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ACB has diluted Himmavu land acquisition case, says Vishwanath

Mysuru: Former MP and JD(S) leader AH Vishwanath charged the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) with diluting the case pertaining to the acquisition of 841 acres at Himmavu village at Nanjanjgud taluk in Mysuru.
Alleging that the decision of the state government to hand over the investigation to ACB when JD(S) leader GT Devegowda was its president was politically motivated, Vishwanath added, “Let the ACB conduct an independent investigation into Himmavu land acquisition deal. The real face of several top leaders will get exposed. Chief minister Siddaramaiah has issued oral directions to ACB to dilute the Himmavu land acquisition case.”

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Courtesy: The Times of India

National Green Tribunal strikes down Environment Cell

CHENNAI : The move by the State government to amend the Development Control Rules and create an Environment Cell in Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority suffered a blow after the National Green Tribunal (NGT)’s principal bench in New Delhi quashed a Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notification of 2016, which ordered setting up the facility. The Union Environment Ministry notification had specified constitution of the cell by the local body and the State government recently held a crucial meeting to bring in changes in its development regulations.

However, the Green Tribunal comprising Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, Justice Jawad Rahim (judicial member) and Bikram Singh Sajwan (Expert Member) in its order said the setting up environment cell in the local body will result in a conflict of interest.In its order passed in the first week of December, the Green Tribunal observed, “As per the notification of Union Ministry of Environment, Environmental Cell is to be constituted by the local authority or the State Government, whereas the implementation of the environmental law is vested with the Central Government.”

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Courtesy: The New Indian Express

E-waste provisioning may put pressure on electronic goods companies

MUMBAI: Electronic goods companies, including multinationals that have been operating in India for at least a decade, could see pressure on profit due to a proposed rule on electronic waste disposal and its treatment under current accounting standards. Companies such as Samsung, LG, Apple and Nokia will be required to collect a predetermined percentage of the goods they sell every year, stretching back over the past 10 years.

Under Indian Account Standards (Ind-AS), the companies will be required to provision for this cost in the current fiscal, leading to a possible erosion in earnings. They have asked the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to amend the rule and strip out its retrospective nature.

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Courtesy: The Economic Times

Tata Power gets mining license project in Russia worth $4.7 mn

Tata Power on Friday said it has won a mining license in Far East Russia and it aims to deploy the coal mined for its Mundra, Trombay power plants in India. In the release, the company added, it will also look to export to Far East Asian markets.

The company in its statement to BSE said its Russian subsidiary Far Eastern Natural Resources LLC, has been awarded the mining license of a thermal coal mine in Kamchatka province in Far East Russia. The subsidiary was awarded the license for $4.7 million in an auction process.

“The coal mine has high-quality thermal coal reserves of over 380 million tonnes, which the company aims to deploy for its facilities in Mundra and Trombay, as also sell in Far East Asian markets,” the company said in its statement. The company added it will carry out a detailed exploration to formulate a plan and work out a capex plan to implement the project in a phased manner to reach a stable throughput of 8-10 million tonnes per annum.

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Courtesy: Business Standard

Environment ministry may empower state bodies to grant green clearances

New Delhi: The union environment ministry has proposed to transfer some of its powers to state-level bodies while deciding on green clearances to projects related to non-coal mining, irrigation and townships.

Environmentalists slammed the proposal as an abdication of responsibility by the environment ministry which would lead to arbitrary decisions making by state-level bodies, potentially weakening environmental regulations.

Under the draft notification published on Monday, the Harsh Vardhan-led ministry proposes to amend Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2006 regulations to transfer its powers to grant environment clearances to non-coal mines, river valley and irrigation projects and townships till a certain threshold to the state-level environment impact assessment authority (SEIAA).

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Courtesy: Hindustan times

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