<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" >

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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/coal/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2026 08:58:19 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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					<title>India’s coking coal push needs a methane plan [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/indias-coking-coal-push-needs-a-methane-plan-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/indias-coking-coal-push-needs-a-methane-plan-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Sep 2026 15:45:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Purva JainSaumya Nautiyal]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Steel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[methane]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel Industry]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/29115811/pexels-vikashkr50-17971796-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=41285</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Coal, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, Pollution, Sustainability, Technology, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India is preparing to double its coking coal output by 2030, especially to meet its steel manufacturing needs. While carbon emissions from coal use are well known, coal mining also produces methane emissions, which warrant early attention. If monitoring and abatement measures are not incorporated at the planning stage, it could lock in higher emissions [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India is preparing to double its coking coal output by 2030, especially to meet its steel manufacturing needs. While carbon emissions from coal use are well known, coal mining also produces methane emissions, which warrant early attention. If monitoring and abatement measures are not incorporated at the planning stage, it could lock in higher emissions in mining operations for decades. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and is formed in coal mines during the coalification process. It remains trapped within the coal seam and is released when mining disturbs or exposes the seam to the atmosphere. These emissions are called coal mine methane (CMM) and occur during multiple stages of the mining cycle, including extraction, drainage, and ventilation, as well as post-mining activities such as coal processing, storage, and transport. Coking coal mining is particularly methane-intensive, with around 50% higher methane intensity than non-coking coal. When heated in the absence of air, coking coal converts into coke: a strong, porous material, low in ash and moisture and free of volatile matter. Coke’s use as a fuel and a reducing agent in steel production sets it apart from non-coking coal, which is primarily used for energy generation. Why is India planning for more coking coal? In the absence of good-quality domestically produced coking coal, India imports around 90% of the coking coal required by its steel sector, which needs low ash and sulphur content and caking properties. India&#8217;s domestic coking coal production is still falling short. It mined 66.8 million tonnes&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/indias-coking-coal-push-needs-a-methane-plan-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/indias-coking-coal-push-needs-a-methane-plan-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Crop-residue burning, a major contributor to black carbon pollution: Study</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/crop-residue-burning-a-major-contributor-to-black-carbon-pollution-study/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/crop-residue-burning-a-major-contributor-to-black-carbon-pollution-study/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2026 17:11:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikhil Sreekandan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crop residue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stubble burning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sustainable agriculture]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/03162644/AP21322310236130-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40673</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Cities and Towns, Clean Energy, Coal, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Green Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health impacts, Industry, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Stubble burning, or crop-residue burning, has been known to contribute to the seasonal smog across northern India, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Plain region. Despite directions issued by the National Green Tribunal in 2015 to prevent agricultural residue burning, biomass burning remains a seasonal activity in states such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Rajasthan, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Stubble burning, or crop-residue burning, has been known to contribute to the seasonal smog across northern India, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Plain region. Despite directions issued by the National Green Tribunal in 2015 to prevent agricultural residue burning, biomass burning remains a seasonal activity in states such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Rajasthan, contributing to the region’s air pollution. A new study by researchers from IIT, New Delhi, has quantified the impact of crop-residue burning on particulate air pollution, particularly black carbon, commonly known as soot, that is produced when carbon-containing fuels are not burned completely. The study found that emissions from crop-residue burning in rural Punjab deteriorate air quality across the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and in downwind metropolitan cities such as Delhi, due to the transport of pollutants by prevailing winds. Results from real-time measurements at an agricultural-field site in Kheral village in rural Punjab showed that crop-residue burning contributed, on average, 48% to the total black carbon during the post-monsoon period, and periodically exceeded 90% during active burning hours. The study was conducted during October and November, the peak season for crop-residue burning in North India after rice harvest. A dominant source of black carbon “For the study, we mainly focused on black carbon levels and their dependence on stubble burning,” said Ajit Kumar, a Ph.D. researcher at IIT Delhi and one of the paper’s authors. Black carbon is a short-lived, carbon-rich component of PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres), Kumar said. A mobile monitoring&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/crop-residue-burning-a-major-contributor-to-black-carbon-pollution-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/crop-residue-burning-a-major-contributor-to-black-carbon-pollution-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The mine closes but the transition is far from over</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-mine-closes-but-the-transition-is-far-from-over/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-mine-closes-but-the-transition-is-far-from-over/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 16:22:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mines]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/17123529/6-scaled-e1786950421598-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40173</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Coal, Environment, Environmental Economics, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Human Rights, Industry, Mining, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On July 24, barely 50 metres from the entrance to a coal mine in Bokaro, Jharkhand, smoke was rising from beneath the ground. A few trees around the spot were completely burnt, and the cleared patch showed signs of recent intervention. Mining here, at the New Selected (NS) Dhori Underground Mine (UG), stopped about 15 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On July 24, barely 50 metres from the entrance to a coal mine in Bokaro, Jharkhand, smoke was rising from beneath the ground. A few trees around the spot were completely burnt, and the cleared patch showed signs of recent intervention. Mining here, at the New Selected (NS) Dhori Underground Mine (UG), stopped about 15 years ago, after reportedly extracting around 1.8 million tonnes of coal. But the mine was formally listed as scientifically closed only on March 25, 2026. Santosh Nonia, 35, a resident of Makoli village near the mine, said dense smoke had started emerging from the same spot about three months earlier. He described it as a foul-smelling gas, followed by a major fire that burnt nearby trees. Several senior officials visited the site, he said, and the fire was brought under control after water was poured continuously for three days. Villagers had suggested digging up the area and filling it with sand as a permanent solution, but their suggestion was not accepted, Nonia said. “The smoke is still coming out. Very soon, it may become intense again,” he said, pointing towards the burnt patch. Just two days before this incident, on July 22, the Ministry of Coal had released Aaroh, its first annual report on scientific mine closure and repurposing. The report documents the closure of 42 coal mines and showcases ecological restoration, post-mining land use and community-oriented interventions at the sites. NS Dhori UG was the second mine in Jharkhand to be formally listed as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-mine-closes-but-the-transition-is-far-from-over/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/the-mine-closes-but-the-transition-is-far-from-over/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Coal for cooking during LPG crisis raises questions over health risks</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/bihars-coal-distribution-scheme-raises-questions-over-health-risks/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/bihars-coal-distribution-scheme-raises-questions-over-health-risks/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 May 2026 15:35:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Umesh Kumar Ray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cooking fuel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy crisis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[firewood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LPG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural gas]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/22110652/AP26099341726805-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38305</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bihar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Coal, Energy, Food, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) crisis deepens due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the Bihar government has taken an unusual decision: to provide coal for cooking to families holding ration cards. Under guidelines issued by the food and consumer protection department, families in Bihar covered by the National Food Security Act &#8211; [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) crisis deepens due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the Bihar government has taken an unusual decision: to provide coal for cooking to families holding ration cards. Under guidelines issued by the food and consumer protection department, families in Bihar covered by the National Food Security Act &#8211; currently around 17.9 million households &#8211; would receive 100 kg of coal every month through more than 50,000 fair price shops in Bihar. In effect, Bihar will burn 1.79 million tonnes of coal for cooking every month. There is no specified end date of this plan. Following the disruption of critical corridors for LPG supply to India, many parts of the country have faced an LPG shortage. The Bihar government formed a high-level Crisis Management Group to address this and at a March 30 meeting, the group decided to distribute coal for cooking. The Bihar State Mining Corporation Limited (BSMCL) has been designated as the authorised agency for the purpose and has invited applications from wholesalers for coal distribution. Each vendor will be allocated up to 10,000 metric tonnes of coal annually. In guidelines issued on April 21, the food and consumer protection department classified the LPG shortage as an “anthropogenic disaster.” A tea stall in Patna, Bihar, uses coal for cooking. To combat the LPG crisis, the Bihar government has decided to provide coal for cooking to families holding ration cards. Gamilies covered by the National Food Security Act would receive 100 kg of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/bihars-coal-distribution-scheme-raises-questions-over-health-risks/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/bihars-coal-distribution-scheme-raises-questions-over-health-risks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>New report flags sulphur dioxide emissions from Bokaro Steel Plant</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-report-flags-sulphur-dioxide-emissions-from-bokaro-steel-plant/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-report-flags-sulphur-dioxide-emissions-from-bokaro-steel-plant/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Mar 2026 16:33:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel Industry]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/04143355/AP842492653352-scaled-e1772615137987-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37138</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Coal, Energy, Environment, Health impacts, Industry, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Decarbonising the steel industry — one of the largest coal consuming industries in India — focuses primarily on reducing carbon dioxide emissions to prevent the greenhouse gas effect. However, industrial processes in steel-making also cause air pollution, releasing sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, all of which adversely impact public health. A new analysis [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Decarbonising the steel industry — one of the largest coal consuming industries in India — focuses primarily on reducing carbon dioxide emissions to prevent the greenhouse gas effect. However, industrial processes in steel-making also cause air pollution, releasing sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, all of which adversely impact public health. A new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) tracked air pollution emissions disclosures from the Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) in Jharkhand. It found that even though BSL met existing regulatory limits, pollution from the plant led to around 273 low birthweight births, and 284 preterm births each year. India’s installed crude steel capacity is projected to reach between 260 million and 280 million metric tons by 2035, keeping up pace with growing demand from the automotive, renewables, and defence sectors. It currently accounts for 10-12% of India’s carbon emissions, making it a key sector for decarbonisation on the way to net-zero emissions. The use of blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces in additional steel capacity could lock in a carbon-intensive process. Until innovations on how to replace coal in steel-making become viable, investing in better air monitoring and filtration could help reduce the impacts of air pollution caused by the same process, the CREA report suggests. “The emissions by the industry are self-reported or reported by a third party hired by the industry. The reported emissions for compliance are always below the standard, whether it is BSL, Bhillai Steel Plant, IISCO [Indian&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/new-report-flags-sulphur-dioxide-emissions-from-bokaro-steel-plant/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Pollution concentrations