The supply of sand for construction sector is likely to improve with the Central Government approving Andhra Pradesh Government proposal for clearance of mining in 36 sand reaches. The Environmental Impact Assessment Authority under the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests has approved the State’s proposals to allow mining of sand in these 36 reaches identified and approved for sand mining in the State.

The supply of sand was adversely impacted due to ban on sand mining activity following directives of the court. The State has also begun promoting use of rock sand.

AHMEDABAD: The state forest and environment department, in a notification issued on Thursday, has reiterated that it is mandatory for all projects in the 10-km area of wildlife sanctuaries to obtain clearance from the National Board of Wildlife (NBW). It stated that for projects which require environment clearance and the state government is yet to declare the area as eco-sensitive zone, a nod from the NBW is must.

Said Centre Can’t Intervene & Probe Haryana Forestry Scam: RTI
New Delhi: Documents revealed under RTI show that V Narayanasamy, minister of personnel and training, argued that the Union government could not intervene when a central service officer complained of and sought inquiry into corruption in the state where he was posted, or claimed victimization.

Arunachal Pradesh identified as powerhouse of the country. Even as anti-mega dam groups and organisations in Assam have intensified their agitation, demanding a halt to the ongoing 2,000-MW Lower Subonsiri hydroelectric project of NHPC Limited at Gerukamukh on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, the Union government is pushing for 157 hydro power schemes with an installed capacity of 57,672 MW in the North-East, including Sikkim, for meeting the shortfall in the country's power generation.

A day after the Haryana government notified the Mangar Development Plan, the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) had written to the state asking it to put the plan in abeyance. The letter dated May 18 says that the plan should be stalled till the state prepares the district forest map.

The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel's (WGEEP) report had a bearing on the World Heritage Committee's decision on heritage status for the Western Ghats, though the government is yet to accept the findings. The Committee recently deferred the decision following a report of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). India has been asked to consider the WGEEP recommendations “on land use and controls on development” in the region.

Order welcomed by Narmada Bachao Andolan. In an interim order passed Thursday, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) admitted an appeal from two oustees of the Maheshwar dam project and stopped the closure of the gates and the partial filling of the Maheshwar dam till the next hearing. A bench of the NGT, New Delhi, comprising acting chairperson Justice A.S. Naidu and expert member Dr. D. K. Agrawal, passed the order in a case filed by two oustees of the Maheshwar dam project—Sanjay Nigam and Antar Singh Patel.

Mumbai: Despite the implementation of stringent measures to reduce pollution in these areas, two industrial clusters around Mumbai-Tarapur and Dombivali — are now among the top 10 most polluted industrial clusters in the country even as two other industrial towns of Maharashtra have become more polluted since 2009.

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal on Thursday stopped the filling up of water reservoir at Maheshwar dam power project in Madhya Pradesh for which the Union environment ministry had given the nod recently.

New Delhi: After a long hiatus, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is back in action, taking strong measures to protect its stance on various issues pertaining to environment and forest clearances. It has decided to introduce a new categorisation declaring a portion of mineral bearing areas as ‘inviolate’ for undertaking any mining activity. This will make the reprieve to firms from the suspension of the go-no-go norm temporary.