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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/mining/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:18:07 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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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>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/a-bauxite-mining-project-contested-consent-and-growing-tensions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Ecological debate over iron ore halts mining bid in tiger landscape</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/ecological-debate-over-iron-ore-halts-mining-bid-in-tiger-landscape/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/ecological-debate-over-iron-ore-halts-mining-bid-in-tiger-landscape/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Apr 2026 11:35:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human-wildlife conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/15113030/Madhuri_Tigress_-_Agarzari_Buffer_-_TATR-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37700</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Human Wildlife Conflict, Mining, and Tigers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After weeks of protests and hunger strikes by activists and concerned local residents, the Maharashtra government temporarily halted further action on the Lohardongri iron ore mining project in the Bramhapuri forest division of Chandrapur district, which had ecologists and environmentalists in a bind for months. Nagpur-based Sunflag Iron and Steel Company Ltd was allotted almost [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After weeks of protests and hunger strikes by activists and concerned local residents, the Maharashtra government temporarily halted further action on the Lohardongri iron ore mining project in the Bramhapuri forest division of Chandrapur district, which had ecologists and environmentalists in a bind for months. Nagpur-based Sunflag Iron and Steel Company Ltd was allotted almost 36 hectares of forested land under the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015. News reports suggest that an estimated 18,000 trees would be felled to make way for the project. While Mongabay-India couldn’t access the documents to verify the number of trees to be felled, a 2022 tree enumeration survey report  available publicly points to over 11,773 trees to be cut and experts suggest that more trees have likely been added to this number in the last few years. What truly concerns residents is the environmental cost of the project, including a potential rise in negative interactions with tigers. A road cut across forest patches in the Bramhapuri forest division of Chandrapur district in the Greater Tadoba landscape in central India. Ecologist fear that the proposed open-cast mining project could add to the anthropogenic pressure on forests and wildlife in the region. Image by Saumitra Shinde/Mongabay-India Rising tiger interactions Chandrapur district of Maharashtra is the epicentre of rising human–tiger interactions, often resulting in fatalities. Mongabay-India visited the conflict areas in late 2024 to report on this, and found that a staggering 111 human deaths from tiger attacks were reported in 2022–2023, with 59 deaths already recorded in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/ecological-debate-over-iron-ore-halts-mining-bid-in-tiger-landscape/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/ecological-debate-over-iron-ore-halts-mining-bid-in-tiger-landscape/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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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>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/incident-at-illegal-coal-mine-resurfaces-concerns-about-banned-rat-hole-mining/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Experts divided over reintroducing captive-bred gharials in rivers</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/experts-divided-over-reintroducing-captive-bred-gharials-in-rivers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/experts-divided-over-reintroducing-captive-bred-gharials-in-rivers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Feb 2026 17:16:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rajeev Tyagi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aquatic life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[captive animals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[captive breeding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crocodiles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ganga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gharials]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/04152632/Gharial-release-scaled-e1770199257557-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36736</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[West Bengal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered species, Extinction, Fishing, Mining, Reptiles, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In February 2024, 37 juvenile gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) were transported 550 kilometres from the Rasikbeel Mini Zoo to the banks of the Ganga River in Murshidabad, West Bengal. The gharials, which were born out of a captive breeding programme in late 2021, were sheltered individually in ventilated PVC pipes. During the 15-hour overnight trip, forest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In February 2024, 37 juvenile gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) were transported 550 kilometres from the Rasikbeel Mini Zoo to the banks of the Ganga River in Murshidabad, West Bengal. The gharials, which were born out of a captive breeding programme in late 2021, were sheltered individually in ventilated PVC pipes. During the 15-hour overnight trip, forest staff sprinkled the animals with water every one to two hours to maintain hydration. For the species, it was a return to a historic home. For the conservationists present, it was a moment of &#8220;quiet satisfaction&#8221;, Shahnawaz Khan, the Lead for Aquatic Habitats at WWF-India, said in an email response to Mongabay-India. Khan recalls that there was concern about the animals&#8217; condition after the long journey and the team watched with relief as the gharials, “observed to be alert, responsive, and in good health”, paused briefly before crawling into the river. The reintroduction project was a coordinated effort between the West Bengal Forest Directorate and WWF-India. A recent report, published in the journal Reptiles &amp; Amphibians, outlines the project aimed at enhancing the likelihood of long-term survival of the gharials in the lower Ganga Basin. The gharial’s population has