soar higher above ground during haze</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/pollution-concentrations-soar-higher-above-ground-during-haze/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/pollution-concentrations-soar-higher-above-ground-during-haze/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Mar 2026 14:51:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aerosol chemistry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air quality modelling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air quality monitoring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AQI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[atmospheric science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boundary layer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Delhi air pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drone monitoring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[high-rise exposure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[particulate matter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PM2.5]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollution forecasting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secondary aerosols]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban air pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban climate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vertical pollution profile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[winter haze]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/03142922/AP25314257198720-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37114</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Innovations and Environment And Health]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Cities and Towns, Coal, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, Pollution, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On hazy winter mornings in Delhi, the air people breathe at street level may not tell the full story. A new peer-reviewed study published in Nature npj Clean Air reports that PM2.5 concentrations were up to 60% higher at around 100 metres above ground compared to surface levels during severe haze episodes. The findings suggest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On hazy winter mornings in Delhi, the air people breathe at street level may not tell the full story. A new peer-reviewed study published in Nature npj Clean Air reports that PM2.5 concentrations were up to 60% higher at around 100 metres above ground compared to surface levels during severe haze episodes. The findings suggest that pollution can accumulate not only near roads and traffic corridors, but also higher up at an altitude where many residents and office workers in high-rise buildings spend much of their time. Using a custom-built drone equipped with low-cost particulate matter sensors, researchers conducted multiple flights over South Delhi in March 2021. On one hazy morning, PM2.5 levels reached around 160 micrograms per cubic metre at 100 metres, compared to roughly 100 micrograms per cubic metre at ground level. Ajit Ahlawat, Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology and lead author of the study said about the finding, “This indicates that ground-based monitoring alone substantially underestimates actual exposure to pollution in the lower urban boundary layer, especially during haze episodes.” Traditional air quality monitors typically measure pollutants around five to ten metres above the ground. “This misses vertical gradients in shallow nocturnal boundary layers that trap pollutants aloft,” Ahlawat said, referring to the different heights in the layer of air close to the ground that forms at night which can go up to 300 metres or higher. He added that hygroscopic particle growth, where particles absorb moisture and grow, and secondary aerosol formation often occur&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/pollution-concentrations-soar-higher-above-ground-during-haze/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Old kilns, new blocks, uncertain futures</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/old-kilns-new-blocks-uncertain-futures/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/old-kilns-new-blocks-uncertain-futures/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2026 11:40:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tanvi Bhatia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brick industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brick kiln]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Infrastructure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[manufacutring]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/26101535/AP20081304327460-e1772081488710-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37042</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative energy, Carbon emissions, Clean Energy, Coal, Energy, Environmental Economics, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With expanding cities, rising housing demand, and large-scale infrastructure projects, India is witnessing one of the world&#8217;s fastest construction booms. Under the government&#8217;s urban housing scheme, over a period of 10 years, 11.8 million houses were sanctioned, 11.4 million grounded for construction, and over 8 million completed as of 2024. Meanwhile, under the rural housing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With expanding cities, rising housing demand, and large-scale infrastructure projects, India is witnessing one of the world&#8217;s fastest construction booms. Under the government&#8217;s urban housing scheme, over a period of 10 years, 11.8 million houses were sanctioned, 11.4 million grounded for construction, and over 8 million completed as of 2024. Meanwhile, under the rural housing scheme the government plants to construct 20 million houses by 2029. Every year, the country constructs millions of buildings, reflecting both the scale and pace of this growth. The construction sector is a critical contributor to climate change. According to the World Green Building Council, buildings and construction together account for 39% of global energy-related carbon emissions, with materials and construction alone contributing 11%. The growing construction demand has increased the demand for bricks and the brick industry is growing. India is the world’s second-largest producer of bricks, after China. Yet, much of the sector is unorganised, widely dispersed, and largely informal. Traditional brick-making methods rely on coal-fired, energy-intensive kilns, resulting in higher emissions from fired clay bricks used in construction. The brick industry is one of the largest (coal) energy users and a source of GHG emissions from India. But it also employs some of the largest workforces in India, after agriculture. Kanpur, an industrial city in Uttar Pradesh, has a well-established brick manufacturing industry. Its peripheral regions host numerous traditional brick kilns that fuel the city’s rapid construction growth. At the same time, several enterprises here are experimenting with low-carbon alternatives such as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/old-kilns-new-blocks-uncertain-futures/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Incident at illegal coal mine resurfaces concerns about banned rat hole mining</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/incident-at-illegal-coal-mine-resurfaces-concerns-about-banned-rat-hole-mining/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/incident-at-illegal-coal-mine-resurfaces-concerns-about-banned-rat-hole-mining/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Feb 2026 14:13:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rat hole mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/10112124/Ndrf-op-e1770703030266-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36814</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Meghalaya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coal, Energy, Environment, Health impacts, Human