While the government has allocated 14 of the 17 coal blocks for auction last week to public sector units, a Greenpeace India report points out that at least eight of them are in dense forest areas with tribal villages, endangered species, rivers and other water bodies.

According to the report, the 14 coal blocks could impact 4,200 hectares of forest, including 2,200 hectares of dense forest. Besides affecting 17 villages, this will have an adverse effect on elephants, tigers and leopards in nine blocks.

The measures will be implemented at a cost of Rs 44 cr

The Jagatsinghpur district administration is all set to implement cyclone mitigation measures (CMM) at the site of the Posco project for protection against natural disasters and saline inundation. These measures will be implemented at a cost of Rs 44 crore.

The committee may monitor development of coal block as well as production and utilisation of the coal in concerned end-use plant

With development of coal blocks stuck largely due to procedural delays at the state level, the ministry of coal (MoC) has urged the coal bearing states to put in place a system for periodic monitoring of the allocated blocks to speed up their development.

Recognising monitoring as the weakest link in the forest clearance (FC) process, the environment ministry is planning to increase the frequency of monitoring of projects.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today laid foundation stone for GVK Power's 850 mw Ratle hydro-electric power plant on the River Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir.

New Delhi: Under attack for its poor project implementation track record, the government plans to remove environmental and coal-related hurdles for large projects on a weekly basis.