Carbon Copy A freshly passed amendment to the Forest Conservation Act has created a stir among ecologists, parliamentarians and stakeholders. With several contentious provisions, the amendment reveals an afforestation push where rights and justice take a backseat to commercial interests. This week, amidst a raucous monsoon session, the Indian Parliament saw the passage of several consequential pieces of legislation in quick succession. Among them was the contentious amendment to the Forest Conservation...

The recently concluded Parliament session saw the passage of the highly controversial “Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023” amid wide protests and without much discussion. The bill is aimed to amend the erstwhile Forest Conservation Act, 1980. Among the changes suggested, the below preamble was inserted into the act, and the “Forest (Conservation) Act” is substituted by “Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam” in the principal Act. While the Environment Ministry claims that...

-Hindustan Times According to the revised norms, coal mines with Environmental Clearances to expand by 40%, can now expand by up to 50% without any environment impact assessment or public consultation The Union environment ministry has relaxed the mandatory compliance norms for coal mining expansion projects citing higher demand for coal amid an ongoing power crisis -- a move that has been criticised by environmentalists, especially since the coal ministry has said...

-Hindustan Times The MoPNG is seeking a separate category of clearance for oil and gas because if it is considered a mining activity, the environmental norms may prove to be more stringent, an official in the ministry said. The Union environment ministry is considering a proposal to delink oil and gas extraction from mining projects, as far as environmental appraisal is concerned, people familiar with the matter said. If approved, oil and gas...

-Down to Earth The Hasdeo forest covering Chhattisgarh’s Korba, Sarguja and Surajpur districts, is a noted migratory corridor and has a significant presence of elephants Environmentalists stood in the sun at the Chhattisgarh Sadan from 10 am to late afternoon on April 11, 2022, protesting the second phase clearance given to the mining projects in Hasdeo Aranya. The Chhattisgarh government has also given the final clearance for the Parsa coal block and the...