-Reuters   The panel says hydro-power plants has led to the build up of huge volumes of sediment in rivers that is not managed properly New Delhi: Badly managed hydro-power projects in northern India were partly to blame for devastating floods last year that killed thousands of people and caused extensive damage, an environment ministry panel said in a report obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.   The panel findings highlight the problem facing India, one...

-The Hindustan Times   The June 2013 disaster in Uttarakhand had taken many - including the state administration - by surprise. But it should not have been so because it was a tragedy waiting to happen. The immediate reason may have been a natural cause - the state was hit by its heaviest rainfall on record that month, causing lakes and rivers to burst their banks, inundating towns and villages downstream -...

-The Indian Express The environment ministry under Veerappa Moily has approved the $ 12.6 billion Posco steel plant in Orissa, the biggest foreign direct investment in India. The proposed 12 million-tonnes-per-year plant has been stuck for more than eight years due to delays in getting clearances and acquiring land. Top sources confirmed to The Indian Express that the steel plant got the green signal after it was delinked from the port project. It...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The environment ministry has set up an expert group, as mandated by the Supreme Court, to determine whether hydropower projects along Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers and their tributaries contributed to environmental degradation, an effort to ensure there is no repeat of the Uttarakhand disaster witnessed earlier this year. Headed by Ravi Chopra, member of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) and director of People's Science Institute,...

-Outlook Expressing concern over the recent tragedy in Uttarakhand, the Supreme Court today prohibited setting up of any new hydroelectric power project in the state and directed the Centre to constitute an expert body to study environmental degradation caused by such projects. The court directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Uttarakhand government not to grant any further environmental or forest clearance for any hydroelectric power project until further orders. "We...