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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/industry/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:16:05 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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					<title>Supreme court upholds centre&#8217;s power to notify post-facto clearance</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/supreme-court-upholds-centres-power-to-notify-post-facto-clearance/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/supreme-court-upholds-centres-power-to-notify-post-facto-clearance/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Aug 2026 16:28:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest clearance]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/07135307/AP22207426732440-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39949</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Crime, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forests, Industry, Land Rights, Law Enforcement, National Parks, Natural Resources, Protected Areas, Sustainability, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Supreme Court has struck down the centre&#8217;s 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) that created a mechanism for granting post facto environmental clearances to projects that violated prior environmental clearance norms. At the same time, it stated that the central government has the power to frame statutory amnesty schemes for specified categories of such violations under [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Supreme Court has struck down the centre&#8217;s 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) that created a mechanism for granting post facto environmental clearances to projects that violated prior environmental clearance norms. At the same time, it stated that the central government has the power to frame statutory amnesty schemes for specified categories of such violations under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. On July 29, the Supreme Court decided three connected writ petitions questioning the centre&#8217;s two amnesty schemes introduced in 2017 and 2021 to regularise projects that had started construction or operations without obtaining prior environmental clearance. The first scheme came through a notification issued in 2017, which gave projects that had violated prior environmental clearance requirements a one-time six-month window to seek clearance. In 2021, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued an OM prescribing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for granting post facto environmental clearances to such projects. Delivering the judgment, the three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi said, “…the OM does not satisfy the test of proportionality and reasonableness and is violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution”. The Court quashed the OM, although the ruling will operate only prospectively, the judgement said. However, the bench also stated that the central government could exercise its powers under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to issue statutory notifications framing amnesty schemes for specified categories of non-compliant projects. Environmental experts said this leaves open&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/supreme-court-upholds-centres-power-to-notify-post-facto-clearance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>India’s ethanol push moves from the pump to the field, raising water and food questions</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-ethanol-push-moves-from-the-pump-to-the-field-raising-water-and-food-questions/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-ethanol-push-moves-from-the-pump-to-the-field-raising-water-and-food-questions/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 16:31:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethanol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ethanol blending]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/28144133/signal-2026-07-28-12-24-18-195_003-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39684</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biofuels, Environment, Food, Fossil Fuels, Green Energy, Human Rights, Industry, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is the third part in a series comparing India and Brazil’s ethanol transitions. This part examines how India&#8217;s ethanol model increasingly moving beyond sugarcane and molasses-based production to grains, raising questions about pressures on livestock feed and the food processing industry. The second part examined the challenges of procurement, storage, transport and quality control. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is the third part in a series comparing India and Brazil’s ethanol transitions. This part examines how India&#8217;s ethanol model increasingly moving beyond sugarcane and molasses-based production to grains, raising questions about pressures on livestock feed and the food processing industry. The second part examined the challenges of procurement, storage, transport and quality control. In December 2025, tractors and crowds of farmers gathered near an under-construction grain-based ethanol plant in Rathi Khera village in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district. They feared the project would strain local water resources, pollute groundwater and damage farmland. The company said the plant would use zero-liquid-discharge technology and pollution-control systems. The protest later escalated into clashes with police, and construction was halted. The Hanumangarh agitation was one of several protests against ethanol and distillery projects reported across India, including in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana, where communities have raised concerns about water use, pollution and impacts on farmland. These disputes are emerging as India’s ethanol industry undergoes a major shift from sugarcane-based to grain-based production. In the latest tender by state oil companies, grain-based distilleries supplied more than 70% of the ethanol procured, according to Athar Shahab, managing director of Zuari Industries Limited, an Indian conglomerate with businesses spanning agribusiness, sugar and biofuels, real-estate and engineering services. A decade ago, sugarcane molasses dominated India’s ethanol supply. That balance has now shifted. India now derives roughly 65-70% of its ethanol from grains, mainly maize and rice from Food Corporation of India warehouses, while sugarcane-based feedstocks contribute around&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-ethanol-push-moves-from-the-pump-to-the-field-raising-water-and-food-questions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Supporting infrastructure is the missing link in India&#8217;s ethanol push</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/supporting-infrastructure-is-the-missing-link-in-indias-ethanol-push/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/supporting-infrastructure-is-the-missing-link-in-indias-ethanol-push/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2026 12:39:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethanol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ethanol blending]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[petrol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[petroleum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vehicles]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/24105649/AP23242459662267-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39570</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biofuels, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Green Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, Sustainability, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is the second part