A joint delegation of civil rights organizations, Samata and mines, minerals & People (mm&P) led by mm&P chairperson Rebbapragada Ravi and general secretary Ashok Shrimali met MPs of several political parties and minister of state of state for coal and mines Haribhai Chaudhary to apprise them of issues faced by the people in the mining … More India’s mining-based development: Economic prosperity hasn’t percolated to local people

Suggestions/objections/comments on the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) by Mahesh Pandya of Paryavaran Mitra, Ahmedabad, to the member secretary, Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), Gandhinagar: This is in reference to the Notification No. S.O. 19(E) dated 6th January 2011 issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC, Government of India in … More Misleading information on public hearings on coastal zone management plan for Gujarat

Open letter by Vimlendu Jha* to Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, as Delhi High Court examines clearances given by his ministry: When I first learnt that you were joining the Union government as Minister of State with independent charge in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, I … More Delhi redevelopment project promoting new kind of cronyism – of the govt, for the govt, by the govt

Genetically modified (GM) processed food cannot be sold or traded in India without government approval. But a new lab study from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) finds they are being widely sold here. A CSE note: In a first study of its kind for India, New Delhi-based research and advocacy body Centre for Science … More CSE lab study: 32% samples test positive for GM; 80% of GM positive samples were imported

By Shilpi Chhotray, Claire Arkin and Perry Wheeler * In an effort to quell growing concerns about Starbucks wasteful packaging, the company just announced to much fanfare that it would phase out plastic straws and replace them with “recyclable” plastic lids. In fact, the same type of plastic Starbucks claims is “recyclable” is being sent … More Starbucks CEO Kevin Thompson invited to see where its trash ends up: Much of it across South East Asia

Ahead of the Delhi High Court hearing on a petition filed by Dr KK Mishra, a senior orthopaedic surgeon, challenging the environmental impacts of Delhi’s redevelopment projects, Kanchi Kohli and Manju Menon* argue, like mines, redevelopment projects must also face tough environmental approval process:  It has been a month since hundreds of Delhi residents took … More Govt reluctance to put Delhi’s redevelopment project through robust environmental approval process

By Himanshu Thakkar* Within a span of a week, two interesting reports on national water situation were made public. Indians have heard of NITI Ayog’s first ever report on Composite Water Management Index, trying to put together state of water management in India. Not many here would have heard of the United States Geological Survey (USGS)’s … More NITI Ayog water report’s 9 themes, 28 indicators ignore environment, industrial water pollution