A recent newspaper report noted that the Union Government had gazetted the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 2011 and received strong criticism from organisations that work for protecting coastal ecosystems and fight for the rights and welfare of fisherfolk. About 20 organisations working in the field of protecting fishermen's rights and lawyers backing them have taken strong exception to the notification. This is on the ground that the new notification,...

Accusing the Mettur-based Madras Aluminium Company (MALCO) of the Vedanta Group of indulging in “blatant violations” of all laws at the eco-sensitive Shevaroyan Hills here while mining for bauxite, a team of environmentalists and social activists, who carried out an exhaustive study on the environmental impact, has urged the State and Central governments to impose an `immediate ban' on its mining operations. The fact-finding study, sponsored by Salem-based Social Research and...

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday made an emotional appeal for the Jaitapur nuclear power project saying that he would never tolerate an unsafe project for Maharashtra at any cost. Speaking at an “open house” on the project at the Y. B. Chavan auditorium here, the Chief Minister said that in setting up this project about 60 to 65 per cent of the work would be done by Indian companies....

Every time Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh says no to a project, his critics give him a new label: Green fundamentalist, anti-business, anti-growth, obstructionist, Luddite and Dr. No. The job has rarely attracted so much attention, but Ramesh has turned a sleepy and apathetic ministry into a controversial one in recent months. His pronouncements have stopped projects worth billions of dollars, creating powerful enemies in industry and business. His political colleagues have...

An uneasy calm has descended over the village of Bishnupur-Chainpur, currently a hotbed of passionate agitation against a proposed Rs.31-crore asbestos factory to be set up by the Kolkata-based Balmukund Cement and Roofing Ltd (BCRL). As the impasse between the village residents and the company management continues, environmentalists and asbestos experts over the world are petitioning Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to firmly consign the “killer dust” jinn back into the bottle. On...