Despite objections from the coal ministry and concerns of the Planning Commission, a GoM under finance minister Pranab Mukherjee - discussing the new Mines and Mineral (regulation and development) Act 2010 - approved the proposal of sharing 26% net annual profits from the mining activity with displaced locals. The Bill replacing a 53-year-old law can be introduced in the ongoing session, minister for mines BK Handique said after the GoM meet...

In the run up to the next global jamboree on climate change, in the tourism-cum-summitry town of Cancun, Mexico, the government has come out with an Indian view of global warming, based on indigenous research. The upshot of the effort is a much more worrisome portrayal of the challenge of climate change. The Indian studies forecast that mean temperature will rise in India by around 2ºC by 2030, rather than...

The Navi Mumbai airport has finally got the green signal, with a compromise being worked out after one and a half years of tussling between the Environment Ministry on the one hand, and the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Maharashtra government on the other. The decision was announced jointly on Monday by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, his Civil Aviation counterpart Praful Patel and the new Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. While the...

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Friday requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to defer issuing the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification till the apprehensions of fisherfolk and environmentalists are allayed. In a letter, Mr. Karunanidhi said there was a strong apprehension among the coastal communities that the draft notification would cause widespread destruction to the livelihood of fishing communities and other poor communities in the coastal areas, resulting in damage to coastal...

The CAG indicts Uttarakhand for pursuing hydel power projects indiscriminately without concern for the environment. IN a severe indictment of the Uttarakhand government, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said it was pushing the State towards a major environmental catastrophe by following a highly ambitious hydropower policy. In a report titled “Performance Audit of Hydropower Development Through Private Sector Participation”, which was released recently, the CAG substantiates the allegations...