The government says area under forests has been increasing for the last 13 years. ET finds this is the outcome of statistical jugglery and the use of flawed definitions by India's forest bureaucracy. The bald truth is India's forests are in serious decline, both in numbers and in health. In February, the latest instalment of a little environmental kabuki played out when the Forest Survey of India released its biennial report...

-The Times of India The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has come down hard on the state government over water pollution. Denting the green image of Gujarat, CAG, in its 2011-12 'civil' report, claimed that there is an "upward trend" in the incidence of water-borne diseases due to heavily polluted water sources. It cited South Gujarat as the worst case, where industrial clusters like Vapi and Ankleshwar and Nandesari near Vadodara have been...

The Comptroller and Auditor-General has slammed the Narendra Modi government for financial irregularities, particularly for mismanagement of public sector undertakings, resulting in losses of over Rs. 16,000 crore. It has come down heavily on the state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) for extending “undue benefits” to the Chief Minister's “favoured few,” mainly Adani Energy and Essar Steel companies, which coupled with its poor management and faulty agreements on exploration of oil...

-The Economic Times   The national auditor is expected to stick to its controversial estimate of Rs 10.7 lakh crore as gains accrued to companies due to allocation of coal blocks on government discretion instead of auctioning them, an official in the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) office said.  This is set to further embarrass the UPA government that has been mired in a series of controversies. "The report is not yet final,...

Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai on Tuesday trashed the suggestion that the federal auditor's estimate of undue gains to companies caused by the government's failure to auction coal blocks was "fallacious" or "erroneous". "We are incapable of making fundamental errors as being discussed in media. Our report will make clear all doubts on fallacies (that are) being talked about," Rai said at a seminar on 'Public Accountability and the Role...