Decrying indiscriminate use of natural resources and deforestation in the name of growth, Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan today said that industries and corporates should focus on protecting the environment and ensure balanced and sustained development.

"...There are some industries, which feel that we should indiscriminately use natural resources, cut down our forests and use them for growth," she told reporters here on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute, an autonomous body under the union ministry of environment.

PANJIM: Considering that land allocated for industrial development has been left unutilized or underutilized for years, the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) has resolved to direct around 150 such plot owners to either start the work or surrender the plots to the corporation, Goa State Industries Association (GSIA) said on Thursday.

The decision was taken during the recent Goa Industrial Development Corporation board meeting. There are around 150 plots which were allotted during the previous regime.

The hike in customes duty on fully built imported vehicles from 75 per cent to 100 per cent in the Budget 2013-14 has disappointed the industry but given its small size, the impact may not be significant.

Speaking to The Hindu , Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Partner, Roland Berger Strategic Consultants, and former MD & CEO, Mercedes Benz India, said, “the fully imported vehicle market in India is around a mere 3,000 units per annum. If one considers the big three German players — Audi, Mercedes Benz and BMW — fully imported vehicles constitute 7-10 per cent of their portfolio here.’’

Carbon monoxide has been blamed for four deaths of workers in a cement plant in northwest China's Gansu Province on Wednesday, local officials said.