Engineers India Ltd has completed a preliminary report for the environmental impact assessment for Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd’s (NPCIL) proposed 6x1,000-megawatt (Mw) project at Mithivirdi, Gujarat.

US nuclear reactor supplier Westinghouse Electric Co has signed a memorandum of understanding with NPCIL, agreeing to negotiate an early works agreement for setting up six AP1000 units at Mithivirdi. The AP1000 is a two-loop pressurised water reactor sold by Westinghouse. “This is a draft EIA report, which will be further scrutinised,” NPCIL Chairman and Managing Director K C Purohit told Business Standard.

As reported by Business Standard, the Lower Penganga project was mired in controversy after a multi-crore irrigation scam in the state came to the fore

Construction in the inter-state Lower Penganga irrigation project between Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh is yet to begin, as Andhra Pradesh hasn’t received the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF)’s nod yet. Maharashtra had received the environment clearance in May 2007. As reported by Business Standard, the Lower Penganga project was mired in controversy after a multi-crore irrigation scam in Maharashtra came to the fore. MoEF’s expert appraisal committee (EAC) has asked the Andhra government to carry out a baseline environmental monitoring for the pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons in a year.

An environmental scientist’s arrest for granting clearance for a limestone mine in Orissa is the tip of the corruption iceberg that is floating freely in the environment ministry.

A cash stash of `1 crore was allegedly recovered from the Gurgaon and Rohtak premises of Neeraj Kumar Khatri, who works as a deputy director in the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has invited bids for construction of the stalled Pedder Road flyover but resistance from a local residents association to the project continues.

Pedder Road Residents Association has sought a meeting with the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), which recently gave environmental clearance to the project. The residents want MoEF to consider options for decongesting traffic on the narrow road.

Deferring environmental clearance (EC) for a thermal power plant of M/s Chettinad Power Corporation Limited at Tarangambadi Taluk in Nagapattinam district, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has asked the project proponent to submit a detailed report on the impact on Olive Ridley turtles, including a data collected during the nesting season to be vetted by a competent authority.

It has also asked for the submission of a long-term plan for sustainable preservation of the turtles and its implementation by a competent institute and a para-wise response to the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) regarding the turtles, fly-ash and archaeological importance of the site.

The expansion project to fire up BPCL’s Kochi refinery capacity to 15.5 million tonnes a year

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s integrated refinery expansion project in Kochi is expected to get environmental clearance anytime now with Tuesday’s meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee (Industry) for Environmental Impact Assessment in New Delhi ending on a positive note. Union Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs K.V. Thomas told The Hindu on the telephone that the expert committee, which considered the project, was positive on its assessment though a formal announcement had not been made on the project getting the green signal.

An Union Environment Ministry panel has recommended clearance for developing a Rs.2,000-crore international private airport at Aranmula.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for Building Construction, Coastal Regulation Zone, Infrastructure Development and Miscellaneous projects has recommended the proposal for environmental clearance with conditions, officials said here on Thursday. The airport, planned to be built on about 500 acres of land at Mallappuzhassery in Aranmula, has been hit by a controversy after the Opposition Left Democratic Front and a section of local people alleged that it would have disastrous environmental consequences and cause displacement of families.