Rights, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Meghalaya saw one of its worst mining disasters when a dynamite explosion took place in an illegal rat hole mine in Thangkso area of East Jaintia Hills district on the morning of February 5. The blast ignited a fire which trapped the miners working in adjacent pits. As of February 10, 30 bodies have been [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Meghalaya saw one of its worst mining disasters when a dynamite explosion took place in an illegal rat hole mine in Thangkso area of East Jaintia Hills district on the morning of February 5. The blast ignited a fire which trapped the miners working in adjacent pits. As of February 10, 30 bodies have been recovered while nine people were injured. While the identity of all the victims has not been confirmed yet, the district administration shared that the deceased miners were from Meghalaya, Assam and Nepal. Reacting to the incident, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, who also holds the mining portfolio, shared in a post on social media: “Profoundly saddened by the tragic coal mine incident in East Jaintia Hills. My deepest sympathies are with the families who have lost their loved ones in this unfortunate tragedy. The Government of Meghalaya has ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the incident. Accountability will be fixed, and those responsible will face strict legal action. There will be no compromise when it comes to the safety of lives.” Sangma has ordered a judicial probe to look into the tragedy. He announced an ex gratia compensation of ₹200,000 (₹2 lakhs) for the families of the deceased while Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced ₹500,000 (₹5 lakhs) for victims from his state. Demanding Sangma&#8217;s resignation from the position of mining minister, Sanjay Das, General Secretary, Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee told Mongabay-India, “We want the Chief Minister to step back from the position of Minister-in-Charge&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/incident-at-illegal-coal-mine-resurfaces-concerns-about-banned-rat-hole-mining/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Budget signals a shift in India’s climate and energy priorities</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/budget-signals-a-shift-in-indias-climate-and-energy-priorities/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/budget-signals-a-shift-in-indias-climate-and-energy-priorities/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Feb 2026 14:06:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adaptation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Annual budget]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Critical Minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electricity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy storage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Municipal Bond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rural economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supply chain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urban area]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/03113134/AP25247548851789-scaled-e1770098800708-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36715</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy and Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Coal, Energy, Environmental Politics, Green Energy, Hydroelectric power, Industry, Politics, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In her ninth consecutive Union budget speech on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention “climate” even once. She mentioned “environment” but in the context of infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail and dedicated freight corridors. This reflects the overall thrust of the budget, which focused more on infrastructure expansion, reducing import dependence, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In her ninth consecutive Union budget speech on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention “climate” even once. She mentioned “environment” but in the context of infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail and dedicated freight corridors. This reflects the overall thrust of the budget, which focused more on infrastructure expansion, reducing import dependence, and strengthening domestic manufacturing, while remaining muted on environmental concerns. Experts say external factors, including climate finance constraints, economic conditions, and geopolitical tensions, may be influencing this tone that the budget has taken. A similar tone was also seen in the Economic Survey tabled on January 29, which analyses the state of the economy and sets the context for the budget which then announces the government&#8217;s actual spending and policy proposals. The Survey noted that capacity constraints and a widening gap between ambition and operational reality have marked the global climate agenda. It highlighted climate finance as a key challenge and said India should approach the transition as part of a broader energy system strategy linked to growth and security. Rohit Azad, Assistant Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, said external constraints, such as climate finance, cannot justify inaction. “Climate change is going to affect India far more than the Global North, given our tropical climate and high levels of poverty. Livelihoods will be impacted, and disasters will become harder to manage. It is in our own interest to act,” he said. Azad also pointed to global political shifts. “There is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/budget-signals-a-shift-in-indias-climate-and-energy-priorities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/budget-signals-a-shift-in-indias-climate-and-energy-priorities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Ministry changes land acquisition requirements for select projects seeking clearance</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/ministry-changes-land-acquisition-requirements-for-select-projects-seeking-clearance/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/ministry-changes-land-acquisition-requirements-for-select-projects-seeking-clearance/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jan 2026 15:13:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Impact Assessment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[land acquisition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[land management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[national parks]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/12130706/AP23105336045202-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36433</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coal, Energy, Environment, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Land Rights, Mining, Oil, Protected Areas, and Roads]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Developers of select non-coal mining projects no longer need to show proof or intent of land acquisition before obtaining environmental clearance, the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has said. The announcement changes earlier norms which required developers of such projects to show proof that land acquisition had been initiated when seeking environmental clearance. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Developers of select non-coal mining projects no longer need to show proof or intent of land acquisition before obtaining environmental clearance, the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has said. The announcement changes earlier norms which required developers of such projects to show proof that land acquisition had been initiated when seeking environmental clearance. The change was made after industrial bodies requested the government to do away with the provision, a letter published by the Ministry says. The change now exempts highways, mineral mining, slurry pipeline, and offshore and onshore oil and gas exploration projects from obtaining consent for land acquisition, if they pass through national parks and other eco-sensitive areas. Oil and gas transportation pipeline projects are also excluded. In other words, environmental clearance for these projects – running through national parks, coral reefs, sanctuaries, and eco-sensitive areas – can be granted before land acquisition, or consent for land acquisition, is obtained. “It is very difficult to understand how a meaningful environmental impact assessment can be made without full knowledge of the area that is going to be covered by the non-coal mining project in the first place,” Jairam Ramesh, former Union Environment Minister and a leader in the Opposition Congress Party, said in response to the change in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The change puts these non-coal mining projects on an almost equal footing with exceptions for coal mining projects. A mining engineer points to a chromium ore vein in a mine in Jajpur district,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/ministry-changes-land-acquisition-requirements-for-select-projects-seeking-clearance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Air pollution is the silent enemy of Indian monuments</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/air-pollution-is-the-silent-enemy-of-indian-monuments/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/air-pollution-is-the-silent-enemy-of-indian-monuments/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Dec 2025 13:14:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shilpa Raina]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heritage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainable development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transport]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/22221939/9272192605_54f9ad8624_k-e1766467839971-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36204</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections and India's Iconic Landscapes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Cities and Towns, Coal, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The implications of air pollution on health, education and work productivity dominate the headlines every winter, when air quality levels deteriorate to hazardous levels over north India. However, new research reveals that these pollutants are also slowly corroding the symbols of our past and putting our heritage at risk. In a scientific study on the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The implications of air pollution on health, education and work productivity dominate the headlines every winter, when air quality levels deteriorate to hazardous levels over north India. However, new research reveals that these pollutants are also slowly corroding the symbols of our past and putting our heritage at risk. In a scientific study on the Red Fort, scientists have found that chemical interactions between pollutants and the monument’s stone surface are slowly destroying its distinctive red façade and turning it black. It confirms what was already known about how pollution chips away at a monument’s integrity, when it was discovered decades ago that pollution was behind the Taj Mahal’s changing appearance. Despite protections, this “wonder of the world” continues to find itself in the news for foul smells and its marble turning green. The Red Fort has been a lasting political symbol and has served as the backdrop of every Prime Minister’s Independence Day speech since 1947. But political will is failing to save the fort — and hundreds of other monuments in the region — from the ill-effects of air pollution. The Red Fort study is the first to attribute the formation of black crusts on its surface to emissions from cement factories, thermal power plants, and vehicles. “Indian monuments are already losing their settings because of rampant encroachment and unauthorised construction. It&#8217;s sad to see policymakers believe there is a Planet B. Otherwise, there would have been some concrete measures to reduce air pollution,” says Abha Narain Lambah,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/air-pollution-is-the-silent-enemy-of-indian-monuments/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Proposed sloth bear reserve caught between courts and a thermal power project</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/proposed-sloth-bear-reserve-caught-between-courts-and-a-thermal-power-project/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/proposed-sloth-bear-reserve-caught-between-courts-and-a-thermal-power-project/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Dec 2025 16:49:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shaz Syed]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sloth bear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thermal energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thermal Power Plants]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/18141539/Sloth_Bear_with_Cubs_at_Bor_tiger_reserve_Maharashtra_India-e1766047635833-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36127</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coal, Deforestation, Energy, Environment, Forests, Mining, Pollution, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A proposed conservation reserve for the sloth bear in Uttar Pradesh is caught in a prolonged battle with a thermal power plant. Even as scientific studies and forest officials support the proposal for a sloth bear reserve in the Vindhyan forests of Mirzapur, work on a 1,600-megawatt coal-based plant has advanced in the in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A proposed conservation reserve for the sloth bear in Uttar Pradesh is caught in a prolonged battle with a thermal power plant. Even as scientific studies and forest officials support the proposal for a sloth bear reserve in the Vindhyan forests of Mirzapur, work on a 1,600-megawatt coal-based plant has advanced in the in the area, despite multiple legal challenges. Sloth bears have historically inhabited the dry deciduous forests and hilly terrain of Mirzapur. Endemic to the Indian subcontinent, the sloth bear is the only species of ursid that has adapted to feeding on ants, termites and fruits, a trait critical for it to thrive in small home ranges, often in harsh conditions and with a degree of tolerance to human disturbances. Protecting the bear&#8217;s prime habitats is key to its survival. “If the (thermal power plant) project is established at the proposed location, it would necessitate a railway line, water pipelines, transmission lines and approach roads, all through the contiguous forested landscape,” said Debadityo Sinha, co-founder of Vindhyan Ecology and Natural History Foundation (VENHF) and a graduate from the South Campus of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) that adjoins the forest ranges. “It would spell disaster for the forest.” Forests in Marihan range in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. A proposed conservation reserve for the sloth bear in the Vindhyan forests is caught in a battle with a thermal power plant. Image by Debadityo Sinha. A legacy of wildlife  Mirzapur has long been an important administrative and trading centre on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/proposed-sloth-bear-reserve-caught-between-courts-and-a-thermal-power-project/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>India, China step into leadership vacuum at climate meet as the West retreats</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/india-china-step-into-leadership-vacuum-at-climate-meet-as-the-west-retreats/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/india-china-step-into-leadership-vacuum-at-climate-meet-as-the-west-retreats/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Nov 2025 11:30:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Soumya Sarkar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COP30]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India climate policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris Agreement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unilateral trade measures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wind Energy]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/21103532/54929826572_f74d585e98_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35701</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Coal, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Renewable Energy, and United Nations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The room had barely settled when an Indian negotiator joked that the tense climate-finance session felt like “mandatory therapy.” A Chinese delegate quickly added, “Not just therapy. We need yoga and a massage.” According to a delegate present at the meeting, the light-hearted exchange drew laughter and softened the mood. It also revealed something deeper. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The room had barely settled when an Indian negotiator joked that the tense climate-finance session felt like “mandatory therapy.” A Chinese delegate quickly added, “Not just therapy. We need yoga and a massage.” According to a delegate present at the meeting, the light-hearted exchange drew laughter and softened the mood. It also revealed something deeper. India and China often coordinate at climate summits, but their easy camaraderie at the climate talks in Brazil (COP30) carries new weight because the world’s traditional climate leaders are no longer steering the process. With the United States again pulling back from the Paris Agreement under the second Donald Trump administration, and the European Union distracted by the economic and political pressures of the war in Ukraine, the leadership vacuum has made India and China’s familiar alignment unusually influential in Belém this year. What was once a routine partnership has become a central force in holding together a summit that feels unanchored. Old partnership in a new world Inside the negotiating rooms, India and China have been echoing each other’s positions with a smoothness that even veteran observers did not expect. For years, both countries have pushed for the same broad demands that hinged on more reliable financial support from wealthy nations, fewer trade barriers that hurt developing economies, and fairer expectations for poorer countries trying to cut emissions. None of that is new. What is new is the context. With Washington now outside the UN climate process and Brussels struggling to maintain diplomatic momentum,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/india-china-step-into-leadership-vacuum-at-climate-meet-as-the-west-retreats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Supreme Court rolls back order banning post-facto environmental clearance</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/supreme-court-rolls-back-order-banning-post-facto-environmental-clearance/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/supreme-court-rolls-back-order-banning-post-facto-environmental-clearance/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Nov 2025 17:28:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainable development]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/20140522/6207579066_c8fd3193e0_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35689</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coal, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Mining, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Supreme Court has reinstated post-facto environmental clearance for projects that failed to obtain permission before starting construction, invalidating its previous judgement on the matter. In an order issued on November 18, the Court said if the ban on post-facto clearance wasn’t recalled, it would have “devastating effects…as various completed and near-completion projects will have [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Supreme Court has reinstated post-facto environmental clearance for projects that failed to obtain permission before starting construction, invalidating its previous judgement on the matter. In an order issued on November 18, the Court said if the ban on post-facto clearance wasn’t recalled, it would have “devastating effects…as various completed and near-completion projects will have to be demolished.” The Court’s order is a roll back of its judgement on 16 May 2025, which declared post-facto environmental clearances to be illegal and harmful. According to a media report, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had granted post-facto clearance to over 100 projects and issued terms of reference for at least 150 more. These included coal and iron mines, factories, and other large projects. In 2017, the Union Environment Ministry issued a notification which allowed developers to apply for environmental clearance after they had already started constructing their projects, as a one time measure for a period of six months. Subsequently, the Ministry issued an office memorandum in 2021 outlining a standard operating procedure to be followed by project proponents when seeking post-facto clearance. A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court had struck down these efforts in May, after finding they violated the Environmental Impact Assessment notification. The Court barred the Union Environment Ministry from issuing any more post-facto clearances, and ordered the demolition of violative projects that had not already secured clearances under the “amnesty” scheme. The case, however, is being reconsidered in light of a review petition&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/supreme-court-rolls-back-order-banning-post-facto-environmental-clearance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/supreme-court-rolls-back-order-banning-post-facto-environmental-clearance/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>The invisible fallout of thermal power plant closures on local economies</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/the-invisible-fallout-of-thermal-power-plant-closures-on-local-economies/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/the-invisible-fallout-of-thermal-power-plant-closures-on-local-economies/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Oct 2025 16:00:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Roli Srivastava]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Air Pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy transition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Just Transition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[just transitions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thermal Power Plants]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/31112402/IMG_3768-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35291</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Odisha]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Mitigation, Coal, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Mining, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Roadside shops selling steaming hot chai and samosas were among the first to down their shutters. The lull then spread gradually across this bazaar, located in front of a major thermal power plant in eastern India, with shop after shop winding up business after their sole customer base, the plant’s workers, were forced to leave [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Roadside shops selling steaming hot chai and samosas were among the first to down their shutters. The lull then spread gradually across this bazaar, located in front of a major thermal power plant in eastern India, with shop after shop winding up business after their sole customer base, the plant’s workers, were forced to leave after the plant’s closure four years ago. “This road was a thoroughfare,” said Nrupati Jena, 65. “Workers thronged my shop through the day; I had a daily business of ₹4,000.” Jena still sells biscuits, cigarettes, and paan (betel leaves) at the wide gate leading to the old plant, his shop the only one standing amidst shuttered