The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee of the Union environment ministry today gave a green signal for genetically modified brinjal (Bt brinjal). Three members dissented.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh commended the commitments made by Chinese President Hu Jinato during the high-level Climate Change Summit here and said India can learn lessons from China to help save the planet.
While trying to revamp the environment ministry, he has ruffled more feathers with his non-stop flow of irreverent one-liners than Shashi Tharoor did with his 'holy cows' tweet.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests, often criticised for its decisions to allow controversial projects in ecologically sensitive regions, may soon see a quiet makeover. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and his hand-picked personal staff comprising young professionals from prestigious Delhi institutions are known to be driving a transparency mission in the ministry.
Noting that the proposed port at Poshitra in Jamnagar would destroy crucial marine bio-diversity in the Gulf of Kutch, the Environment Ministry has asked the private developer to look for an alternate site to protect the precious aquatic life.
In a frank admission, the government today said in Lok Sabha that rivers Ganga and Yamuna were "no cleaner" now as they were two decades ago despite spending over Rs 1,700 crore.
In view of strong protests by the fishing community, the Environment Ministry today said it would soon frame a "reformed" and "scientific-version" of the Draft Coastal Management Zone 2008, which has been allowed to lapse.
The government today disfavoured use of paper bags as an alternative to plastic as this would lead to cutting of trees and proposed use of bio-degradable material.
The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) of the environment ministry is likely to consider tomorrow whether Doritos corn chips of PepsiCo USA should be allowed to be sold in the Indian market.
The environment ministry of the Central government, which had objected to the site of proposed Navi Mumbai airport, has given the in-principle approval for the site, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
A 12-member committee that was to make a site survey for a proposed nuclear power plant in West Bengal's East Midnapur district had to return back following protests from locals who fear displacement
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