significantly declined over the years due to loss from water impoundment, sand mining, hunting, and intensive fishing. Only about 650 adult gharials remain in the wild. A gharial spotted in the Chambal river, where 77-80% of the global adult gharial population is found. Its population has significantly declined over the years due to loss from water&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/experts-divided-over-reintroducing-captive-bred-gharials-in-rivers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/experts-divided-over-reintroducing-captive-bred-gharials-in-rivers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Shrinking Aravallis, rising dust pollution</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/shrinking-aravallis-rising-dust-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/shrinking-aravallis-rising-dust-pollution/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jan 2026 14:39:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lekha Bandopadhyay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aravallis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dust storm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[habitat degradation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[land]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[land management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minerals]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/21121434/Image-3-e1768978312500-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36558</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Thar Desert]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Ecology, Environment, Habitat Loss, Mining, Mountains, Pollution, and Thar Desert]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India’s capital region is witnessing another smoggy winter with severe air pollution. As the Delhi government deploys various dust control measures in the capital, the hills of a shrinking Aravalli range — which guard India’s mainland from the dust of the Thar desert in the west — are caught up in a legal battle for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India’s capital region is witnessing another smoggy winter with severe air pollution. As the Delhi government deploys various dust control measures in the capital, the hills of a shrinking Aravalli range — which guard India’s mainland from the dust of the Thar desert in the west — are caught up in a legal battle for protection. North India experiences five to ten dust storms annually between March and June, killing people, damaging property and worsening the already compromised air quality in the region. A recent study also found a positive correlation between rising temperature and increasing aerosol load in India’s atmosphere. “As per our analysis of satellite data from 2019 to 2023, the major aerosol hotspots in India are the regions of Ladakh, Western Ghats, Thar desert, Rann of Kutch, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab,” the corresponding author of the study Sangem Giriraj, told Mongabay-India. Experts point out that the degradation and mining of the Aravalli range is weakening a key natural barrier against desert dust, potentially worsening air pollution across northern India. Mining and dust “Obstacle dunes found on the western or Thar desert side of the Aravalli hills are the most compelling evidence that the Aravallis block desert sand,” says Chetan Agarwal, an independent forest and environmental services analyst, based on his analysis of Google Earth images. These dunes have formed over hundreds of thousands of years as the Aravalli hills slowed down the western desert winds causing deposition of the heavier sand particles, adds Agarwal.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/shrinking-aravallis-rising-dust-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Behind the green transition is a race for rare earth minerals</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/behind-the-green-transition-is-a-race-for-rare-earth-minerals/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/behind-the-green-transition-is-a-race-for-rare-earth-minerals/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jan 2026 12:05:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Asha Jyothi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Critical Minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deep-sea mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electric vehicle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rare earth minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Renewable Energy]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/16114008/EV_Charging_Station_Idukki_Dam_Park_Nov23_A7C_08066-e1768545113276-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36501</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The global shift to a green economy may mark an improvement over oil- and gas-driven exploration, but it is not free of ecological caveats by any means. Everything from wind turbines to electric vehicle manufacturing requires elements such as neodymium, dysprosium, and others, collectively known as rare earth elements (REEs). Their use in defence equipment [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The global shift to a green economy may mark an improvement over oil- and gas-driven exploration, but it is not free of ecological caveats by any means. Everything from wind turbines to electric vehicle manufacturing requires elements such as neodymium, dysprosium, and others, collectively known as rare earth elements (REEs). Their use in defence equipment further underscores their importance. The urgent need for REEs was evident when, on January 12, the U.S. organised a ministerial-level meeting of the G7 countries and their allies in Washington to discuss the rare earth supply chains. The meeting focused on reducing reliance on China for rare earth minerals. The Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, represented India in the meeting. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) after the event, Vaishnaw wrote, “Strengthening critical mineral supply chains is vital to enhancing the resilience of India’s manufacturing capabilities and its rapidly growing electronics sector.” The U.S. has launched an initiative, Pax Silica, with several partner countries to build a resilient, diversified supply chain from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics. This move is part of broader efforts to reduce dependence on China for critical minerals, including rare earths. US Ambassador to India Sergei Gor later wrote on X that India would be invited to join the initiative. Other developments also highlight the emerging geopolitical effort to control the rare earth supply chain. In September 2025, Shenghe Resources, partly owned by the Chinese state, acquired the Australian&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/behind-the-green-transition-is-a-race-for-rare-earth-minerals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<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>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Study identifies prime brown bear habitats beyond protected areas</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/study-identifies-prime-brown-bear-habitats-beyond-protected-areas/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/study-identifies-prime-brown-bear-habitats-beyond-protected-areas/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jan 2026 12:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bears]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pastoralism]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/09103724/Himalayan-brown-bears-are-elusive-largely-nocturnal-and-occur-at-very-low-densities-making-direct-sightings-rare.-Photo-Credit-Niaz-Khan-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36409</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ladakh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community based conservation, Conservation, Habitat Fragmentation, Habitat Loss, Himalayas, Human Wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Mining, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Himalayan brown bear remains poorly studied in its high-altitude habitats. Only an estimated 130-220 individuals survive across the Himalayas and Trans-Himalayan ranges of India and Pakistan. In India, the species is threatened by low population densities and isolated, insular groups. Its true distribution in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh has long been largely guesswork. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Himalayan brown bear remains poorly studied in its high-altitude habitats. Only an estimated 130-220 individuals survive across the Himalayas and Trans-Himalayan ranges of India and Pakistan. In India, the species is threatened by low population densities and isolated, insular groups. Its true distribution in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh has long been largely guesswork. A new study covering more than 35,000 sq km now fills that gap. “It provides the first large-scale, systematic assessment of brown bear distribution and habitat suitability in the region and generates evidence directly relevant to conservation and development regulation,” says Niazul Khan, corresponding author, and Ph.D. scholar at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. Working in a harsh landscape The Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh forms a stark but ecologically rich habitat. Winter temperatures sometimes fall below -30°C, vegetation is sparse, and traditional agro-pastoralism relies heavily on shared rangelands. Over the past decade, this region has also been transformed by expanding road networks, defence infrastructure, renewable energy projects and fast-growing tourism. Western Ladakh, particularly the upper Suru Valley, Shargole and Zanskar Valley, is believed to support most of the Himalayan brown bear population. Yet, there had been no landscape-level assessment of its habitats or the environmental factors that influence where the species survives, until now. Since Himalayan brown bears are elusive, largely nocturnal and occur at very low densities, direct sightings are rare. “Consequently, our study involved intensive sign-based surveys of tracks, scats, diggings, and direct observations in a systematic fashion,” says Khan. Survey teams&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/study-identifies-prime-brown-bear-habitats-beyond-protected-areas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>With a new identity, the Aravalli hills stare at an uncertain future</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/with-a-new-identity-the-aravalli-hills-stare-at-an-uncertain-future/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/with-a-new-identity-the-aravalli-hills-stare-at-an-uncertain-future/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Dec 2025 16:44:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aravallis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainable development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/26144417/AP22350157552846-scaled-e1766740476185-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36264</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Cities and Towns, Forests, Mining, Mountains, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new definition for India&#8217;s oldest mountain range has thrown its future into flux. On November 20, the Supreme Court approved of a definition for the Aravalli hills — a two-billion-year-old hill range stretching from Delhi to Gujarat — that has confounded geologists, triggered protests, and spurred a political firestorm between the ruling Bharatiya Janata [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new definition for India&#8217;s oldest mountain range has thrown its future into flux. On November 20, the Supreme Court approved of a definition for the Aravalli hills — a two-billion-year-old hill range stretching from Delhi to Gujarat — that has confounded geologists, triggered protests, and spurred a political firestorm between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition party, Congress. The Court agreed with a government-led committee which suggested the Aravalli hills be defined as landforms with an elevation of at least 100 metres from “local relief” (ground level), with a hill range constituting two or more such hills falling within 500 metres of each other. “The entire area of landforms falling between the lowest contour lines of these hills as explained, along with associated features such as hills, hillocks, supporting slopes, etc., shall also be included as part of Aravalli range,” the committee’s suggestion goes on to say. This definition doesn’t account for the range’s geological characteristics or ecological values, several experts say. The change has also raised concerns about protection for hills that do not meet the new criteria. “What was considered part of the Aravallis before November 20 are not considered Aravalli hills today, because this definition is exclusionary,&#8221; said Chetan Agarwal, an independent researcher who specialises in the governance of the Aravallis. &#8220;Multiple court orders have restricted mining and real estate from taking over the Aravallis, but this judgement undoes much of that, and opens the door to mining.