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BAN KHU, Thailand (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Muhammad Lamoh had no inkling that his small village of Ban Khu in southern Thailand would be key to the nation’s renewable energy goals, until local authorities called a community meeting to inform them of a plan to build a biomass plant.
The 25 megawatt plant began operating in March last year, despite villagers’ concerns about its effects on their health, its proximity to a local school, and sharing water from a canal that they used for fishing and their rubber and rice crops.
Before long, villagers noticed a foul smell and waste such as fly ash being dumped. Some residents complained of skin rashes, and many could not get as much water from the canal.
India’s mining reforms ignore the livelihood and rehabilitation of those affected by the industry
The reforms focus on increasing mineral production while remaining silent on the damaging effects of mining over the last few decades. AFP
As the debate around the new farm laws rages on, the Indian government has gone ahead and cleared changes in the country’s mining laws, to push mineral extraction and production. Like farming, mining is another sector where the mining reforms, meant to boost the economy, are going to have large-scale consequences.
The changes, according to the government, will have a positive impact on the sector and economy, but experts working with the mining-affected communities note that they could have a domino effect, with a negative impact on communities, human health, water bodies, environment or wildlife.
Can India meet its NDC target under Paris Climate Agreement by 2030
January 23, 2021
× As India transitions into the 6th year since it pledged to generate an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030 as part of Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target under the 2015 Paris Agreement, initial trends suggest that the targets may be met only halfway at best, according to experts.
Prof. NH Ravindranath of Centre for Sustainable Technologies – IISc, Bangalore, has laid down a 3-point roadmap which could help India achieve at least 50 per cent of its NDC target under the Paris Agreement. Firstly, admitting that it won’t be easy to meet it the whole way, he goes on to advise that a separate cell be set up in the ministry with adequate funding solely for the purpose of tree planting. He also said that the states need to be given some targets with respect to reforestation.
Interview:Â SC s Central Vista Verdict Equates Development With Development Projects
Researchers Kanchi Kohli and Manju Menon break down the implications of the Supreme Court s split verdict in Rajeev Suri v Delhi Development Authority & Ors.
An aerial perspective of the entire Central Vista project. Photo: HCP Designs
Law15/Jan/2021
The Supreme Court, in a 2:1 verdict on January 5, has held that there is no infirmity in the grant of âno objectionâ by the Central Vista Committee (CVC) and âapprovalâ by the Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) and âprior approvalâ by the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) to the Central Vista Project, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on December 10 last year.
Though the fine print and official confirmation of the mining sector reforms the Union Cabinet approved on Wednesday are yet to come, industry players are elated at the steps taken. There are, however, concerns over implementation at the state level and the environmental impact of mining. “Directionally, it is a good set of reforms. But since implementation is with state governments, the key lies in how each state executes it at its end. Even today, for a final go or no go, in terms of approvals, it takes about three-four years, and this scares away investors,” said Ritabrata Ghosh, assistant vice president (corporate ratings and industry research) at ICRA.