The National Green Tribunal is the latest to point out that consultants are including “cooked data” in the key environment impact assessment (EIA) reports which determine green clearances for industrial projects. The Tribunal has told the government to come up with a mechanism to ensure authentic data. The Tribunal made its comments last week while suspending the environment clearance given to Scania Steel and Power for the expansion of its sponge...

Iqbal Masud, the civil servant and critic, supported the ban on The Satanic Verses in 1989. His reason was simple: if the book remained on sale in India, MusLIMs would march in protest, policemen would fire upon them, some of them would die, and no book, said Masud, was worth the life of a single protester. There were, he allowed, legitimate arguments to be made about incitement, about mobs marching against...

Jharkhand’s milky way to good health is in serious jeopardy. All the 13 dairy samples collected from Ranchi last month have tested low on nutrients, corroborating a report collated by a central agency that suggested large-scale adulteration of milk. Though the state food controller has ruled out hazardous chemical contaminants, the veracity of his statement will be determined when the detailed laboratory report comes out on Monday. Alarmed by the Food Safety...

-AP   Efforts by India and the European Union to strengthen trade are threatening India's ability to deliver lifesaving medicines to the world's poorest, analysts say as the two sides push through protracted negotiations on a free-trade pact.  India's prime minister and top EU officials are hoping their summit Friday in New Delhi helps move beyond disagreements over issues like European labor market LIMits and Indian duties on cars.  But health industry workers and...

World Bank arm finances polluting steel mill in Jharkhand As the train slowly approaches Jamshedpur town in Jharkhand, the sky begins to turn reddish. It is because of the thick red dust emanating from an industrial unit, surrounded by heaps of industrial solid waste comprising unburnt coal char and flyash. The unit is a medium-scale iron and steel mill belonging to conglomerate Usha Martin. Spread over 120 hectares, the mill became operational...