&#8221; The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/with-a-new-identity-the-aravalli-hills-stare-at-an-uncertain-future/" 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>Ancient tree ferns face a new test in the mining hills</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/ancient-tree-ferns-face-a-new-test-in-the-mining-hills/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/ancient-tree-ferns-face-a-new-test-in-the-mining-hills/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Dec 2025 14:31:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ayushi Sharma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ferns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iron ore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steel Industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribal communities]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/12103202/TREE-FERN-3-e1765523487626-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36036</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chhattisgarh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forests and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep inside the tribal landscape of Bailadila hills in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, a fern from an older chapter of Earth’s history grows in scattered clusters along shaded slopes and perennial streams. But this rare species is losing its fragile habitat as mining expands deeper into the forests. With a renewed push for iron ore [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep inside the tribal landscape of Bailadila hills in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, a fern from an older chapter of Earth’s history grows in scattered clusters along shaded slopes and perennial streams. But this rare species is losing its fragile habitat as mining expands deeper into the forests. With a renewed push for iron ore extraction, many fear that this ancient plant is now at risk of extinction in the region. Considered a living fossil, the fern is significant in the scientific community for understanding the evolution of trees. Its origins date back to the Carboniferous (about 420 to 300 million years ago) and Triassic (about 251 to 200 million years ago) periods, when early forests were forming. While many related species vanished during mass extinction events, some lineages survived and continued. This fern is one of those few that survived. It means the fern, scientifically known as Alsophila spinulosa, carries a genetic line that has changed little over millions of years. This is one of the few ferns that form a tall, woody stem and grow like a small tree, supported by a trunk that can reach several metres in length. In the local Koya dialect, the fern is known as Handa Kusir; its tender leaves are eaten, and people show a distinct attachment to it. However, with the in-principle forest clearance granted in June this year, experts and locals warn that habitat loss could lead to the tree ferns disappearing from the area. Ballu Bhogami, District President of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/ancient-tree-ferns-face-a-new-test-in-the-mining-hills/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Grassroots women map air pollution hotspots, spur a coal company to curb dust</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/grassroots-women-map-air-pollution-hotspots-spur-a-coal-company-to-curb-dust/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/grassroots-women-map-air-pollution-hotspots-spur-a-coal-company-to-curb-dust/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Dec 2025 13:50:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vandana K.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air quality index]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AQI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coal Mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rural India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/11120029/A-meeting-with-rural-women-in-Mahuda-Dhanbad-e1765443339580-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36002</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Carbon emissions, Cities and Towns, Citizen science, Environment, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Mining, Pollution, and Villages]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As coal mine workers begin their day in the village of Jarangdih, the first sound they hear is the whirring of heavy machines. Soon, trucks loaded with coal from the local mines rumble down the roads. “By afternoon, the air gets bad. Courtyards swept clean in the morning are covered in dust again,” said Rekha [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As coal mine workers begin their day in the village of Jarangdih, the first sound they hear is the whirring of heavy machines. Soon, trucks loaded with coal from the local mines rumble down the roads. “By afternoon, the air gets bad. Courtyards swept clean in the morning are covered in dust again,” said Rekha Devi, a resident of the village in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district. “And it gets worse in the winter.” Devi is a paryavaran sakhi (a friend of the environment) and one of the grassroots women leaders, who co-led a recent community-participatory research study published in the Canadian Journal of Action Research in March 2025. The study throws light on the impact of air pollution on public health in rural neighbourhoods in Dhanbad and Bokaro, Jharkhand&#8217;s two prominent coal mining districts. The research was jointly conducted by Neha Saigal and Saumya Shrivastava, who lead the gender and climate change programme at Asar Social Impact Advisors and ten paryavaran sakhis, who work with Deshaj Abhikram, a local community organisation. Paryavaran sakhi is a model where the women lead environmental efforts in their areas. The women, trained in air quality mapping, monitored 69 sites for air quality in rural Dhanbad and Bokaro, out of which they identified 26 as air pollution hotspots. Apart from air quality monitoring, the study involved 200 participants in a survey, focus group discussions and health system mapping, with data collected over nine months in 2022 and 2023. Today, many states in India are exposed to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/grassroots-women-map-air-pollution-hotspots-spur-a-coal-company-to-curb-dust/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<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>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Quarries devour buffer forests of Western Ghats after sand mining ban</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/quarries-devour-buffer-forests-of-western-ghats-after-sand-mining-ban/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/quarries-devour-buffer-forests-of-western-ghats-after-sand-mining-ban/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Nov 2025 12:42:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Max