With the clock ticking, the tribal affairs ministry has set the ball rolling for village assemblies or gram sabhas to decide on allowing Vedanta to source bauxite from the Niyamgiri hills, consider

The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) on Thursday rejected an application for renewal of consent to operate for H K Nathurmal, a mine located at Arvalem in Bicholim taluka.

The state government on Friday proposed a buffer zone of up to 1 km around wildlife sanctuaries (WLS) and national parks (NP) in the state.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today announced that steps shall be taken to curb illegal mining in the state. Strict action would be taken against those involved in illegal mining, he said.

The Chief Minister, who was on a visit to Una district, yesterday announced opening of a subtehsil at Jol in Chintpurni Assembly constituency. He was addressing a public meeting at Jabehar after laying a foundation stone of a bridge on Lander khad to be constructed at a cost of Rs 3 crore on Sohari-Chaksarai road of Una district yesterday.

The Supreme Court Friday sought responses from the Centre and states on a PIL for framing uniform rules for preventing illegal sand mining on river banks.

A Bench led by Justice S S Nijjar issued notices on the petition filed by National Legal Services Authority, requesting the court to intervene as reckless and indiscriminate sand mining along banks entailed grave peril to life sustaining capacity of natural environment.

Once commissioned, the plant will add 1,600 Megawatt to the company's portfolio

Following its move to shift its flagship Gadarwara project from Odisha to Madhya Pradesh, power generator NTPC has crossed a major hurdle by securing the environment ministry’s approval for the Rs 11,640-crore power plant. Once commissioned, the project would add 1,600 Mw to the company’s portfolio.
As the ministry’s environment clearance was on the condition that the project be set up as a role model, NTPC has quickly moved to source equipment and fuel for the project.

The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has called for suggestions and comments from various stakeholders on the Kasturirangan review committee report that has classified 122 villages in the state as ecosensitive areas along the Western Ghats.

A high-level working group (HLWG) on Western Ghats, chaired by K Kasturirangan, had reviewed the Madhav Gadgil-chaired Western Ghats Experts Ecology Panel (WGEEP) report as all the five states along the Western Ghats had raised objections against the Gadgil report.

PANJIM: Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has declined to renew the Consent to Operate of the mining lease owned by H L Nathurmal, located at Arvalem in Bicholim taluka, in the wake of Supreme Court decision to halt mining operations in Goa.

“The lease holder is given liberty to apply for renewal of consent to operate once the Supreme Court and State government revoke their decision of stopping mining operations in the state,” the order issued on May 2, reads.

PANJIM: Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has constituted 11 members Expert Appraisal Committee to examine issues relating to both, environment clearances of iron ore mining leases and illegal handling of dumps in Goa.

The Appraisal Committee, chaired by ex-secretary MoEF, Vishwanath Anand, has been directed to submit its report within three months by making case to case recommendations to MoEF.

PANJIM: The Justice MB Shah Commission's third report on illegal mining in Goa will be drafted only after the Supreme Court verdict on the petition on illegal mining in Goa is out and it will address issues of illegalities involved in transfer of leases and illegal ore exports specifically in the last five or six years before all mining in Goa was halted by the highest court in the land.

Talking to Herald, Justice Shah said that he will begin "drafting the report only after the apex court clearance", and that the report would only come out after the Supreme Court order. “We are waiting for the SC to pass its verdict on the petition filed in illegal mining in Goa,” he said.