-Outlook The real story of a ‘decisive' UPA blowing away the eight-year cloud around Posco's project Bend It Like Moily Seven reasons why UPA's pre-poll green clearance for Posco is more about spiel than steel Posco got green clearance after the sudden removal of MoEF Jayanthi Natarajan, who was reluctant to sign on the file. The nod came days before South Korean President Park Geun-hye's visit;...

-The Times of India GREATER NOIDA: Projects will not be given green clearance if these are opposed by local panchayats (village councils), petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily, who holds additional charge of the environment and forests ministry, said on Tuesday. "I have rejected Niyamgiri (project of Vedanta group) because all the panchayats have rejected the proposal... When the panchayats reject, we cannot go ahead with it. We have made a rule that...

-The Hindu The decision of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to revalidate the environmental clearance issued to South Korean steelmaker Posco for the proposed steel plant in Odisha is based on a piecemeal approach, rather than a comprehensive and cumulative assessment of all parts of the project. It cannot claim to rely on sound judgment. What distinguishes the proposal from the welter of projects before the Ministry is its...

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: The state government today reacted sharply to the Centre's decision to reject Vedanta's plan to mine bauxite from the Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district. Mining of bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills was to be carried out by the state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) and Sterlite Industries Limited, a Vedanta group subsidiary. Steel and mines minister Rajanikant Singh said: "It is really unfortunate. The UPA government is not serious about the...

-The Hindu     Environment Ministry rejects Vedanta's plan to mine Niyamgiri The Union Environment Ministry has taken a decision in two high profile cases, rejecting the forest clearance for Vedanta's bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri Hills of Odisha, and renewing the stand-alone environmental clearance for Posco's eight million tonnes per annum steel plant. The rejection of Vedanta's proposal to dig in the Niyamgiri hills came after 12 village councils of Dongriya Kondh tribal groups...