in a series comparing India and Brazil’s ethanol transitions. Brazil’s decades-long experience shows that producing ethanol is only half the challenge. This story examines the real test which lies in procurement, storage, transport and quality control, the systems that decide whether ethanol actually reaches the pump reliably. The first part [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is the second part in a series comparing India and Brazil’s ethanol transitions. Brazil’s decades-long experience shows that producing ethanol is only half the challenge. This story examines the real test which lies in procurement, storage, transport and quality control, the systems that decide whether ethanol actually reaches the pump reliably. The first part looked at what that difference means for vehicle owners in both countries. At a petrol pump in Bhopal’s Katara Hills, a 40-year-old pump attendant smiles when asked whether customers talk about ethanol-blended petrol. “People come and joke, ‘ganne ka juice bhardo’ (Fill sugarcane juice),” he says, referring to E20 petrol, a blend of 20% ethanol and 80% petrol. In India, sugarcane is one of the main feedstocks used to produce ethanol. The sarcasm reflects the public conversation that has followed the rapid expansion of E20. Videos and posts circulating online have raised questions about the colour and quality of the fuel, its compatibility with older vehicles, and possible changes in mileage or performance. Government agencies and automobile manufacturers have disputed several of these claims. The debate has nevertheless brought attention to how ethanol is transported, stored, blended and tested before fuel reaches a petrol pump. Brazil’s ethanol mission seems to have inspired India to a great extent as the South American country often comes up in India’s ethanol debate, usually as a success story of higher blends. Interactions with people who run Brazil’s ethanol system bring out some crucial lessons for India. For Brazil, where&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/supporting-infrastructure-is-the-missing-link-in-indias-ethanol-push/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tribal council calls recognition of forest rights on Great Nicobar Island ‘false’</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/tribal-council-calls-recognition-of-forest-rights-on-great-nicobar-island-false/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/tribal-council-calls-recognition-of-forest-rights-on-great-nicobar-island-false/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2026 17:04:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Forest Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Right Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Rights]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/17135552/25717790891_a505e61f54_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39405</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Community based conservation, Conservation, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, and Islands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Members of the Tribal Council of the Little Nicobar and Great Nicobar Islands have written to the Union Tribal Affairs Minister demanding the withdrawal of a certificate which claimed forest rights had been recognised and settled on Great Nicobar Island. The certification, issued in August 2022, enabled clearances for the Great Nicobar Island project to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Members of the Tribal Council of the Little Nicobar and Great Nicobar Islands have written to the Union Tribal Affairs Minister demanding the withdrawal of a certificate which claimed forest rights had been recognised and settled on Great Nicobar Island. The certification, issued in August 2022, enabled clearances for the Great Nicobar Island project to come through later that year. The ₹81,000 crores (₹810 billion) project includes the development of a trans-shipment port, military and civilian airport, solar power plant, and township along the island&#8217;s southern coast. The letter, dated June 30, 2026, was written in response to a statement by the Tribal Affairs Minister, Jual Oran, who said that “development and tribal protection are not mutually exclusive.” Approximately 130 square kilometres of the project-affected area falls on forest land, requiring the removal of close to one million trees. In their letter, the tribal chiefs proposed an alternative set of initiatives to meet their needs, including building basic critical infrastructure like hospitals, telecommunication towers, and footpaths. “Development will be achieved when those who have the power to make decisions and are duty bound to address our grievances don’t keep ignoring us,” says the letter. The letter demands that tribal rights to accessing forest land be legitimately recognised, and that the certification issued by the Andaman and Nicobar Island Deputy Commissioner in August 2022 be withdrawn. The Deputy Commissioner had issued a certificate claiming that forest rights over the project affected-land had been recognised, settled, and approved for diversion under the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/tribal-council-calls-recognition-of-forest-rights-on-great-nicobar-island-false/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The hidden burden of rural air pollution</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-hidden-burden-of-rural-air-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-hidden-burden-of-rural-air-pollution/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2026 16:07:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Himanshu Praveen]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brick industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brick kiln]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rural India]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/17122910/A-commuter-rides-through-a-dense-low-lying-blanket-of-toxic-smog-at-sunset-a-common-winter-and-post-monsoon-reality-along-rural-Bihar_s-unmanaged-waste-dumping-tracks-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39390</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bihar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Biofuels, Clean Energy, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Health impacts, Human Rights, Industry, Pollution, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the peak of summer, villages around Koilwar and Arrah in Bihar&#8217;s Bhojpur district are often hit by dust storms. By midday, strong winds sweep fine soil across agricultural fields, leaving crops and rooftops coated in dust. But the dust seen in summer is only the beginning. For local communities, air pollution typically worsens after [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the peak of summer, villages around Koilwar and Arrah in Bihar&#8217;s Bhojpur district are often hit by dust storms. By midday, strong winds sweep fine soil across agricultural fields, leaving crops and rooftops coated in dust. But the dust seen in summer is only the beginning. For local communities, air pollution typically worsens after the monsoon into the winter months when temperatures plunge, and ground-level wind speeds drop to near-stagnation. It prevents dust and emissions from industries and households from dispersing easily. As a result, pollutants accumulate near the ground, causing air quality to deteriorate. Vishwanath Pratap Singh, a local social activist based in Bhojpur, says, “During the summer, we somehow manage the heat and dust storms, which are challenging but still manageable. But the real disaster unfolds during the winter months when a strange heaviness grips the village air. &#8220;Persistent eye irritation and chronic throat infections have now become a daily reality for our children and the elderly,” he adds. Aamod Kumar, a resident of Koilwar, says the air becomes unbearable in winter. &#8220;Once the brick kilns start operating, the whole area fills with smoke, especially in the mornings. Ash settles on our crops, affecting the harvest. Stepping outside feels like breathing smoke instead of fresh air.