to improve lives of the weaker sections of society, Tripura has given land rights to more than one lakh tribal families under the landmark Schedule Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Claiming this as 'unique' in the country, an official of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomus District Council said the government was making special efforts to improve lives of...

-The Hindu Says Central, State Governments have taken safety measures The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board have applied their mind in all clearances and statutorily passed various orders relating to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP). There is no scope for the Madras High Court to presume that the orders are arbitrary, a Division Bench has held. Passing orders...

-PTI COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu government has allocated Rs 1,500 crore for developing green cover in the much neglected Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu Agricutural University (TNAU) vice-chancellor K Ramasamy said on Thursday. So far efforts had been on developing Western Ghats, which runs through Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, and now the Government has allotted Rs.1,500 crore for developing Eastern Ghats, he told reporters here. With East Coast Road on place, the govenrment wanted...