-Down to Earth 'Will the Indian government abandon mining projects to protect us?' ask residents of Singrauli who face displacement because of Mahan coal project Ever since India assumed presidency of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on October 8, it has never missed a chance to reiterate its commitment to conserving biodiversity and protecting indigenous people and their traditional knowledge. Indian officials attending the ongoing CoP 11 meet at Hyderabad have...

-The Hindustan Times India's ailing economy has found a new scapegoat - environment and forests. For most things that go wrong these days, from power shortage to slow growth, the blame is tossed at the door of the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), the paradigm being that forests, wildlife and green laws are hurdles to development. So much so, that a Group of Ministers established to 'rationalise' coal mining in forests...

-The Times of India Keen to snap out of a policy coma and rev up an anaemic economy, the government is looking to slash " green tape" by making lease extensions simpler, amending restrictions on work beginning on projects where forest land is involved and easing expansion norms for mines. Sifting through highly polarizing arguments, new initiatives aim to reduce points of contention that have often locked ministers in charge of economic...

-The Hindu The Finance Ministry proposal to create a National Investment Board with extraordinary authority to supersede individual ministries and decide the fate of expensive infrastructure projects is a retrograde measure that strikes at the root of democratic governance. The basic tenets of all law-making include public participation, equity and justice, more so when it comes to the environment and welfare. India’s laws on protection of the environment, forests, wildlife and...

-Outlook A green NGO today alleged that the Environment Ministry has given its nod to divert the Mahan forests in Madhya Pradesh for a coal block and described the decision as "appalling". Greenpeace India campaigner Priya Pillai alleged that the Environment Ministry's decision to grant forest clearance to the Mahan coal block in Singrauli district is "appalling". "The communities living in the forest have written more than once to the Ministry on the...