&#8221; The concerns expressed by Aamod and Singh are not an isolated experience. It is supported by findings from a study conducted by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. Under the project named the AMRIT (Ambient Air Quality Monitoring over Rural areas using&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/the-hidden-burden-of-rural-air-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Government proposes increasing clearance validity for ports and harbours</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/government-proposes-increasing-clearance-validity-for-ports-and-harbours/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/government-proposes-increasing-clearance-validity-for-ports-and-harbours/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jul 2026 15:44:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[port]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ship]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/15125227/AP25160345655791-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39305</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast, Environment, Environmental Politics, Industry, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Union Environment Ministry has proposed “rationalising” the validity of environmental clearances for port and harbour projects in India, increasing it from the current 10 year period to a 15 year period. In addition to increasing the validity of the environmental clearance, the draft notification also proposes increasing the renewal period upon the completion of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Union Environment Ministry has proposed “rationalising” the validity of environmental clearances for port and harbour projects in India, increasing it from the current 10 year period to a 15 year period. In addition to increasing the validity of the environmental clearance, the draft notification also proposes increasing the renewal period upon the completion of the clearance’s tenure, from one year to five years. The proposal was made in a draft notification issued on May 20. According to the draft notification, the reason for increasing the clearance validity is because of the “high gestation period due to various issues, which are often beyond the control of the project proponent.” Ports and harbours can take over a decade from construction to commercial or full-scale operation. India has 12 major ports and 217 non-major ports. In the 2025-2026 financial year, India’s ports collectively handled 915 million tonnes of cargo, according to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. “Often long gestation is symptomatic of unaddressed local grievances. Instead of addressing the problem by letting the locals air their grievances, and letting the project owners offer satisfactory solutions, the ministry of proposing a blanket extension,” said Meenakshi Kapoor, an independent researcher who tracks changes to India’s environmental clearance process. A 2010 report on major and non major ports along India’s coastline found that out of 181 notified non major ports at the time, at least 41 (23%) had reported environmental concerns and 32 (18%) reported protests on social grounds. “A reapplication for EC&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/government-proposes-increasing-clearance-validity-for-ports-and-harbours/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Petition accuses Wildlife Board Committee of rubber-stamping diversions with &#8216;no application of mind’</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/petition-accuses-wildlife-board-committee-of-rubber-stamping-diversions-with-no-application-of-mind/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/petition-accuses-wildlife-board-committee-of-rubber-stamping-diversions-with-no-application-of-mind/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2026 17:01:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/10134024/AP22207426672059-scaled-e1783671210988-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39179</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Politics, Forests, Habitat Loss, Industry, Logging, Natural Resources, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A group of former forest officials, conservationists, and researchers have censured the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and a statutory body under it for approving development projects within protected areas with “scant ecological and scientific evidence” and “no application of mind.” A public interest litigation filed by the group in the Delhi High Court says [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A group of former forest officials, conservationists, and researchers have censured the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and a statutory body under it for approving development projects within protected areas with “scant ecological and scientific evidence” and “no application of mind.” A public interest litigation filed by the group in the Delhi High Court says the Standing Committee under the NBWL approved 97% of projects between 2014 and 2026, indicating a lack of “processual rigour” which led to the diversion of at least 95,724 hectares of forest land. The allegation comes amid a spate of changes made to national environmental norms to favour the “ease of doing business” — a stated goal of the incumbent BJP government. The petitioners include four retired Indian Forest Service officers, led by Prakriti Srivastava as well as eminent conservationists like M.K. Ranjitsinh, who played an instrumental role in drafting the Wildlife Protection Act, India’s primary wildlife protection law. The petition alleges the National Board for Wildlife — chaired by the Prime Minister — and its Standing Committee — chaired by the Union Environment Minister — acted with “total disregard of its (sic) constitutional duties and in violation of the very intent and purpose for which they were statutorily created.” A representative of Bhupender Yadav, Union Environment Minister and chairperson of the NBWL Standing Committee, declined to comment. The National Board for Wildlife was created in 2003 under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 to advise central and state governments on issues pertaining to wildlife. These&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/petition-accuses-wildlife-board-committee-of-rubber-stamping-diversions-with-no-application-of-mind/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/petition-accuses-wildlife-board-committee-of-rubber-stamping-diversions-with-no-application-of-mind/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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					<title>Trade liberalisation meets carbon tariffs as India eyes EU market [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/trade-liberalisation-meets-carbon-tariffs-as-india-eyes-eu-market-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/trade-liberalisation-meets-carbon-tariffs-as-india-eyes-eu-market-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jun 2026 13:19:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Isha SharmaSoutrik Goswami]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel Industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trade]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/30112819/AP459830664323-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38847</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Carbon Finance, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Green Business, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The India-European Union Free Trade Agreement was agreed upon in early 