Any dilution of the rules under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, as being contemplated at the highest levels of the government, could lead to adverse impact in the ongoing Supreme Court case on UPA's decision
Chinese metropolis Guangzhou is now handing out 10,000 yuan in cash to car owners who purchase vehicles powered by new, alternative energy sources. Out of 17,880 new licence plates approved by the government
To protect lakes from encroachments and ensure their upkeep, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) will rope in corporates and non-governmental organisations (NGO) by floating a novel
The Centre has approved the state's plan to take immediate steps against climate change. It will be executed by the state government once the funds are released. The funding agency, however, is yet to
An American scientist has offered a radical solution to global warming by suggesting that we could refreeze the Arctic using a few modified jets. David Keith, professor of applied physics at Harvard
Disaster Management Survey Blames Use Of Stilt Parking For Vulnerability New Delhi: The buildings in east Delhi, especially of group housing societies, are not structurally safe, claim the National
Doha failed to fashion meaningful action on climate change but got all nations on one platform Typhoons Pablo and Bopha hit the Philippines as representatives from 194 countries and parties were negotiating
The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Centre to place before it their gazette notification over the new drug policy. A Bench led by Justice G S Singhvi gave the Centre time till January 15 to put on record
Amendments to the contentious land acquisition Bill not only seek to hasten the acquisition process through tight time-schedules but also contain a provision that virtually allows the law to be applied
A team of Punjab Pollution Control Board officials collected samples of water mixed with ash and draining out from Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant, Ropar towards Sutlej river here today. The team
The holy town of Katra, which on an average witnesses the arrival of 35,000 pilgrims from across the country and abroad on a daily basis and over one crore of them every year, may soon have an air monitoring
The Fatehabad district administration's announcement to set up a sanctuary for black bucks on the 500 acres reserved for the green belt out of the 1500-odd acres acquired by the Nuclear Power Corporation
Unrelenting in its approach towards non-serious players, the Coal Ministry has further deallocated two more coal blocks — Baitarani West and Naini—allotted to five public sector undertakings (PSUs) for
An apex social body of the Kuki community, Kuki National Assembly (KNA) has decided to take strong action against poachers found inside the Kaziranga National Park. KNA has recently formed an anti-poaching
Observing that the heavy traffic brought in by the sea link is causing air and noise pollution at Worli Seaface, the National Green Tribunal, in its order released on Wednesday, asked the Delhi-based Central
The illegal mining committed during 2006-11 in three districts of Karnataka has resulted in the state losing a revenue of Rs 3,414.45 crore and the government could recover only Rs 7.22 crore, a report by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said. In Chitradurga, Tumkur and Hospet divisions four lessees had extracted 1.47 million MT of iron ore valued at Rs 150.59 crore without the consent of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), the CAG report tabled in the Assembly said today. Mining of iron ore and stone quarrying in Karnataka was selected for the audit as they were two major contributors of revenue to the state in major and minor minerals.
In the latest flip-flop on the Land Acquisition Bill, which is slated to be discussed by the Union Cabinet on Thursday, the Rural Development Ministry has again diluted the consent provisions, reportedly against the wishes of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. According to sources in the government, the latest version of the Bill requires the consent of only 70 per cent of land owners when the government acquires land for a public-private partnership (PPP) project. For all other types of projects, 80 per cent consent will be required.
Report endorses Lokayukta findings on loss to the State exchequer The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has almost endorsed the Karnataka Lokayukta report on illegal iron ore mining and pegged the total loss due to illegal exports of ore at Rs 15,245 crore from 2003 to 2010. Besides, the CAG has estimated Rs 3414.45 crore loss to the State Exchequer due to “compliance deficiencies.” However, unlike the Lokayukta report, the supreme audit institution of India has not directly indicted any public servant.
Elephant and rhino poaching surged to record levels in 2011 and an increase in illegal tiger hunting makes the species’ extinction a real near-term threat with only about 3,200 of the big cats left in the wild, according to a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund. The report, launched on Wednesday, found that illicit trade in wildlife is worth at least $19 billion a year with organised criminals viewing it as high profit and low risk because governments don’t give it a high enough priority and haven’t implemented an effective response.
It is justice at last for two Punjab farmers whose forefathers’ land measuring over 95 kanals in Pathankot in Gurdaspur district had been taken over by the state government 50 years ago without paying
