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Hans India
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Kavya raises illegal sand mining issue in Parliament
Hanumakonda: Duringa question-and-answer session in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Dr. Kadiyam Kavya raised concerns about the impact of illegal sand mining in the erstwhile Warangal district. In response, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), represented by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, addressed the issue. The MP highlighted the environmental damage occurring along the Godavari riverbanks and questioned the Central government about the steps taken in this regard. She sought explanations whether any studies had been conducted on the environmental impact of illegal sand mining, the current status of forest restoration projects under the Green India Mission (GIM), protection measures for the Pakhal Lake Wildlife Sanctuary from encroachments and pollution and the allocation of funds in previous and current years for development of ecotourism in the Warangal forest areas. In his reply, Yadav confirmed that a study on the impact of illegal sand mining along the Godavari riverbanks had been completed. He stated that the government was providing policy and technical support to assist the State government initiatives. To regulate sand mining, he mentioned the release of the Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines (SSMMG) in 2016 and the Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining (EMGSM) in 2020. Regarding forest expansion under GIM) the minister noted that the State government had not yet submitted its proposal. Nevertheless, some projects were being implemented in Warangal district. In reference to protection of wildlife sanctuary, he explained the Central actions based on information provided by the Forest department. These actions include restoring encroached lands, registering cases under the Telangana Forest Act of 1967, planting saplings on reclaimed lands, preventing illegal entry into forests and establishing strict patrolling to stop wildlife hunting. He also said awareness programmes have been launched to prevent encroachments and poaching and the use of plastic around the Pakhal Lake has been banned. Under the Green Fund scheme, ₹274 lakh was allocated for restoration of Pakhal lake. Water samples from the lake are tested monthly under the supervision of the Telangana State Pollution Control Board. Guidelines for ecotourism in forest and wildlife areas were released in 2021.
The Print
a day ago
- The Print
Rajasthan: Over 27,000 illegal mining-related cases in Aravallis since 2020, but FIRs for only 11%
In Rajasthan, there are 20 districts in the Aravalli belt, including Ajmer, Jaipur and Alwar. The MoEFCC provided information about the total number of mining related activities such as total illegal mining cases, total FIRs, vehicle seizures and penalty recovered in rupees in all these districts. The Aravallis are a mountain range that stretches through Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat. In this ecologically sensitive zone, any kind of quarrying or mining activity is prohibited without requisite permissions from state authorities. New Delhi: There have been 27,693 reported cases of illegal mining, transportation, and stocking in the Aravallis in Rajasthan since 2020; however just 3,199 FIRs—11 percent of the total cases—have been lodged. This is the data the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) provided in response to a question in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Bhilwara, a district in southern Rajasthan had the highest number of illegal cases reported, with 4,838 cases from 2020 to 2025. It was followed closely by Jaipur, the capital of the state, where 4,261 cases of illegal mining-related crimes were recorded. Not all the cases are specifically of illegal mining, many relate to illegal transportation and illegal stocking of materials too. The cases of illegal mining alone in Bhilwara were 514, while in Jaipur, the figure was 184. However, the number of FIRs registered differed significantly—in Bhilwara there were 1,102 FIRs lodged over five years but in Jaipur the number was only 68. In certain years like 2023-24, when Jaipur recorded a total of 747 cases of illegal mining-related activities and 74 cases of illegal mining alone, there were still only 23 FIRs lodged. The top five districts in terms of illegal mining-related activities are Bhilwara, Jaipur, Tonk, Pali and Rajsamand. Also read: Illegal Aravalli road: SC panel rebukes Haryana chief secy for pinning blame on forest officials Measures to stop illegal mining According to the response by the MOEFCC, there are various measures in place in Rajasthan to protect against illegal mining, including fines and seizure of vehicles when necessary. The State Directorate of Mines and Geology provides for imprisonment of up to 5 years and fines of Rs 5 lakh per hectare. There are also measures such as deploying Border Home Guards in mining offices, GPS tags on mineral vehicles, and geofencing of mining lease areas to prevent illegal mining. However, the data provided by the Ministry shows the inconsistency in filing FIRs when mining cases are discovered in the Aravallis. For example in Sikar, when 207 mining-related cases and 5 illegal mining cases were reported in 2020-21, there were 0 FIRs lodged. Also in Tonk, there were a total of 510 FIRs filed across 5 years from 2020 to 2025, but 460 of these were filed in a single year—2021-22. There were 716 illegal mining-related cases that year in the district. The next year in 2022-23, there were 734 cases. But only 1 FIR was filed the entire year. Talking about the government's attempt to preserve the ecology of the Aravallis, the MOEFCC referred to the 'Aravalli Green Wall Project', which is an initiative to plant trees in 29 districts to restore degraded forest land. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Modi to kickstart 'Aravalli Green Wall' campaign to reforest world's oldest mountain range