ones. “For three years now, my income has dropped to less than half,” he told Mongabay-India. “Nobody has asked us how we are surviving.” The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), India’s largest power company, retired its 460-MW Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS) in the mining hub of Odisha in March 2021. The move was fiercely contested by worker unions in court, as worker unions cited insufficient notice — of less than a month — given to the contractual workers who lost their jobs. The court finally allowed the plant’s closure in October of the same year, NTPC officials said. While NTPC employees were transferred to other projects of the power giant, and nearly three-quarters of the contractual workers who lost their jobs have since been reinstated at the new under-construction plant, the invisible collateral damage was the approximately 120&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/the-invisible-fallout-of-thermal-power-plant-closures-on-local-economies/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Rail expansion plans spark clash between coal and tiger conservation</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/coal-corridor-or-tiger-corridor-the-battle-over-rail-expansion/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/coal-corridor-or-tiger-corridor-the-battle-over-rail-expansion/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Oct 2025 14:49:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pamela D'Mello]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indian Railway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NTCA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supreme Court of India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserve]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/17000034/tiger-e1760679529298-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35081</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Goa and Karnataka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Cats, Coal, Energy, Habitat Fragmentation, Industry, Protected Areas, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the Central Government steams ahead with its plan to double an existing railway line between Goa and Karnataka for coal transport, it has clashed with conservationists over a 26-kilometre stretch cutting through two wildlife sanctuaries in the Western Ghats which are known to have tigers. An environment impact assessment notes that there is a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the Central Government steams ahead with its plan to double an existing railway line between Goa and Karnataka for coal transport, it has clashed with conservationists over a 26-kilometre stretch cutting through two wildlife sanctuaries in the Western Ghats which are known to have tigers. An environment impact assessment notes that there is a presence of tigers, leopards, and other animals along the track corridor. The assessment was carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), commissioned by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), the implementing public sector entity for the Indian Railways. “Adult tigers with cubs were (camera) captured in 5 locations”; “common leopards in multiple locations”, “sloth bears with cubs in numerous places”; besides “significant captures” of wild herbivores like gaur, sambhar, mouse deer, northern red muntjac or barking deer and wild boar, the assessment states. The current single railway line runs for 345 km from Hospet in Karnataka to Vasco da Gama in Goa. The proposed double line is to open up a coal transport corridor between these two areas. About 26 km of this line, will run from Castlerock on Karnataka’s border to Kulem on the Goa border. Almost ten hectares of forest land in Karnataka’s Dandeli wildlife sanctuary (part of the Kali Tiger Reserve, along with the Anshi wildlife sanctuary) and over 120 hectares in Goa’s Bhagwan Mahaveer wildlife sanctuary and Mollem National Park is sought to be diverted for this additional track. The current single line was first constructed in 1890 by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/coal-corridor-or-tiger-corridor-the-battle-over-rail-expansion/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Fallen pine needles could help India cut carbon emissions</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/fallen-pine-needles-could-help-india-cut-carbon-emissions/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/fallen-pine-needles-could-help-india-cut-carbon-emissions/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Aug 2025 11:32:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vandana K.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biofuel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biofuels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pine]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/08/21102530/Pinus_wallichiana_at_VanDusen_Botanical_Garden-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34251</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative energy, Coal, Energy, Fires, Forest Fires, and Green Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every year, an estimated 7.47 million tonnes of pine needles fall across the Indian Himalayan region, creating a fire hazard that climate change is making deadlier. A new study shows these needles could instead become fuel, replacing 4.7 million tonnes of coal and generating electricity to power the region. Pine needle biochar can be co-fired [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every year, an estimated 7.47 million tonnes of pine needles fall across the Indian Himalayan region, creating a fire hazard that climate change is making deadlier. A new study shows these needles could instead become fuel, replacing 4.7 million tonnes of coal and generating electricity to power the region. Pine needle biochar can be co-fired with coal in power plants across Himalayan states — to generate 6.4 terawatt-hours of electricity and cut carbon emissions by 5.8 million tonnes annually, while reducing forest fires, according to the study. The findings are from a research paper published in the journal Bioresource Technology Reports in March 2025 by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. The study addresses a serious concern across the region. Uttarakhand alone recorded over 11,000 forest fire incidents from November 2023 to June 2024. The scientists found that pine needle biochar produced at 600°C with 10°C per minute heating rate shows good potential for coal replacement, because of its high carbon content. The findings of this study could be used to create new jobs and solve frequent forest fires while drastically reducing the share of coal in power plants, in line with India&#8217;s net-zero targets by 2070. “The novel aspect of the research is linking biochar production to power plants and quantifying carbon benefits,” said Priyanka Kaushal, professor at the Centre for Rural Development and Technology at IIT Delhi. She explained the dual benefits of using pine needle biochar &#8212; “One is replacing the dirty fossil coal&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/fallen-pine-needles-could-help-india-cut-carbon-emissions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/fallen-pine-needles-could-help-india-cut-carbon-emissions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>A coal mine reopens, sparking hope and fear</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-coal-mine-reopens-sparking-hope-and-fear/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-coal-mine-reopens-sparking-hope-and-fear/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Mar 2025 16:15:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal India Limited]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Just Transition]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/03/11164008/coal-mine-banner-new-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31786</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coal, Energy, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Rajhara North coal mine in Jharkhand, which was non-operational for a decade, has now been reopened under private ownership.  