Environment (Protection) Act: 39 changes made to rules in 2 years of pandemic, shows report

Most relaxations & exemptions made for development projects through gazette notifications, office memorandums, orders

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (October 19, 2022)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal

Miner liable to pay ‘dead rent’ when unable to extract minerals due to lack of clearance: Andhra HC

Petitioner approached the court against the state government insisting on a dead rent for 2013-2020

Locals oppose petrochemical project plan in Odisha’s Kendrapara over green concerns

Water use for the PCPIR will effect mangroves, Mahanadi river; Area already prone to disasters due to climate change, say environmentalists

Coastal area projects got Centre’s nod without proper environmental impact assessment, finds CAG

Projects used outdated baseline data for green assessment, no environmental impact evaluation 

Kenya’s environmental regulator ready to reconsider EIA processing fees due to financial crunch

The authority was forced to reduce staff during the pandemic

NGT orders shut 15 chemical industrial units in Haryana for flouting norms

Experts express concern, point at state pollution control board for poor implementation

Bihar defers tendering for sand block operators after NGT order

The state floated the tender on the basis of an invalid district survey report, says NGT

Andhra holds public hearing on Vedanta gas project amid surging COVID-19 graph

The hearing was scheduled for December 17, 2020 but was cancelled after people resisted

The Pandemic Year: Reforms and amendments

A five-part series as India marks a year of the dreaded COVID-19 lockdown: We look at environmental legislation in this part

Environment Impact Assessment: India needs to revamp its public consultation framework

The draft Environment Impact Assessment notification 2020 minimises public engagement. How do other countries go about it?

Why did the Chamoli tragedy happen in winter

Identifying hotspots through vulnerability mapping and strengthening EIA can enhance preparedness and build adaptive capacity in areas …

Expert Appraisal Committees to meet twice a month to fast track environmental clearance

Experts slam government move, stating it would short-change the importance of appraisal and detailed scrutiny in the environment clearance process

India can push up renewable energy the most after COVID-19: IEA

The agency expects India to double its green energy capacity addition next year from 2020 levels

Can’t do without support: Wildlife Institute chief writes to environment ministry

The Union finance ministry on September 30, 2020 recommended that MoEF&CC ‘disengage’ from five autonomous institutions, including&…

Draft EIA notification 2020: Is it contra legem to international conventions, judicial verdicts

The draft Environment Impact Assessment notification aims to set aside several essential provisions such as public consultation, and plans to …

EIA 2020 to give straight clearances for 239 dams

Some 900 hectares of forest will be submerged with the dams, claim experts  

Peripheral ring road project: Karnataka HC bars action on virtual hearing

HC issues notices to state authority; asks whether virtual hearings were sufficient and valid under procedure established under EIA, 2006 

Opencast expansion at Chhattisgarh mine violates NGT order

The EAC recommended that the coal mine be expanded to 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from 1 MTPA through opencast method

Draft EIA 2020 undercuts India’s biodiversity and climate goals

The proposal to weaken policies for environmental protection with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) draft, 2020, has resulted in …

Court Digest: Major environment hearings of the week (August 17-21, 2020)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal through the week

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (August 18, 2020)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal

Draft EIA: SC rejects Centre challenge to Delhi HC translation order

The high court heard a petition asking the Centre to print the draft EIA notification in 22 languages mentioned in the Eight Schedule of the …

EIA notification 2020 in violation of FRA: Activists write to MoEF&CC

The provisions would adversely affect rights of forest dwellers and their right to minor forest produce 

Draft EIA 2020: How it may impact North East

The region, with eight per cent of India’s total geographical area, has 25 per cent of India’s forest cover