For long, industrialised states were looked upon as the ones trading forest cover for development. However, a recent report by the Forest Survey of India showed five of the nine most industrialised states were able to increase their green cover in 2011, compared to 2009. Between 2001 and 2010, these nine states contributed 60 per cent towards the country’s gross domestic product output.

Data analysed by Business Standard showed the five states added 178 sq km of forests. The states were Tamil Nadu (74 sq km), Rajasthan (51 sq km), Orissa (48 sq km), Karnataka (four sq km) and West Bengal (one sq km).

Environmentalists press for clearer picture of fund disbursals as forest cover shrinks

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) may soon audit the fund deposited for compensatory afforestation, which has a corpus of about Rs 25,000 crore. Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan said the CAG could audit the fund if it wanted to do so. “I have written to him (CAG Vinod Rai) in response to his letter, where he said CAG could audit the fund if the government shifts the money being kept in various nationalised banks to the Public Accounts of India,” she said

In a major setback to OPG Power Gujarat, the National Green Tribunal has directed it to stop work at its 300 Mw thermal power plant at Bhadreshwar, Gujarat.

The ongoing construction work was challenged before the Tribunal by fisherfolk, saltpan workers and local villagers. The Tribunal said till all approvals were obtained by the project proponent, no construction activity should take place, said Ritwik Dutta, legal counsel for the appellants.

A year after Jairam Ramesh's final environmental clearance, Korean giant waits for state govt to hand over land

Seeks talks after court battle lost

Crying “discrimination”, the Anil Agarwal-promoted Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) wants to initiate a fresh dialogue with the environment ministry to arrive at a solution enabling the expansion of its aluminum refinery in Orissa.Vedanta has claimed the ministry discriminated against it by not clearing its Lanjigarh project, while the Jindal Power and Lavasa projects got the green signal.

When the Union environment ministry gave the GMR Group its go-ahead to the Alaknanda hydroelectric project in Uttarakhand three weeks ago, it invited suspicion from non-profit organisations about a

SAIL, ONGC, Adani Power, Delhi Metro among gainers.

Politics of climate negotiation is expected to reach a crescendo tomorrow when the Durban talks enter the last leg of deliberations.

India Inc is keeping fingers crossed as the first two days of parleys at the ongoing Durban climate summit are pointing at an enduring logjam.

It is not just green activists and consumers who are putting companies through a wringer.