Pollution in Sonbhadra area is not new and has been talked about for many years but no action has been taken to check the pollution. This has led to long term health impacts which have now started to show up in the population of the region. CSE took up a study to look at these health impacts and to investigate the possible causes.
Are environment and forest clearances a hindrance to development in the country?
No, says our study. The study analyses the environment and forest clearances granted during the 11th Five Year Plan, from April 2007 till August 2011.
The pace of such clearances during this period has been unprecedented.
Click on the below links to find more on the study
Supply issues comprise one part of the energy conundrum, as we discussed last fortnight. The cost of energy and our ability to pay for it is the other. The matter gets vexed because the rise in price of raw material of all energy sources is accompanied by huge inefficiency in distribution and accounting. But importantly, we remain a poor country where cost of energy is a factor in its availability and accessibility for all.
The power blackout in northern India on two days should not be dismissed or misjudged. Analysts are jumping to conclude that the crisis was foretold. They blame delays caused by environment and forest clearance procedures and demand winding down the regulatory framework so that we can re-energise ourselves. Their other favourite whipping horse is ‘free’ electricity to farmers, which is said to be crippling the state electricity boards. These explanations are naïve and mistaken.
| Public hearing of the capacity expansion of coal washing facility by Hind Energy, Hingadih village, Chhattisgarh - Part I |
Centre for Science and Environment carried out the technical analysis of the EIA-EMP report of Gare Pelma Block III coal mining and washery. This was on a request from Raghubeer Pradhan of Ekta Parishad. The project is to come up in the Mand-Raigarh coalfields in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh.
Read the review:
Two monopolies. One private and the other public; one in gas and one in coal. Both equally disastrous for the environment. I speak here of Reliance Industries Ltd and Coal India Ltd.
The environment is holding up growth and economic development. This is the common refrain in circles that matter. So when the Group of Ministers tasked to resolve the issue of coal mining in forests asked for a report on what needs to be done, it was told that the best would be to dismantle green conditions, almost completely.
CSE released its cover story on the rapid industrialisation in Chhattisgarh on November 15, 2010 at Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The event was organised by Ekta Parishad. The cover was based on a detailed analysis of the proposed industries in the state, their land and water requirement and whether that state will be able to meet this requirement.