Action council to intensify agitation

Union Minister for Forests and Environment (MoEF) Jayanthi Natarajan has clarified that the Ministry has not given environmental clearance for the proposed airport project at Aranmula, said Kummanam Rajashekharan, chief patron of the Thiruvaranmula Paithruka Grama Karma Samiti (TPGKS). Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the samiti leader said the Union Minister had sent a letter (D.O No-51/2010-IA.III, dated January 31, 2013) to Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha,, categorically clarifying that “environmental clearance for the project has not been granted so far.”

New NHAI guidelines delay work on road projects

New National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) guidelines making forest clearance and acquisition of minimum quantum of land mandatory before inviting bids is delaying road projects to be executed in the public-private partnership mode. As per the guidelines, a project will be cleared for tendering only after the authorities concerned complete the process of acquisition under Section 3(A) of the National Highways Act and acquire at least 60 per cent of the land under Section 3(D) of the Act.

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday stayed commercial operations and development activities of 12 companies located in the Adani Group owned Adani Port Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) in Mundra taluka of Kutch district, till environmental clearance is granted to them by Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

The directions were issued on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by villagers of Navinal village in Mundra alleging that these companies in question have not only developed production units but also were importing and exporting goods, despite no environmental clearance by the MoEF.

Paradip: Legally speaking, the state government cannot acquire lands for the Posco project, nor can construction work be started at the designated site as the project has no environment clearance in hand, official sources said.

"The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, 2006, forbids activity of any nature at the site without environmental clearance," a senior official in the industry department said on Wednesday, quoting the existing law. He described the latest episode of the state government demolishing betel vines of farmers in the proposed plant site as 'highly illegal' and 'unconstitutional'.

With China having given the go-ahead to the construction of three more dams on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet, India too has fast-tracked the construction of 200 mega and small dams in the Brahmapu

The Union coal ministry has floated a Cabinet note seeking approval of the Cabinet Committee on Investment ( CCI) to free investments worth Rs 1,347 crore stuck in coal mines stuck due to lack of environment clearances.

The coal ministry and the Ministry of Environment and Forests ( MoEF) have jointly identified 12 projects ,which were stuck for want of green clearances and where approvals can be given quickly.

Noida: Adopting a stern outlook on wastage of groundwater by packaged water companies, the National Green Tribunal has sought details of all such factories operating in the Noida-Greater Noida region. Aclarification has been sought asto whether such industries have the consent of the authorities of the twin cities and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to operate. The tribunal has also sought details about the ‘sources’ from which these factories collect water.

The tribunal has directed the Central Ground Water Authority and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to furnish guidelines regarding conservation of groundwater and provide data pertaining to groundwater levels from 2006.

Infra ministers, govt bodies join the chorus as murmurs about corruption resurface

When Jairam Ramesh was replaced as environment minister some 18 months ago, loud sighs of relief from industry greeted the news. Ramesh, in the short period at the helm of the ministry, had acquired a reputation for inflexibility, and many started blaming him for stalled projects and declining investments, some even holding his ‘activist’ zeal responsible for the ensuing economic slowdown.

The environment ministry has changed forest clearance norms for mining projects to make them simpler and discourage firms from acquiring excess land.

Marking a major shift in its stand on infrastructure projects in forest areas, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has shot off a number of guidelines to all state governments relaxing green no