With Adarsh Society's lawyers pleading before the Bombay High Court that the scam-hit society too deserved consideration for post-facto environmental clearance similar to that to be granted to the Lavasa hill city in Pune, the warning of activists and environmentalists that regularising Lavasa would set a disastrous precedent seems to be coming true. Advocate Mukul Rohatgi stated on Monday that Adarsh and Lavasa cases should be considered on the same grounds....

Human Resource Development Ministry issues show-cause The Ministry of Human Resource Development, taking note of complaints and representations against the functioning of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), has decided to supersede the Council and issued a show cause notice seeking its response. The notice, issued under Section 30 (1) of the NCTE Act, 1993, expressed grave concern over the working the NCTE as well as the regional committees constituted by...

Fresh trouble is brewing for India’s largest high profile Lavasa Lake City project near Pune, undertaken by Mumbai-based Hindustan Construction (HCC), as Maharashtra government is going to file a stringent environmental violation case against it in Pune court this week. “After consulting the legal department on Monday, we will file a case against Lavasa Corporation for violating the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and other breaches,” Valsa Nair-Singh, secretary, department of environment,...

Issues related to transportation of food grains persist in the 293 PDS outlets The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to appoint a nodal officer by May 31 in the Melghat region to coordinate the work of nine departments which, apart from the public distribution system (PDS), are engaged in tribal development and child welfare. This post, meant for an IAS officer, had been lying vacant for more than two...

Right to information (RTI) activist and social worker Hemant Patil Saturday filed a petition in the Bombay High Court alleging irregularities in various trusts run by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. Patil, president of the Rashtriya Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jana Shakti, has in his public interest litigation (PIL) sought a probe into Hazare's trusts by the Income Tax department. 'It appears that the Hind Swaraj Trust (of Hazare) is not functioning in accordance with...