2026 after more than two decades of negotiations. Recently, the Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India and the EU are expected to sign the FTA in December, and it is likely to come into force early next year. The agreement signalled [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The India-European Union Free Trade Agreement was agreed upon in early 2026 after more than two decades of negotiations. Recently, the Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India and the EU are expected to sign the FTA in December, and it is likely to come into force early next year. The agreement signalled cooperation amid geopolitical tensions, but it also came amid contestation over the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which imposes a tax on the greenhouse gas content of imported goods, which became fully operational in January this year. As the union minister Goyal said, the FTA will give India the opportunity to increase exports to European countries, but export-oriented industries will also face pressure to reduce the emission intensity of their exports to comply with CBAM. The opposing impacts of tariff liberalisation and carbon tariffs on exports call for a closer look at the interaction between the CBAM and the FTA, especially in the Indian iron and steel sector, which remains one of the most exposed to the CBAM. It raises the question: how will the interaction between the FTA and the CBAM impact India&#8217;s export opportunities compared to those of its competitors? Moreover, is India’s long-term export competitiveness increasingly being tied to its industrial emissions? Climate action or trade-protectionism CBAM currently targets six carbon-intensive sectors, including iron and steel. These sectors account for around 10% of India’s exports to the EU and about 1.64% of total Indian exports. However, the EU is planning a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/trade-liberalisation-meets-carbon-tariffs-as-india-eyes-eu-market-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Night shifts help brick kiln workers avoid peak heat, not its consequences</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/night-shifts-help-brick-kiln-workers-avoid-peak-heat-not-its-consequences/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/night-shifts-help-brick-kiln-workers-avoid-peak-heat-not-its-consequences/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2026 15:12:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shivam Bhardwaj]]>
						</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[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/26113356/reena-working-at-site-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38821</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Extreme Weather Events, Health impacts, Human Rights, Impacts of Climate Change, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was 3:00 a.m. on May 22. Crickets chirped in an open field near Kurka village in Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh. However, the workday had started two hours ago for Reena Kashyap, 30, and her husband, Jagdish Kashyap who were moulding bricks under a solar-powered light. &#8220;We are now working through the night because it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was 3:00 a.m. on May 22. Crickets chirped in an open field near Kurka village in Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh. However, the workday had started two hours ago for Reena Kashyap, 30, and her husband, Jagdish Kashyap who were moulding bricks under a solar-powered light. &#8220;We are now working through the night because it is impossible to stay here in the scorching afternoon heat,” she said. The couple, who mould bricks for Adarsh Brick Industry, went to sleep at 9:00 p.m. and woke up at 12:30 a.m. They planned to continue working until 11:00 a.m. “After that, I have to bathe, wash clothes, cook, and feed the children. Then in the evening, we stack the bricks and prepare the mud for the next day; the entire day is gone,&#8221; she said. Jagdish added, &#8220;During summer, we barely manage four hours of sleep a day. It is so hot during the day that sleeping is impossible. We don&#8217;t have any facilities like fans, coolers, or electricity here ,at the kiln.&#8221; The couple migrated from the village of Bujhia Jagir to the brick kiln site in Kurka in the same tehsil, Meerganj, in January 2026. They live here with their four children in a temporary shelter built of bricks and raw mud with a tin roof. There is no ventilation or electricity. &#8220;We try to sleep for one to two hours during the day, but it bakes inside. It is impossible to sleep; the entire body feels restless,&#8221; said Reena, who&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/night-shifts-help-brick-kiln-workers-avoid-peak-heat-not-its-consequences/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Financing the green shift remains a hurdle for steel MSMEs</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/financing-the-green-shift-remains-a-hurdle-for-steel-msmes/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/financing-the-green-shift-remains-a-hurdle-for-steel-msmes/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 15:55:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rohini Krishnamurthy]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel Industry]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/24140405/AP20270312356413-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38792</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Carbon Finance, Climate Change, Environment, Green Business, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nearly a decade after independence, one of India’s first public sector steel plants was established in Bhilai, Durg district, Chhattisgarh — a region rich in iron ore, coal and other natural resources. In the ensuing decades, several scattered steel units, dominated by micro, small, and medium-enterprises (MSMEs), began to mushroom some 40 km away in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nearly a decade after independence, one of India’s first public sector steel plants was established in Bhilai, Durg district, Chhattisgarh — a region rich in iron ore, coal and other natural resources. In the ensuing decades, several scattered steel units, dominated by micro, small, and medium-enterprises (MSMEs), began to mushroom some 40 km away in Raipur, helping Chhattisgarh become the third-largest producer of crude steel in the country. Meanwhile, about 1,100 km away, a slightly different story unfolded in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur during the 1960s — one where the region’s industrial journey was shaped by its agricultural roots. The demand for agricultural machinery paved the way for a local foundry industry. Foundries use metals like iron to produce castings that are used widely, from irrigation pumps to automobiles. Now, Kolhapur is one of the country’s largest foundry clusters, dominated by MSMEs, contributing 7-8% of India’s casting production. Together, Raipur and Kolhapur, along with other MSME clusters across India, drive India’s secondary steel production — where steel is made by melting scrap metal and other processed forms of iron in electric furnaces, rather than producing iron from iron ore first. The secondary steel sector, which contributes 30-35% of the country’s crude steel capacity, is dominated by MSMEs and relies on coal and inefficient technologies. In contrast, the primary production route is also energy-intensive but dominated by large players with higher capital investment. Notably, the secondary route of steel production accounts for more than 50 million tonnes (MT) of greenhouse gas emissions annually, according&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/financing-the-green-shift-remains-a-hurdle-for-steel-msmes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Rethinking