While its revival is celebrated as a much-needed boost for local employment, it has also revived deep-seated concerns over environmental degradation and its long-term impact on the local community. Commercial production at the Rajhara North [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Rajhara North coal mine in Jharkhand, which was non-operational for a decade, has now been reopened under private ownership.  While its revival is celebrated as a much-needed boost for local employment, it has also revived deep-seated concerns over environmental degradation and its long-term impact on the local community. Commercial production at the Rajhara North (Central and Eastern) coal block in Padwa village, in Jharkhand&#8217;s drought-prone Palamu district, restarted in February this year. The government had allocated this block to Fairmine Carbons Private Limited in 2021. The project covers over 116 hectares, costs Rs. 1.26 billion and is expected to mine over 15 million tonnes of coal over 22 years. The Rajhara North coal mine, one of the oldest in India, was established in the pre-independence era and nationalised in 1973. Initially a thriving underground mine, it later became an open-cast operation to extract high-quality coal. It continued operating until 2010 when it closed over safety concerns and issues related to environmental clearances. “Whether you call the region Jharkhand or United Bihar-Jharkhand, Rajhara is the very first mine discovered by the British during their rule,&#8221; says Nitish Priyadarshi, an assistant professor in the Department of Geology at Ranchi University and author of A Handbook of Geology of Chotanagpur and Squeezing Earth to Death: Premises and Effects. &#8220;The coal here is of excellent quality — whether anthracite or bituminous. In the past, mining was done underground where the coal seam was inclined. Now, when the seam is horizontal, we use open&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-coal-mine-reopens-sparking-hope-and-fear/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Miners trapped as a rat-hole coal mine floods</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/miners-trapped-as-a-rat-hole-coal-mine-floods/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/miners-trapped-as-a-rat-hole-coal-mine-floods/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jan 2025 12:21:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rat hole mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/01/19142046/Some-members-from-the-rescue-team-descending-in-the-mine-sitting-on-the-trolley.Image-by-Nabarun-Guha-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31156</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Hewing The Regulatory Tree and Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coal, Environmental Economics, Environmental Law, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the morning of January 6, when Babul Chandra Das from Tezpur, saw the news on TV, about an accident in a rat-hole mine near Umrangso in the Dima Hasao district of Assam, he became anxious. That’s where his wife&#8217;s elder brother Sanjit Sarkar, 35, had gone to work. Das and the rest of Sanjit’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On the morning of January 6, when Babul Chandra Das from Tezpur, saw the news on TV, about an accident in a rat-hole mine near Umrangso in the Dima Hasao district of Assam, he became anxious. That’s where his wife&#8217;s elder brother Sanjit Sarkar, 35, had gone to work. Das and the rest of Sanjit’s family in Raichenga, a village in the Alipurduar district of West Bengal, tried contacting him over phone several times, in vain. Eventually, someone picked up the phone to deliver the fateful news – Sanjit was indeed trapped inside the mine, which was then engulfed by water. About 15 km from Umrangso, an industrial town in Dima Hasao, is a small village called 3 Kilo. As the last known settlement and marketplace in the area, 3 Kilo serves as the starting point for a roughly two-hour drive along a rough, dusty jungle road to Kalamati, where Assam Coal Quarry — the site of the accident — is situated. The rat hole mine where the miners got trapped. Image by Nabarun Guha. Das, along with Sanjit&#8217;s father Krishnapada Sarkar and father-in-law Anil Sarkar, reached the site on the evening of January 7. They are currently staying in the same room which Sanjit was sharing with Rajeev Barman (39), Khusi Mohan Rai (57) and Sarpa Barman (46), all of whom hailed from the Kokrajhar district of Assam. While Rajeev managed to escape the flooding mine, his other roommates were not so fortunate. Khusi Mohan&#8217;s body was recovered on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/miners-trapped-as-a-rat-hole-coal-mine-floods/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Emissions from thermal power are flying under the radar of air pollution action</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/12/emissions-from-thermal-power-are-flying-under-the-radar-of-air-pollution-action/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2024/12/emissions-from-thermal-power-are-flying-under-the-radar-of-air-pollution-action/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Dec 2024 15:51:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Air Pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sulphur dioxide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thermal Power Plants]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2024/12/05123000/1200px-Bathinda_power_plant_Punjab_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30592</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy and Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Coal, and Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Air pollution in north India made headlines across the world when Air Quality Index (AQI) levels were recorded as over 1,500 a few weeks ago – unprecedented, experts said, even for a region that routinely ranks among the world’s most polluted. Though crop-residue burning contributes to such seasonal peaks, there’s a steady combustion source that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Air pollution in north India made headlines across the world when Air Quality Index (AQI) levels were recorded as over 1,500 a few weeks ago – unprecedented, experts said, even for a region that routinely ranks among the world’s most polluted. Though crop-residue burning contributes to such seasonal peaks, there’s a steady combustion source that is many times more polluting: thermal power plants. Seasonal burning of the paddy crop residue coincides with lowering temperatures and more stagnant winds, which causes a high level of pollutants to gather over the Indo Gangetic Plain over the winter. This curtain of smog is mostly made up of PM2.5 particles – very fine, toxic pollutants that are released on the combustion of fuels or burning of biomass. But pollution from thermal power plants is continuous, and responsible for a sizable pollution load annually. An analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that thermal power plants emit 10 times more kilotonnes of PM2.5 compared to crop residue burning, and over 200 times more kilotonnes of sulfur dioxide, another harmful pollutant. In the National Capital Region alone, thermal power plants emit 16 times more sulphur dioxide compared to stubble burning. “Despite the significant health and environmental impact of coal fired power plant emissions, regulatory enforcement on these power plants remains far less stringent compared to the seasonal restrictions and penalties imposed on stubble burning,” the analysis says. Curbing emissions from thermal power plants involves installing flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2024/12/emissions-from-thermal-power-are-flying-under-the-radar-of-air-pollution-action/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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