Centre for environmental protection assistance to Kashmir: Ramesh

September 30th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Top brass of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force bid adieu to three of their colleagues on Wednesday who were killed fighting suspected militants in Kashmir. The three personnel-Ramesh Alohia, Pratap Singh and D R Singh-belonged to No.

September 21st, 2009 SRINAGAR - The chairman of the moderate faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Moulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq, said on Monday that he would welcome a visit to the state by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Kashmir Valley if he initiates steps to resolve the long pending Kashmir issue. Addressing a gathering on the occasion of Eid, Farooq said: Today, I would like to welcome India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is coming to Kashmir in some days if he announces some steps to solve the Kashmir problem.

September 12th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Youth in Srinagar got a chance to voice their views and grievances against the security forces at a pro-active meet held recently here. Jointly hosted by the All India Centre for Rural and Urban Development (AICURD), the New Delhi-based non-governmental organisation and the Kashmir University's Department of Students Welfare, the meet was aimed to bridge the gap as well as mistrust between the youth and the security forces in the valley.

September 6th, 2009 KOLKATA - At least 220 Indian scientists and 127 research organisations are joining hands for a massive study to monitor climate change in different parts of the country. Climate change in India has led to a rise in sea levels while storm surges in coastal areas have also become a major concern for environmental authorities.

August 19th, 2009 CHENNAI - The central government will soon set up a national authority to enforce environmental laws, minister Jairam Ramesh said Wednesday. "At the state environment and forest ministers' meeting yesterday (Tuesday) in Delhi, there was a broad agreement on this aspect.

August 15th, 2009 CHENGDU - Panda lovers Saturday set out for a hike in China's southwestern Sichuan province to retrace the steps of a French missionary who made the animal known to the West 140 years ago. Pere Jean Pierre Armand David, a French Catholic missionary, introduced the Giant Panda to the Western world after taking photographs of the animal in 1869 in Sichuan's Ya'an City.

July 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Many projects will no longer need environmental impact assessment (EIA) and clearance from the government, according to amendments to EIA rules proposed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh informed parliament Monday that the proposals included: * Threshold limits of construction projects (that require clearance) would be raised from 20,000 to 50,000 square metres * Modernisation and expansion projects without increase in pollution load would be exempt from EIA provisions * Prospecting of minerals would be exempt * Biomass based power plans up to 50 MW would be exempt Ramesh informed the Rajya Sabha in response to a question that the amendments envisaged more involvement of civil society groups in environmental clearance.

July 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Rs.11,200 crore (Rs.112 billion/$2.2 billion) released by the Supreme Court last week for compensatory afforestation will be used to improve the tree cover in six million hectares of degraded forest land all over India, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here Wednesday. The money will be sent to state governments, starting with 10 percent next week, he added.

July 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has come under criticism from green activists for his remark that ban on plastic bags is not the way to clean up India's cities. Ramesh said in parliament Wednesday that the government would pursue a policy of encouraging bio-degradable plastic, arguing that replacing polythene bags with paper was not an eco-friendly solution as more trees would have to be cut to produce all that paper.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government plans to strengthen the wildlife protection act so that poachers are convicted more quickly, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here Thursday. "I met (the Supreme Court's) amicus curae (on environment) Harish Salve and he had some very good ideas on how we can strengthen the act," Ramesh told the media.

July 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Water security was a key area in the governments national action plan on climate change, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said Wednesday and described the drying up of natural lakes across the country as a matter of serious concern. The minister of state with independent charge of environment however said his ministry faced a problem of resources and suggested that the issue could be more aggressively addressed if the water resources ministry joined hands with him.

June 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Environmental clearance procedures would be made more "transparent and businesslike" to avoid any conflict of interest and to ensure a stipulated period for the process, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said Friday. "There has been criticism that the process (of environmental clearances) lacked transparency...

June 25th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Union Health Minister and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday said that the upcoming two new medical institutes in Srinagar and Jammu would boost health facilities in the state. Azad was speaking on the sidelines of a Health Sector review meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convocation Center (SKICC) here.

June 24th, 2009 KOLKATA - Hoping that West Bengal will maintain the highest environmental standards at the petroleum, chemicals and petrochemical investment region (PCPIR) on Nayachar island off Haldia port, the central government Wednesday said there was no reason to cancel the project if everything was in order. "I hope the state government will adhere to the highest environmental standards and monitor the project regularly once the chemical hub came up," Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh told reporters here.

June 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India will soon have an autonomous Environment Protection Authority (EPA) that will ensure industries comply with all the green laws of the country, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here Friday, as his ministry had "no way to ensure strict compliance". "Not enough is being done to monitor environmental compliance," Ramesh said at the eighth corporate awards ceremony of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).