-The Hindu The case pertains to clearance given for diversion of forest land at Saranda Forest in Jharkhand’s Singhbhum District to a mining company in violation of Forest (Conservation) Act in 2012. The Central Bureau of Investigation on September 9 conducted searches at the Chennai premises of former Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan in connection with alleged irregularities in the approval to a proposal for leasing of 56 hectare forest land to...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The CBI on Saturday registered a corruption case against former Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan+ and raided her premises in Chennai in connection with clearance given during her tenure for diversion of forest land for mining in alleged violation of laws. The CBI alleged that Natarajan, as the environment minister during UPA rule+ , abused her official position while giving clearances to Electosteel Casting Limited, a...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Bihar is among the states with the poorest progress towards open-defecation-free (ODF) targets with some districts requiring 500 toilets every day to meet 2019 goals, according to a report from the non-government Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released today. The report said Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, accounting for 60 per cent of open defecation, would need to accelerate efforts for India to reach its ODF...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has recently ordered closure of many polluting units in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere, but such a 'drastic' step could soon be the last resort if the government finally legislates a proposed law which imposes heavy fines on violators instead of shutting them down altogether. The proposed law provides for an increase in the existing penalty from Rs 1 lakh to...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: An elephant census released by the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change on Saturday revealed an expansion in elephant areas, even while the jumbo population remained "stable" at 27,000. The report 'Synchronised elephant population estimation India 2017', released on World Elephant Day, estimates that the exact population of jumbos in the country is 27312, with Karnataka reporting the highest population at 6049, followed...