Govt asks AP guv to use powers in Scheduled Areas to cancel bauxite lease in Maoist area
For the first time, the Centre has urged the governor to use his special powers in Scheduled Areas to cancel bauxite mining leases given in Andhra Pradesh’s Vishakhapatnam district.

‘It is necessary to ban the use of plastic bags in the city, which pose serious threat to people’s health and result in choked drains, artificial floods, etc.’

GUWAHATI: The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has decided to ban the use of polythene bags in the city from next month. The GMC officials said that it is necessary to ban the use of plastic bags in the city, which pose serious threat to people’s health and result in choked drains, artificial floods, etc.

The Supreme Court has refused to re-examine its judgement and expunge the adverse remarks made in it against Medha Patkar-led Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) on the issue of land acquisition for Omkareshwar Dam project in Madhya Pradesh. The apex court dismissed the review petitions filed by the NBA saying that the May 11, 2011 judgement “does not suffer from any mistake” and “no ground is made out” for review of the September 29, 2011 order by which it had declined to expunge the adverse remarks against the NBA in the verdict.

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to allow a controversial US ship to head to Alang in Gujarat for dismantling after an NGO pointed out that the vessel was required to give prior intimation of its decontamination. The ship, Oriental Nicety, was refused permission to enter Indian waters after NGO Research Foundation for Science pointed out that the credentials of the ship were doubtful as the ship itself was a hazardous waste. Earlier called Exxon Valdez, the ship was involved in one of the worst oil spills off Alaska in 1986.

CHENNAI: The Supreme Court-constituted expert panel to study the safety of Mullaiperiyar Dam has overstepped its brief in making suggestions for resolving the inter-state issue, Tamil Nadu PWD Senior Engineers Association (TANSEA) observed on Monday.

“The AS Anand Committee was only asked to report on whether the dam was safe or not. It did not have any business making recommendations to Kerala to build another dam,” TANSEA secretary A Veerappan, said addressing a press conference here.

JSW Steel, the country’s third-biggest steelmaker, reported a 10 per cent fall in quarterly net profit, beating expectations, and said it expected to operate its main plant at 80 per cent capacity in 2012-13, as iron ore supplies take time to stabilise.

Production at JSW Steel’s 10-million-tonne per year Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka has been affected since August after the Supreme Court put an interim ban on mining in the state, citing illegalities in some mines. While ore supplies have been partially restored through auctions, the Supreme Court last week ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe JSW Steel’s alleged involvement in illegal iron ore mining in the state.

A full bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday upheld its judgement quashing land acquisition in some villages of Gautam Buddh Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh for development of Noida, Greater Noida and Noida Extension and ordered greater compensation for landowners.

The bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan, S.U. Khan and V.K. Shukla passed the order while turning down review petitions of Noida Authority and Greater Noida Authority and a number of farmers who were dissatisfied with the judgement delivered by a three-judge bench on October 21, 2011.

Ahmedabad: A lioness staring into the lens with a stately gaze. This photograph on the Madhya Pradesh tourism department’s website to sell the Kuno Palpur Sanctuary has upset officials in Gujarat — the only home of the Asiatic lion in the world. MP tourism has started selling the Kuno Palpur as an alternative site for the wild cats even as the two neighbouring states fight a legal battle in the Supreme Court over shifting lions from the Gir sanctuary. While MP is seeking lions, Gujart is holding on to them, not ready to share the ‘Khusboo Gujarat Ki’ mascot with anyone.

AHMEDABAD: The fight to save Gujarat's USP, the Asiatic Lion, has begun in earnest. The Supreme Court's order staying the reintroduction of cheetah in Kuno Palpur has not only dealt a blow to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), but has got the Gujarat forest department officers on their toes to save its USP.

The apex court had recently stayed the Rs 300 crore cheetah reintroduction project and sought to know if saving cheetah or lion was its priority.

AHMEDABAD: A lioness staring into the lens with a stately gaze. This one photograph on the Madhya Pradesh (MP) Tourism department's website to sell the Kuno Palpur Sanctuary has upset government officials in Gujarat - the only home of the Asiatic lion in the world at present.

MP Tourism has started selling the Kuno Palpur as an alternative site for the wild cats even as the two neighbouring states fight a legal battle in the Supreme Court over shifting some lions from the Gir sanctuary.