Agrees to consider five coal blocks to be moved from “no-go” to “go” zone In a further breakdown of his vaunted “no-go zone” concept to prevent mining in heavily forested areas, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has agreed to consider five coal blocks in the forests of Orissa to be moved from the “no-go” to “go” zone. Interestingly, the decision comes on a day when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted that he had...

Greenpeace India's ongoing campaign, “Fools for forests”, has received a tremendous response from people from diverse professional backgrounds primarily due to wholehearted support from the who's who of Bollywood. The campaign has attracted more than 30,000 people who have pledged their support to it. According to Bollywood actor Vinay Pathak who is renowned for his wisecracks, he is extending support to the campaign not to gain mileage but because he feels strongly...

-The Economic Times   Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has approved two mining proposals - one by Iifco and the other by the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam - on the fringes of the Hasdeo-Arand forest region in Chhattisgarh. Ramesh set aside the recommendation of the statutory body of the environment ministry, the Forest Advisory Committee , to reject the proposals. With Thursday's order, Coal Mining will be allowed in Tara, Parsa...

-The Hindu   Blocks not actually within the biodiversity-rich region, he says Stage-I forest clearance granted to three blocks in the region Ramesh over-ruled advice of his own Forest Advisory Committee to grant approval The bastion of Hasdeo-Arand has finally been broken. One year after saying that the coalfields of this heavily-forested, mineral rich region of Chhattisgarh would never be open to miners, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has finally granted a stage-I forest clearance to...

The farmers' agitation in Uttar Pradesh brings into focus the indiscriminate acquisition of land by the state for corporate-led development. ON May 19, three days before the formal observation of the second anniversary of the United Progressive Alliance government, Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi made a categorical announcement that in the monsoon session of Parliament scheduled to begin in July the ruling coalition would bring in legislation that...