India’s climate plan through equity, delivery and intent [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/rethinking-indias-climate-plan-through-equity-delivery-and-intent-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/rethinking-indias-climate-plan-through-equity-delivery-and-intent-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jun 2026 14:15:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mohana ManimaranRavi Shankar Prasad]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solar Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wind Energy]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/23131848/AP24052670530069-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38776</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Industry, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The concept of &#8216;ratcheting ambition&#8217; now shapes global climate action. However, ambition is often measured using a single, uniform metric: comparing all countries against a common temperature goal. This approach overlooks countries&#8217; unique circumstances, development needs, shortage of climate finance, and historical responsibility. India released its third nationally determined contribution (NDC 3.0) in March. It [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The concept of &#8216;ratcheting ambition&#8217; now shapes global climate action. However, ambition is often measured using a single, uniform metric: comparing all countries against a common temperature goal. This approach overlooks countries&#8217; unique circumstances, development needs, shortage of climate finance, and historical responsibility. India released its third nationally determined contribution (NDC 3.0) in March. It is the climate pledge each country under the Paris Agreement files and is expected to ratchet up with every cycle. The latest NDC is for 2031-2035 and has been subject to a convoluted reading. A set of forward-looking commitments, with deliverable outcomes, and aligned with the long-term vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, has been characterised as moderate by many observers. Applying one standard to measure ambition contradicts the Paris Agreement’s principle of equity. Article 2.2 emphasises common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, meaning all nations must act, but those with the most historical emissions and greatest means should do more. Criticism of India’s new plan as &#8216;moderate&#8217; overlooks this principle and ignores India&#8217;s record of delivering on commitments. As the second Global Stocktake (GST2) is set to commence later this year, it is important to assess ambition in its broader context — taking into account equity, historical responsibility, the delivery of past commitments, and the overarching, holistic long-term vision to combat climate change. Viewed through this lens, India&#8217;s NDC 3.0 signals stronger ambition than many assessments suggest. Taking into account legacy emissions Cumulative CO₂ emissions data from the Global Carbon Project reveals a stark&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/rethinking-indias-climate-plan-through-equity-delivery-and-intent-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>European Union border tax tests India’s small iron and steel businesses</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/european-union-border-tax-tests-indias-small-iron-and-steel-businesses/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/european-union-border-tax-tests-indias-small-iron-and-steel-businesses/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jun 2026 16:41:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rohini Krishnamurthy]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel Industry]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/16130257/Image_3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38666</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Finance]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Inside a foundry in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, work never stops. Workers come in shifts, put on yellow helmets and safety goggles, and toil for at least eight hours indoors where temperatures reach up to 50°C. With precision, they toss blocks of pig iron — derived from iron ore — and scrap (recycled steel) into a furnace [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Inside a foundry in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, work never stops. Workers come in shifts, put on yellow helmets and safety goggles, and toil for at least eight hours indoors where temperatures reach up to 50°C. With precision, they toss blocks of pig iron — derived from iron ore — and scrap (recycled steel) into a furnace operating at around 1,600°C. Once the metal melts, it is quickly poured into a mould, taking the shape of a pump, an automobile part, or another industrial component. Once cooled and solidified, these castings are shipped to customers in India and overseas. This is a regular day at Caspro Metal Industries Private Limited, a company that manufactures 30,000 tonnes of metal castings annually from its base in Kolhapur. Of this, 15-20% is shipped to the European Union (EU). The company has enjoyed a two-decade-long trading partnership with the EU, but that relationship now appears to be on shaky ground. In 2024, its importers in Germany flagged a new EU climate regulation. &#8220;This is going to be a huge add-on cost for us,&#8221; said Vijay Patil, Manager at Caspro, at his office in Kolhapur. The regulation in question is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). First proposed by the EU in 2021, CBAM imposes a tax on the greenhouse gas content of imported goods, covering sectors including iron and steel, cement, aluminium, and fertilisers. In October 2023, it entered a transition phase requiring exporters to submit emissions data. In January 2026, its definitive phase began, effectively&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/european-union-border-tax-tests-indias-small-iron-and-steel-businesses/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Efficiency mandates can build India’s clean tech sovereignty [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/efficiency-mandates-can-build-indias-clean-tech-sovereignty-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/efficiency-mandates-can-build-indias-clean-tech-sovereignty-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jun 2026 16:17:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ajay Mathur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environmental technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[innovation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/15092043/AP23313788200798-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38647</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Commentary, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Green Business, Green Energy, Industry, Renewable Energy, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For decades, India’s approach to advanced technologies has followed a predictable, high-stakes pattern. Each time a global technology goes through a generational shift, a mad scramble ensues to import the latest machinery, components, or manufacturing lines. We saw it in the early phases of thermal power automation, witnessed it during the electronics boom, and today [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For decades, India’s approach to advanced technologies has followed a predictable, high-stakes pattern. Each time a global technology goes through a generational shift, a mad scramble ensues to import the latest machinery, components, or manufacturing lines. We saw it in the early phases of thermal power automation, witnessed it during the electronics boom, and today we are seeing it play out acutely in the clean energy transition. While importing