A Bill that seeks to amend the existing law governing exploration and production of oil and gas as well as delink petroleum operations from mining operations was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (March 12, 2025). The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, is aimed at boosting investment …
Administration argues pulling down their huts will ensure ‘safety of wildlife’ A day after the Union government announced a Rs.100-crore grant for Chukutiya Bhunjia of Orissa, a primitive tribe which lives on the eastern border of Chhattisgarh, 30 huts of the Baigas, another primitive tribe, were razed to the ground …
MARGAO: The ongoing agitation against housing projects across Salcete has forced many a panchayat body to either return construction files of the builders or reject the projects bowing to the wishes of the villagers. If Curtorim panchayat rejected the construction file of a housing project late last year, the Majorda-Utorda-Calata …
New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) on Wednesday cleared six coal mining projects of the 40 that were on the table for discussion. Projects that were not cleared have been slotted for urgent review and the CCI will consider them once the process is complete. The key issue …
PANJIM: The Union Ministry of Environment of Forests has decreed that Gram Sabha clearance is not necessary for projects like construction of roads, canals and laying of pipelines through forest lands, reversing an earlier 2009 decision. The order issued to the state principal secretary (forests) by H C Chaudhary, Assistant …
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 norms for key infrastructure and public utility projects. While in an order dated February 5, the Environment ministry …
Activists lament dilution of tribal rights as Environment Ministry amends 2009 circular Gram sabhas in forest areas have been stripped of their power to approve or reject proposals for the diversion of their forest lands for building roads, transmission lines, canals or other linear projects. In a move that activists …
The Parrikar government might find itself in a tight corner over the utilization of land admeasuring 1.15 lakh sq mts in Davorlim acquired by the previous government with local villagers demanding that the same be utilized for projects beneficial to locals. This became evident on Sunday when the Davorlim gram …
Nod For Road, Rail Projects To Be Fast-Tracked New Delhi: With environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan insisting that rights of tribals cannot be overlooked while clearing projects in forest areas, government has now decided against changing the norms for forest clearances, except in the case of rail tracks, roads and power …
The Ministry of Rural Development, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA) aims at enhancing livelihood security of households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer …
Major procedural amendments, including exemption from environment clearances, for roads projects are being proposed to the Cabinet Committee on Investment to achieve the UPA government's commitment to construct 20 km per day. On the agenda is abolishing environment approval for widening of roads that entail cutting down trees planted by …
Will not dilute gram sabha consent requirements, says MoEF In a joint strategy for their meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week, Environment and Forests Minister Jayanthi Natarajan and Tribal Affairs Minister Kishore Chandra Deo both reportedly plan to oppose any dilution of tribal rights in forest areas. This, …
PANJIM: Though tons of newspaper reams have been dedicated to the issue, agitated gram sabha discussions have rocked villages and various initiatives have been thrashed by the government, the satisfactory garbage management has eluded Goa over the past few decades with the latest initiative too having bleak prospects, in terms …
Tribal minister says he hasn’t seen the report on this, though his own secretary is a signatory A panel set up by the Prime Minister’s Office to review the mechanism for forest clearances in industrial projects has suggested replacing the need for approval from the relevant gram sabha with state …
NEW DELHI: Differing from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Union tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo has stood firm on tribal rights granted over forestlands through the Forest Rights Act (FRA) as the government sought more time from the Supreme Court to finalize its position. The government's plea in …
In a bid to speed up infrastructure projects, the Prime Minister’s Office is said to have asked the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to issue fresh directions to facilitate ‘unconditional forest clearance’ waiving off the requirement for gram sabha nod for linear projects, …
Things may have come to a boil between the National Highways Authority of India and the Ministry of Environment and Forests over green clearances to road projects last week with the former going to court in protest, but they have been simmering for long enough. The NHAI has for long …
Govt keen on ensuring fuel security doesn’t come in way of growth revival plans Concerned that fuel scarcity could hamper plans to revive economic growth, the government is planning to further relax green clearance norms for mining projects. Coal mining operations, which are stuck due to delays in forest clearance, …
These are the new operational guidelines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act issued by the ministry of rural development to ensure effective implementation of the programme. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) was notified on September 7, 2005. The mandate of the Act …
After Vedanta closed its aluminum refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district of Odisha today, citing paucity of bauxite, the primary raw material to refine aluminium, all eyes are now on the Supreme Court, which will hear a petition against the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) tomorrow. The MoEF had …
Jan Sansad, a coalition of 60 peoples’ movements, has demanded that the Government incorporate mandatory consent of a majority of Gram Sabha members on all matters pertaining to land acquisition in the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011. During the ongoing agitation and public hearing at Jantar Mantar …