Martin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Infrastructure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sand mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainable development]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/20235400/Ornamental_stone-_Dolerite_India-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35130</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala and Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Environment, Environmental Crime, Mining, Rivers, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Kerala, the demand for river sand, one of the primary materials used in construction, has increased in line with development. The state has experienced rapid expansion in modern housing, partly fuelled by remittances from the Gulf since the 1970s oil boom and large-scale migration from the state. As Kerala’s demand for sand grew sharply, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Kerala, the demand for river sand, one of the primary materials used in construction, has increased in line with development. The state has experienced rapid expansion in modern housing, partly fuelled by remittances from the Gulf since the 1970s oil boom and large-scale migration from the state. As Kerala’s demand for sand grew sharply, the state’s riverbeds bore the brunt — leading to falling groundwater levels, disrupted stream flows, and weakened bridges. To prevent these consequences, in June 2015, the Kerala government banned sand mining in six rivers and restricted it in five others. In January 2016, the central government amended the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 2006, mandating prior environmental clearance for the mining of minor minerals, including sand, in areas less than or equal to five hectares. While this was a well-intended move, a new study shows that the ban on river sand mining may have led to an unexpected boom in stone quarrying across the Western Ghats. The study was published by a team of three researchers from the National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode. The study attains added significance in the light of the Revenue Department of Kerala issuing an order in May 2025, approving new guidelines for the resumption of river sand mining in the state, effectively lifting a nearly decade-long moratorium. The study noted that the state’s construction industry, the largest consumer of the mined river sand, reacted to the ban by replacing river sand with manufactured sand (M-sand). M-sand is artificially made from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/quarries-devour-buffer-forests-of-western-ghats-after-sand-mining-ban/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<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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					<title>Centre exempts public consultation for mining critical and atomic minerals</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/centre-exempts-public-consultation-for-mining-critical-and-atomic-minerals/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/centre-exempts-public-consultation-for-mining-critical-and-atomic-minerals/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Sep 2025 15:56:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/25153707/AP23199651351465-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34785</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Energy, Environmental Law, and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A sweeping new executive order from the government has exempted the mining of critical and atomic minerals from public review, citing the role they play in serving national interests, including advancing the energy transition and strengthening defence mechanisms. The order was made by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change on September 8, after [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A sweeping new executive order from the government has exempted the mining of critical and atomic minerals from public review, citing the role they play in serving national interests, including advancing the energy transition and strengthening defence mechanisms. The order was made by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change on September 8, after the Department of Atomic Energy and the Ministry of Defence argued that exempting public consultations would fast track clearances for mining. In place of a public review, proposals for mining will be “appraised at the Central level,” the office memorandum carrying the order says. Critical minerals such as copper and cobalt play an essential role in the development of several technologies including in space industry, electronics, technology and communications, renewable energy, and electric batteries. Atomic minerals such as uranium can help fuel nuclear power plants, which India plans on scaling to a 100 gigawatt capacity by 2047, while rare earth minerals are used in defence equipment. But the removal of public consultation from the mining of these minerals has sparked vocal opposition from Tamil Nadu, which has experience with illegal beach sand mining used for atomic purposes. Tamil Nadu Chief minister M.K. Stalin urged the central government to withdraw the exemption in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister. “Policy changes of such significance must be deliberated transparently in Parliament and State legislatures, with due consultation of the states and the public,” he wrote. Pleas by the defence ministry and atomic department Uncertainties in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/centre-exempts-public-consultation-for-mining-critical-and-atomic-minerals/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>A beloved ‘tree of life’ is vanishing from an already scarce desert</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/a-beloved-tree-of-life-is-vanishing-from-an-already-scarce-desert/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/a-beloved-tree-of-life-is-vanishing-from-an-already-scarce-desert/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2025 15:05:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vishal Kumar Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irrigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[khejri]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[native plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solar Energy]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/11103236/DSC09401-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34297</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Energy, Mining, Renewable Energy, Thar Desert, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The onion crop on 60-year-old Tiloka Ram Godara&#8217;s 80-bigha field ripens in May. There are four-five khejri (Prosopis