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Odisha government scraps tender for construction of Mahanadi bridge near Satkosia
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government has scrapped the tender floated for construction of a high-level bridge over Mahanadi river near the ecologically-sensitive Satkosia Tiger Reserve. The bridge plan was taken up without obtaining mandatory clearances from the statutory bodies of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). This newspaper had reported the story. An official document of the Works department, accessed by The New Indian Express, said, 'The project proposal will now be uploaded on the e-Parivesh portal for obtaining all necessary statutory clearances after which its execution will be taken up.' Sources in the Works department said, the chief engineer, Bridges cancelled the March 28 tender citing that due procedure will be followed to obtain all statutory clearances required for its execution in the ecologically-sensitive area. The bridge project had been planned to be executed at an investment of `131.51 crore to connect Narsinghpur-Baliput PWD road to Badmul, a scenic site located within Baisipalli wildlife sanctuary under Satkosia Tiger Reserve. Though the bridge and its approach road fall within a few hundred metres of the core area of the tiger reserve, it was alleged that the government proceeded with the tender without obtaining necessary clearances from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). Environmentalists and wildlife experts who raised objections had cautioned that the project could cause irreversible damage to the fragile ecosystem of Satkosia. Meanwhile, in view of the sensitive nature of the proposed bridge over Chilika lake, the regional officer, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has intimated the Works department that they would appoint competent agencies to conduct studies and assessments, and comply with the terms of reference recommended by the MoEFCC under the provision of EAI notification 2006. The 7.74-km project, estimated at a cost of around `526.08 crore, had prompted the expert appraisal committee (EAC) of MoEFCC to seek a cost-benefit analysis from the state government. During a meeting in December last year, the EAC observed that around 3.4-km length of the proposed bridge falls under the draft eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) boundary of Nalabana (Chilika) Wildlife Sanctuary. It had sought clarification from NHAI for the necessity of constructing the bridge project at the site. Department sources said the status of the Mahanadi bridge and Chilika bridge projects has been communicated to the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) that sought clarification from the government on both the matters recently.
Business Standard
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Godawari Power sizzles on securing environmental clearance for Raipur steel plant
Godawari Power & Ispat surged 4.40% to Rs 194.50 after the company received a crucial environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The approval paves the way for setting up a 2 million ton integrated steel plant at Village Sarora, in Tilda tehsil, Raipur district, Chhattisgarh. The green signal was granted during the 7th meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for industrial projects, held on 9 July 2025. The minutes of the meeting were uploaded on the Ministrys website on 16 July 2025. According to the company, the plant will be built in two phases of 1 million ton each. Godawari Power & Ispat is a fully integrated steel company that operates across the entire steel value chain. On a consolidated basis, net profit of Godawari Power & Ispat rose 1.35% to Rs 221.26 crore while net sales declined 4.04% to Rs 1468.08 crore in Q4 March 2025 over Q4 March 2024.
Indian Express
10-07-2025
- General
- Indian Express
BMC starts work on north phase of coastal road project in Goregaon
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has commenced works on the second phase of Coastal Road Project along a 1.2 km stretch in Goregaon, which falls outside the limits of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). On Wednesday, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar conducted a site inspection where he took stock of the developments on the project. Set to connect Versova in the western suburbs with the satellite city of Bhayandar, the north phase of the Coastal Road Project encompasses interchanges, elevated roads and twin tunnels. The mega project passes through land and creeks with most of the area falling under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). On Wednesday, the civic body said that foundation work at a 1.2 kilometre stretch in Goregaon, which lies outside the CRZ boundary, has been commenced. According to officials, this stretch falls under the Package B of the project, which encompasses an overall area of 1.66 km between Bangur Nagar and Mindspace (Malad). For perspective, the coastal road has been divided into six packages between Versova and Dahisar. While carrying out inspection of the foundation work at the non-CRZ area in Goregaon, AMC (Projects), Bangar on Wednesday instructed officials to ensure that no work is undertaken in areas which are categorized under CRZ. Besides overlooking ongoing works at Goregaon, Bangar also conducted site visits at Versova, Andheri, Lokhandwala interchange, Malad mindscape among other pockets where he interacted with officials and took stock of several works being executed under the ambit of coastal road phase 2. Earlier this month, the BMC received the crucial in-principal (Stage I) approvals for the mangrove forest diversion proposal to develop the project through the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Having procured the stage I approvals, the civic body is now going to approach the High Court. According to officials, work can be commenced only after acquiring the working permissions from the High Court. Following this, the MoEFCC grants the Stage II (final) approvals for the project.
