The Environment Ministry's clearance of projects such as Posco, Jaitapur and Lavasa will cause havoc in our gravely endangered environment. EVEN the worst pessimist could not have imagined that the January 31 order of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) approving the South Korean-origin company Posco's steel project in Orissa would be as bad as it actually is. Construction of the Rs.54,000-crore steel plant, its captive power unit and private...

Next time you help yourself to some sea food, you could be helping save the planet. Agricultural experts believe that in the wake of rising sea level and shrinking cultivable land in the country due to climate change, sea could be the key to ensuring food security. "The rising sea has eaten away lands, especially Farmlands. In fact, large tracts of Farmlands in the coastal belt of the state, especially...

In a step to alleviate the plight of millions of people affected by the 2008 Kosi floods, the Bihar government on Wednesday signed a $220-million agreement with the World Bank. The government will chip in with $39 million for the $259-million Bihar Kosi Flood Recovery Project aimed at supporting the State's recovery efforts, reducing risks of flooding and boosting emergency responses in the event of future disasters. At a function here, World...

Members of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) district organising committee staged a dharna at Gandhi Chowk here on Thursday to protest against the acquisition of fertile land by the State Government in the name of industrialisation and alleged land scams involving Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and his Cabinet colleagues. Addressing the agitators, SUCI district secretary Bhagwaan Reddy alleged that the Yeddyurappa-led Bharatiya Janata Party Government came to power by...

Two years after the Tatas moved out of the Nano compound in Bengal, Singur is set to return to the forefront of a political tug-of-war next week. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will address a public meeting in the area on January 9, and Trinamool Congress will follow suit a few days later. But on the ground, the defiance has mellowed to a murmur. Landowners have given up hope of getting...