Allows Mining In Country’s Best Sal Forest, Elephant Reserve In Jharkhand

New Delhi: The environment ministry’s statutory expert panel, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), has bypassed its rules and earlier orders to clear iron mining projects by three private firms in the country’s best sal forest and the core zone of the elephant reserve in the Saranda forest division of Jharkhand.

In its April 18 order, SC had directed the Odisha govt to conduct Gram Sabhas at Niyamgiri within three months to seek the mandate of the locals

The Odisha government today said it would seek six more weeks from the Supreme Court (SC) to conduct Gram Sabhas to decide the fate of bauxite mining at the ecologically sensitive Niyamgiri hills.

Trouble for big fish Jindal Steel, NTPC, Tata Steel, SAIL

The Government is likely to issue show-cause notices to allocatees of 32 captive coal blocks, including Jindal Steel and Power, NTPC, Tata Steel and SAIL, for failing to develop the blocks on time.

JAIPUR: Death is the word doing the rounds in Ranthambore as far as tigress T-17's sudden, mysterious disappearance is concerned. It is nearly a month since the tigress, also called Sundari, went missing from the reserve leaving its three one-year-old cubs literally in the lurch.

However, it is yet to be conclusively proved whether she had died as her body could not be traced even by the 110 strong force of foresters deployed to trace her. The fact that numerous camera traps in the reserve have not been able to locate her also makes chances of her being alive slim.

The Supreme Court had banned mining in Karnataka in July 2011

The crisis seems to be far from over for the mining industry in Karnataka, Goa and Odisha, the three major iron ore producing states in the country. Though some relief came for the industry in Karnataka last year and again in April this year with the Supreme Court allowing partial resumption of mining operations, normalcy in the sector may not return anytime soon.

Units ordered to close many times, but reopened soon after

It is now the seventh year of protest. But, for the residents of Kenchanakuppe, Dasappana Doddi, Kallagopahalli and Thammanadoddi coming under Kenchanakuppe Gram Panchayat, next to Bidadi, the struggle to get the stone quarrying and crushing units closed continues. About 70 stone crushing units dot these areas and licences for these were cancelled in 2007 and 2009, but the activities in some units continue relentlessly.

It, however, says that the sample collected during exploration activity should not be used for commercial activity

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has accorded 'green signal' to Oil India Ltd's (OIL's) proposed exploration activities in KG–ONN–2004/1 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin.

The villages of the Dongriya Kondh tribals around Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills are likely to simmer again as the Centre and the state government along with civil society groups are planning to converge on the site for the proposed Vedanta bauxite mine.

The Supreme Court order has left it to the villagers to decide the fate of the Vedanta project, and the call revolves on whether the venture would affect their religious and other rights.

The death toll from a colliery accident in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Saturday has risen to 28 after an injured miner died after rescue efforts failed, local authorities said on Sunday.

China and ASEAN countries signed seven mining cooperation agreements valued at about 16.3 billion yuan ($2.59 billion) during the China-ASEAN Mining Cooperation Forum and Exhibition over the weeken