-The Hindu Activists oppose diversion of forest land citing continuing non-compliance of several requisites The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is reconsidering its clearance for the controversial Kalu Dam in Thane district. About 999.328 hectares of forest land in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats region is up for diversion for the drinking water project for Mumbai and Thane. Work on the project had...

-Outlook A high-powered panel of the Environment Ministry has sought more details from Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) for its proposed Rs 23,502 crore nuclear power plant in Haryana before initiating steps for according it green clearance. The proposal is for setting up a nuclear power park (4x700 MWe), to be implemented in phases at Gorakhpur in Fatehabad district along with township for the project. The first phase will comprise...

-The Hindu   Health problems apart, they have little time for family "My father comes home very late. He never attends school-day functions or parent-teacher meetings. There has hardly been a weekend when he took us out..." This is how children of police personnel responded at a family counselling session, organised by the Madurai district police recently. Many children complained that their parents working in the Police department were stressed out most of the...

-The Times of India In a major setback to special economic zone (SEZ) developers, finance minister P Chidambaram has turned down the commerce department's plea to cut the minimum alternate tax (MAT), which was imposed two years ago. A lower or no tax burden was cited as one of the main drivers for boosting investment in what were until recently duty-free enclaves. The commerce department had made a case for reversing Chidambaram's...

-The Telegraph The National Highways Authority of India has accused the Planning Commission of "inconsistencies in stand", saying they are creating confusion and delaying decisions on its projects. NHAI chairperson R.P. Singh has quoted instances - in a letter to commission member B.K. Chaturvedi - where the Planning Commission had taken a diametrically opposite stand from its earlier position that investors should be allowed to exit from finished projects rather than wait...