Category: Environment, Forest and Climate change

Modi govt’s proposed geoheritage bill protects sites capturing Earth’s history. What it means

The Print | Jan 05, 2023

Geoheritage Sites & Geo-relics (Preservation & Maintenance) Bill lets govt declare a site to be of national importance, with 100m area around it ‘prohibited’ & 200m area ‘restricted’.

New Delhi: India’s rich geological monuments that capture the Earth’s tumultuous, evolving history in the form of rocks, sediment, and fossils, are at the grave risk of being wiped out, experts have said, highlighting the need for a law to protect these from erosion.

The warning has not gone unheeded, with the Narendra Modi government putting out a draft bill last month, for the preservation and maintenance of India’s geological heritage sites and relics. The draft Geoheritage Sites and Geo-relics (Preservation and Maintenance) Bill, 2022, published for “public consultation” by the Ministry of Mines on 15 December, aims to protect and preserve these sites for “geological studies, education, research, and for future generations as it is a non-renewable asset”.

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National Commission for Scheduled Tribes’ position on new Forest Conservation Rules ‘will be same’

The Hindu | January 02, 2023
Remark by national body’s Chairperson follows government’s dismissal of their concerns that the 2022 rules will invariably violate the Forest Rights Act, 2006

In a sign of escalating conflict between the government and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes over the Forest (Conservation) Rules (FCR) 2022, NCST Chairperson Harsh Chouhan on Monday said that the ST body’s position on the new rules being violative of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 “will be the same” even as the Environment Ministry has dismissed these concerns.

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Ministry Of Mines : District Mineral Foundation Constituted In 622 Districts; Rs.71128.71 Crore Collected Till October, 2022 Benefitting Large Number Of People

Orissadiary | Dec 26, 2022

New Delhi : Series of policy initiatives paving the way for amendments in Acts & Rules to bring about further acceleration in mining activity and ease of doing business marked the mining sector of India during the year 2022. Many a special initiative undertaken by the Mines Ministry resulted in amendments of Acts & Rules, thereby removing major obstacles /bottlenecks faced by our mining sector for years.

Innovative mineral exploration activities using state-of-the-art technology by Geological Survey of India (GSI), stepped up efforts by Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) to source strategic minerals from countries like Australia, Argentina and Chile were some of the highlights of the important steps taken by the Mines Ministry during 2022. Successful auction of 90 mineral blocks, establishment of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) in 622 districts and collection of Rs. 71128.71 crore up to October, 2022 under DMF were equally note-worthy achievements of the Ministry during the year.

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From Coal to Solar or Wind

The Break Through | Dec, 20, 2022

Employment and the clean energy transition in India’s coal-producing states.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world will have to reduce its coal use by 73% to 97% by 2050 to be able to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Taken at face value, reducing coal use immediately, irrespective of the costs, may seem like a no-brainer. But given the huge number of people and regions dependent on coal, the reality is more complicated. Take India, for example. A transition of this magnitude in that country would likely eliminate most coal mining jobs—a sector that provided 8.4 million jobs in India and elsewhere in 2021.

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Cancel permission to hydro power projects: Former Union secy to govt

The New Indian Express | Dec 19, 2022

Sarma said the government seems to have not taken nod from the National Commission for STs before taking the decision on the projects.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Former Union Energy secretary EAS Sarma has said the consent given by the State Cabinet for hydro-pumped storage projects at Kurukutti and Karrivalasa in Parvathipuram Manyam and at Yerravaram in Alluri Sitarama Raju district is in ‘gross violation’ of the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act and the Forest Rights Act.

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