-The Hindu   The NDA's first budget has thrown a few sops in the direction of the environment and the millions dependent on it. But much like its predecessors, in painting the big picture it remains embarrassingly devoid of innovative ideas on how to move India towards ecological sustainability and justice "While 2015 will be a landmark year for sustainable development and climate change policy, 2014 is the last chance for all stakeholders...

-The Hindu Business Line That could shift if the land acquisition law is changed The real action on economic policy is set to take place outside the Budget. A major move on the cards (which Rural Development Minister Nitin Gadkari sought to downplay late last week) is to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act to reduce the cost of land for industry. Is...

-CivilSocietyOnline.com More than 50 people, including tribal groups, social activists, water experts, ecologists, wildlife experts and academics, came together for a brainstorming workshop on ‘Dams coming up for Mumbai Region.' The meeting was organised by the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, Shramik Mukti Sangathana, and Jalbiradari. About 12 dams are planned or are under construction to satisfy the increasing thirst of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). All these dams...

-The Hindu Around 72 villages from Maharashtra's Raigad district have started a sit-in demonstration in front of the tehsil office in Mangaon against the multi-billion-dollar ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). . The villagers who began the agitation on Wednesday will hold dharna against the acquisition of 67,000 acres of land from these 72 villages. Each village will submit its letter of opposition to the project in the government office during the dharna...

-The Hindu Mumbai: Sloppy implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) has resulted in large tracts of forests being cut down and claimed as cultivated land in Maharashtra, according to a study. Data shows that in Jalgaon district alone, more than 79 per cent claims over cultivated forest land were apparently on ineligible lands and about 25 per cent had forest cover. In Thane, adjacent to Mumbai with a high land...