“Consider local bodies' resolutions” Having been tossed between the State and the Centre for the past few months, the question of a Forest Clearance for Posco project is in the Orissa government's court once again. On Thursday, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh delayed a final decision on the clearance once again, telling the State that he could not accept its assurance on Forest Rights Act (FRA) implementation as long as it...

Samiti has written to Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Posco protesters say the area was a forest from 1930 and not from 1961 They refute Orissa government's stand of “other traditional forest dwellers' South Korean giant Posco's integrated steel plant in Orissa could face another hurdle as the palli sabhas (local bodies set up to determine forest rights under the Forest Rights Act) of Dhinkia, Gobindpur and nearby villages plan to approve several hundred...

India should look at renewable energy to meet its power needs, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week, Ramesh drew his attention to a World Bank report on renewable energy in India. The report suggests that renewable energy is an important part of the solution to India's power shortage. The letter gains significance as the coal and power ministries have cited growth...

Prashant Bhushan seeks CBI probe into financial irregularities Scrap power purchase agreement with State government Land acquisition orders served on 46 villages The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to reverse the stop-work order imposed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on the construction of the Maheshwar dam for “non-compliance” of various norms. The dam is being built by S. Kumars group in Madhya Pradesh. Addressing a joint...

India's nuclear power growth must come from home-made heavy water reactors rather than foreign reactors using a variety of technologies in order to avoid Fukushima-style meltdowns, according to Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week, Mr. Ramesh communicated the concerns of his Ministry regarding the safety of nuclear power as well as the public perception of that safety. He argues that Indian regulators have expertise...