technology serves as a necessary jumpstart, relying on it as a permanent strategy creates a fragile foundation. In an era defined by geopolitical volatility, trade barriers, and fractured supply chains, the strategy of continuous imports is no longer just economically draining, but also a risk to national energy security. To build a truly resilient, low-carbon future, India must pivot from being a passive consumer of global technology to an active creator of indigenous innovations. The key to unlocking this shift does not lie in blunt import bans or open-ended subsidies alone. Instead, it lies in a regulatory mechanism that India has already proven. Anchoring long-term procurement frameworks to progressively tightening, non-negotiable efficiency standards can work. By announcing these escalations well in advance, India can compel industry players to move away from quick-fix imports, invest heavily in domestic research, development, and demonstration (RD&amp;D), and forge deep, lasting linkages with local academia. The fragility of the import trap India’s climate targets are among the most ambitious in the world, requiring the deployment of hundreds of gigawatts of renewable energy over the next few&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/efficiency-mandates-can-build-indias-clean-tech-sovereignty-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>An unregulated groundwater economy drills into trouble</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/an-unregulated-groundwater-economy-drills-into-trouble/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/an-unregulated-groundwater-economy-drills-into-trouble/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jun 2026 16:52:43 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Esha Lohia]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Central Ground Water Authority]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment Protection Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[saline water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Water conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water consumption]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Water tanker]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/12134242/AP24112276256315-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38619</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Groundwater, Industry, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As Mumbai waits for the monsoon, water supply in the city has been cut by 10% since May 15, after water levels in the seven lakes that supply water, have fallen. The lakes depend entirely on seasonal rainfall to be filled, commonly causing water cuts in the summers. Adding to this situation, on June 7, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As Mumbai waits for the monsoon, water supply in the city has been cut by 10% since May 15, after water levels in the seven lakes that supply water, have fallen. The lakes depend entirely on seasonal rainfall to be filled, commonly causing water cuts in the summers. Adding to this situation, on June 7, the Mumbai Water Tanker Association (MWTA) went on strike. The strike was called off two days later following an intervention by Maharashtra&#8217;s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Mumbai receives around 4,100 million litres per day (MLD) against an estimated demand of 4,665 MLD, leaving a shortfall of about 565 MLD. Private water tankers fill this gap. The tanker association was protesting against notices issued by the state government ordering ring-well and borewell operators to stop supplying water to tankers until they obtain fresh licenses from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA). The tanker association protest has drawn attention to a larger issue: Mumbai&#8217;s heavy dependence on groundwater and the limited oversight of its extraction. “Mumbai has more than 17,364 wells used for the commercial sale of water,” says groundwater activist Suresh Kumar Dhoka, citing information obtained through an RTI application. In 2015, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) made it mandatory for all commercial groundwater users to obtain No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the CGWA. As of May 2025, only 619 wells, mostly borewells, had received NOCs for monitoring and charging purposes. Earlier this year, a complaint filed by Dhoka triggered an investigation into hundreds of wells in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/an-unregulated-groundwater-economy-drills-into-trouble/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>A bauxite mining project, contested consent and growing tensions</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-bauxite-mining-project-contested-consent-and-growing-tensions/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-bauxite-mining-project-contested-consent-and-growing-tensions/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2026 17:40:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashwini Kumar Shukla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bauxite]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Right Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gram sabha]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PESA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribal communities]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/01131630/IMG_1202-scaled-e1780300022815-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38444</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Odisha]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Crime, Environmental Politics, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Mining, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was past 2:30 in the morning on April 7, 2026, when the banging on the doors began, locals of Kantamal village narrate. Kantamal is one of over 44 villages nestled in the foothills of Sijimali range in Odisha&#8217;s Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. More than 200 police personnel had encircled the village, say the residents. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was past 2:30 in the morning on April 7, 2026, when the banging on the doors began, locals of Kantamal village narrate. Kantamal is one of over 44 villages nestled in the foothills of Sijimali range in Odisha&#8217;s Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. More than 200 police personnel had encircled the village, say the residents. The power was out. “We had no idea what was happening,” says Subash Singh Majhi, a 32-year-old who heads Maa Mati Mali Suraksha Manch, a collective of affected villagers opposing a proposed bauxite mine in the area. “Before we could understand anything, they (police) had dragged people out of their homes in the dark and begun beating them,” he alleges. Eighty-six-year-old Gaseb Dei Majhi remembers the night in fragments. “They fired tear gas. They beat us,” she says, holding up an empty shell, police fired that night. As per the locals, the immediate trigger was a protest against a 3-kilometre access road near Sagabari village, a road that, if completed, would connect state highway 44 to the Sijimali hilltop, and, which residents feared, would open the final path to the contested bauxite mine. Kantamal is one of over 44 villages nestled in the foothills of the Sijimali range in Odisha’s Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. In the early hours of April 7, 2026, residents narrate how police personnel raided their homes and attacked them. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla. Ram Chandra Naik, a resident of Kantamal, alleged that police stripped him naked and dragged him during the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-bauxite-mining-project-contested-consent-and-growing-tensions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Biomedical waste crosses borders, polluting farmlands</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/biomedical-waste-crosses-borders-polluting-farmlands/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/biomedical-waste-crosses-borders-polluting-farmlands/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2026 17:23:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Prasanth Shanmugasundaram]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biomedical waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment and health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waste]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/28131114/Kerala-Bio-medical-waste-dumped-near-Tirunelveli-Source-Thinakaran-Rajamani-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38407</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala and Tamil Nadu]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Cities and Towns, Environmental Politics, Health impacts, Human Rights, Industry, and Waste management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Reports of Kerala’s biomedical waste being dumped along the Tamil Nadu border, along with incidents of meat waste and plastic waste being buried in pits across Tamil Nadu’s rural landscapes, have, over the years, become a disturbing routine in news reports. What once appeared as isolated violations has evolved into a pattern. In the last [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Reports of Kerala’s biomedical waste being dumped along the Tamil Nadu border, along with incidents of meat waste and plastic waste being buried in pits across Tamil Nadu’s rural landscapes, have, over the years, become a disturbing routine in news reports. What once appeared as isolated violations has evolved into a pattern. In the last decade, environmentalists estimate that hundreds of mixed waste dumping incidents along the state borders have been recorded, with many more likely unreported. Some of this waste being dumped includes biomedical waste. In certain instances, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance, initiating proceedings against the Kerala government. In one such case, biomedical waste from a cancer centre in Kerala that had been dumped in Tamil Nadu was ordered to be collected and transported back to Kerala. Yet a critical question remains: why does Kerala’s biomedical waste continue to cross into Tamil Nadu? Kerala’s biomedical waste is being dumped along the Tamil Nadu border. Hundreds of mixed waste dumping incidents have been recorded in the last decade, with many more likely unreported, and that a subset of them contain biomedical waste. Image by Thinakaran Rajamani. Biomedical waste, including syringes and plastic materials, found dumped in Tirunelveli district. Image by Thinakaran Rajamani. In conversations with farmers and residents in affected areas along Tamil Nadu’s border as well as a visit to Kerala’s primary biomedical waste treatment facility, IMAGE, in Palakkad, Mongabay-India found out that the issue is rooted in structural gaps, and not only&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/biomedical-waste-crosses-borders-polluting-farmlands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>How NGOs are bringing India&#8217;s informal waste collectors into the system</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-ngos-are-bringing-indias-informal-waste-collectors-into-the-system/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-ngos-are-bringing-indias-informal-waste-collectors-into-the-system/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 May 2026 16:49:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shoma Abhyankar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dry waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[e-waste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ewaste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Extended Producers Responsibility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recycling]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/22151555/Formal-segregation-being-done-at-the-Karo-Sambhav-facility-in-Gurugram-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38324</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Environment, Industry, Sustainability, and Waste management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Shambhu Yadav travelled far from his home in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, to Pune, Maharashtra, in search of work. With no formal training to speak of, he was left with an option that employs millions of the country’s population: waste collection. Yadav works for a kabadiwala — an informal scrap dealer — collecting all kinds of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Shambhu Yadav travelled far from his home in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, to Pune, Maharashtra, in search of work. With no formal training to speak of, he was left with an option that employs millions of the country’s population: waste collection. Yadav works for a kabadiwala — an informal scrap dealer — collecting all kinds of trash which is segregated and ultimately sold to bigger dealers. Even though he earns just ₹100-500 a day, Yadav is part of a lucrative industry valued at approximately ₹1.3 trillion. Since the early 2000s, electronic waste has entered the very same stream in hordes — landing in the laps of informal waste collectors who dismantle devices at grave personal risk. Around 845 km away from where Yadav is, in Padarayanpura in Bengaluru, Karnataka, another waste collector Sharvan, held up copper shards he had manually stripped from discarded wires. “This is like gold to us. The copper sells for ₹1,000-1,200 per kilogram,” he said. Despite playing an outsized role in India’s waste management, workers like Yadav and Sharvan lie outside the country’s formal recycling governance framework. A big reason why e-waste collection and processing stays with the informal sector is because formal facilities lack the capacity to process the sheer volume of e-waste generated in the country. Shambhu Yadav works for a kabadiwala (informal scrap dealer) in Pune, Maharashtra, collecting all kinds of trash which is segregated and ultimately sold to bigger dealers. He earns just ₹100-500 a day, being part of an industry that is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/how-ngos-are-bringing-indias-informal-waste-collectors-into-the-system/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>As temperatures rise, cattle industry feels the strain</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-temperatures-rise-cattle-and-the-related-economy-feels-the-strain/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-temperatures-rise-cattle-and-the-related-economy-feels-the-strain/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2026 13:21:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Himanshu Arya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle breeding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dairy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dairy sector]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat Action Plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/19103203/AP207690559431-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38234</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Environment, Extreme Weather Events, Impacts of Climate Change, and Industry]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Jagdish Agrahari, a resident of Sultanpur in Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh, started rearing cattle in August 2025 and selling milk to supplement his income. He has four jersey cows, one Holstein Friesian, and three buffaloes. Agrahari&#8217;s jersey cows fell sick during the weather-changing season in March, as they failed to adjust to the sudden increase [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Jagdish Agrahari, a resident of Sultanpur in Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh, started rearing cattle in August 2025 and selling milk to supplement his income. He has four jersey cows, one Holstein Friesian, and three buffaloes. Agrahari&#8217;s jersey cows fell sick during the weather-changing season in March, as they failed to adjust to the sudden increase in temperature. The treatment bill came to ₹20,000. He can manage the costs, he says, only because he and his two brothers also run a scrap shop. But most of the 80 million rural households that rely on cattle rearing and dairy for their livelihood have limited capacity to bear rising costs. These farmers have played an important role in the growth of India’s dairy sector over the last two decades. During this period, milk production increased from around 80 million tonnes in 2000 to 239 million tonnes in 2023. However, these gains are now under growing pressure as climate change begins to disrupt India’s cattle economy. A recent study by the New Delhi-based think tank, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), says that more than half (54%) of buffalo rearers reported climate-related impacts on their animals. The study claims that half of those rearing crossbred or exotic cattle and 41% of Indigenous rearers report similar impacts. The impact of climate change ranges from increased disease rates, restlessness, and mortality among bovines to reduced productivity and threats to the livelihoods and nutritional security of cattle rearers, it says. Shorter lactation periods, fewer productive days,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-temperatures-rise-cattle-and-the-related-economy-feels-the-strain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Hopes for inland waterways transport fall short as operational challenges rise</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/hopes-for-inland-waterways-transport-fall-short-as-operational-challenges-rise/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/hopes-for-inland-waterways-transport-fall-short-as-operational-challenges-rise/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Apr 2026 12:48:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rahul Singh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transport]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transportation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/13105842/Saraswati-Ghat-at-Yamuna-River-in-Prayagraj-2-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37658</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Industry, Rivers, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2016, Nitin Gadkari, the then Shipping Minister, laid the foundation stone for a multi-modal terminal (MMT) in Ramnagar, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, and symbolically flagged off two ships. In November 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the completed terminal, built on the banks of the Ganga River, as a key stop on National [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2016, Nitin Gadkari, the then Shipping Minister, laid the foundation stone for a multi-modal terminal (MMT) in Ramnagar, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, and symbolically flagged off two ships. In November 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the completed terminal, built on the banks of the Ganga River, as a key stop on National Waterway-1. “Inland waterways will save time and money, reduce road congestion, fuel costs and vehicular pollution,” the Prime Minister had said at the time. However, today, transportation through National Waterway-1 remains inefficient and unreliable. Adequate river depth remains a major problem for water transport throughout all months. Targets set in the Detailed Project Report (DPR) projected that the multi-modal terminal had the potential to transport 3.55 million tons annually by 2020, 3.82 million tons by 2025, 10.12 million tons by 2035 and 10.32 million tons by 2045. However, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is far behind these targets. When Mongabay-India asked about the number of trips from the terminal and operational challenges, Sanjeev Kumar, Assistant Director at IWAI, did not provide any concrete response. The Ganga River flows through Jopa village in Mirzapur district, between Varanasi and Prayagraj. Image by Rahul Singh. Goals vs reality According to a data analysis of the IWAI cargo portal by Manthan Adhyayan Kendra (an organisation that conducts research on waterways), only two shipments were flagged off from the Varanasi MMT in 2024-25. From November 2018 to December 2025, about 1,057 metric tonnes were transported from Varanasi MMT,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/hopes-for-inland-waterways-transport-fall-short-as-operational-challenges-rise/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Traditional boatmen washed out by waterways infrastructure and tourism</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/traditional-boatmen-washed-out-by-waterways-infrastructure-and-tourism/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/traditional-boatmen-washed-out-by-waterways-infrastructure-and-tourism/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Mar 2026 17:36:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rahul Singh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ganga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transport]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/17154548/Varanasi-MMT-main-Building-2-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37310</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Politics, Industry, Pollution, Rivers, Water Pollution, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A multi-modal terminal (MMT) has been constructed on the banks of the Ganga river in Ramnagar, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, under the National Waterways Project, a venture of the central government. As part of this project, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways also approved the construction of a freight village in Milkipur in December 2018, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A multi-modal terminal (MMT) has been constructed on the banks of the Ganga river in Ramnagar, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, under the National Waterways Project, a venture of the central government. As part of this project, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways also approved the construction of a freight village in Milkipur in December 2018, with a budget of ₹156 crore and the foundation stone for it was laid on September 2025. The village is to be developed on approximately 100 acres of land as a cargo hub. In a report submitted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee in the Rajya Sabha in December 2024, the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shripad Naik stated that the freight village would facilitate the shift of cargo from rail and road to waterways. The land is to be acquired from villages in Varanasi and surrounding districts by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). However, this land largely belongs to the Mallah community which is native to the region. They claim that this land is being acquired from them at very low prices, and that the project will adversely impact their long-standing traditional livelihoods as boatmen of the Ganga. Concerns related to land acquisition The announcement of the freight village has left 43-year-old Chhaya Devi worried for her future. She is a resident of Tahirpur village in Mughalsarai tehsil of Chandauli district, which is adjacent to Varanasi. “We will not give our land to the port (IWAI) to build the freight village. If&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/traditional-boatmen-washed-out-by-waterways-infrastructure-and-tourism/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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