Human activities including mining, quarrying or setting up new 'major' hydro-electric projects will not be allowed around areas up to 200 meters from the Khangchendzonga National Park and four wild

Kamal Nath Okays Revised Regional Plan

New Delhi: Days before the Lok Sabha poll dates are to be announced, the government is likely to notify the revised regional plan for NCR (2021) which allows tourism activities in ecologically sensitive zones and permits constructions in these areas beyond the current 0.5% cap — moves that environmentalists claim will be disastrous for green belts such as the Aravalis.

The state government on Wednesday submitted a detailed 20-page final report on the state's response on Kasturirangan review committee report to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).

The 33-member state wildlife board, headed by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, will meet in Mumbai on Thursday to clear a hosts of irrigation, mining and road widening projects under eco-sensitive

Green activists and conservationists are up in arms over Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s announcement in the Budget for 2014-15 that the State government would organise a Netrani Beach Festival to promote tourism on the ecologically sensitive island in Uttara Kannada district.

Uttara Kannada District In-charge and Tourism Minister R V Deshpande said: “We have sent a proposal to the Central government seeking permission for tourism development there. I have been told the tourism ministry has taken it up on a priority basis, and work could start by 2015. During the beach festival, people can visit the rare spot and enjoy scuba diving.”

The Greens in the state are planning to move the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the environmental clearance given by the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) to 17 quarrie

Sanctioning Authority, SEIAA, Is Headless

The Greens in the state are planning to move the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the environmental clearance given by the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) to 17 quarries at a time when the chairman’s post was vacant in the authority. The SEIAA is the nodal agency in the state that provides clearances for quarrying, sand mining and commercial projects in Kerala.

The November 13 order, passed by Jayanthi Natarajan when she was Environment Minister, imposed a ban on clearances for new mining and other polluting industries.

The Environment Ministry informed the National Green Tribunal on Thursday that a final decision on the implementation of the Kasturirangan Committee report on the Western Ghats would be taken in a month. It clarified that the ban on new projects in the 6,000-square kilometre zone would continue.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has approved the proposal of the UT Administration to create an eco-sensitive zone around the Bird Sanctuary in Sector 21.

The sanctuary, also known as Parrot Park, is spread over an area of 1.8 hectares in the heart of a bustling residential area in Sector 21.The decision was taken during a meeting between officials of the ministry and the UT Administration in New Delhi.