cineraria) trees growing in the field located near Osian tehsil in Rajasthan&#8217;s Jodhpur district. Since the pods (wet or green sangri) on them have grown thick, they have been left for the cattle. When asked the reason [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The onion crop on 60-year-old Tiloka Ram Godara&#8217;s 80-bigha field ripens in May. There are four-five khejri (Prosopis cineraria) trees growing in the field located near Osian tehsil in Rajasthan&#8217;s Jodhpur district. Since the pods (wet or green sangri) on them have grown thick, they have been left for the cattle. When asked the reason for not plucking these bean pods, he said, “When we were young, there were 20-25 khejri trees in our field. At that time, farming was done only during the four months of the monsoon. Everyone was interested in sangri. There were no other avenues and this was the biggest source of income. Now, thanks to abundant water, farming is done twice. An increase in income has led to decreasing interest in sangri.” Khejri, the native tree of Rajasthan, is considered the lifeline of Western Rajasthan. The tree, which thrives in the hot and dry climate, was once abundant across the Thar desert. Khejri trees produce bean-like sangri pods in March-April. Both fresh and dried pods are consumed. There was a time when there were no vegetables in the summer season, so only sangri was eaten. The social, economic and cultural importance of the khejri earns it the title of Kalpavriksha (tree of life) in the desert. However, in the last few years, the rapid expansion of solar plants, mechanised farming and other developments, along with intensifying impacts of climate change, have sidelined the khejri. Tiloka Ram Godara shows a khejri tree growing on his field.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/a-beloved-tree-of-life-is-vanishing-from-an-already-scarce-desert/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Flood control plans could open doors to unregulated mining</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/himachal-considers-dredging-policy-amid-warnings-of-uttarakhand-experience/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/himachal-considers-dredging-policy-amid-warnings-of-uttarakhand-experience/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Sep 2025 10:43:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Meenakshi Kapoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dredging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flood in Himachal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Himalayan region]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mining]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sand mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/05093252/Dredging-activity-on-the-Beas-River-near-Aaloo-Ground-Kalath-Kullu-district-Himachal-Pradesh.-Photo-Credit_-Sumit-Mahar-Himdhara-Collective-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34484</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Mining and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On August 2, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, met with Union Minister of Environment Bhupender Singh Yadav. He sought two relaxations in the current environmental laws so that the state can take action without having to approach the Centre. First, for the state government to be able to release forest land [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On August 2, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, met with Union Minister of Environment Bhupender Singh Yadav. He sought two relaxations in the current environmental laws so that the state can take action without having to approach the Centre. First, for the state government to be able to release forest land for the rehabilitation of those displaced by floods, and second, to be able to dredge and dispose of the dredged material for disaster prevention. According to the Indian Forest (Conservation) Act, for the diversion of forest land for any use, a state government must approach the central forest clearance system. Himachal Pradesh has 68% of its land demarcated as forests, which means additional time to initiate community welfare and small-scale infrastructure development and rehabilitation projects in the state. The exemption from forest clearance may make flood rehabilitation work faster, Sukhu proposed. The second request needs to be viewed in the context of examples from the neighbouring state, Uttarakhand, where the dredging/river training policy has reportedly opened floodgates for rampant and illegal mining, according to several past investigations and media reports. Following the footsteps of the neighbour ‘Monsoon fury’ is a term often used to describe the year-on-year floods and consequent damage in the hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. However, mass-scale construction, road widening projects, and indiscriminate mining — often without regard for the socio-ecological balance of the hills — have been highlighted as factors exacerbating natural disasters in these hilly states. Infrastructural development&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/himachal-considers-dredging-policy-amid-warnings-of-uttarakhand-experience/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Auction for offshore mineral blocks met with resistance and delays</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/auction-for-offshore-mineral-blocks-met-with-resistance-and-delays/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/auction-for-offshore-mineral-blocks-met-with-resistance-and-delays/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Mar 2025 13:33:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[offshore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sand mining]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/03/20114910/Chavara_coast_as_seen_from_Kovilthottam_Lighthouse_Nov_2016-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31929</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coast and Mining]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The central government’s proposal to carry out offshore mining in India has been met with strong resistance in Kerala, where fishers have categorically said they will not allow the seabed to be dug up for mineral extraction. “The livelihoods of more than 25,000 fishers will be affected by offshore mining,” said Charles George, President of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The central government’s proposal to carry out offshore mining in India has been met with strong resistance in Kerala, where fishers have categorically said they will not allow the seabed to be dug up for mineral extraction. “The livelihoods of more than 25,000 fishers will be affected by offshore mining,” said Charles George, President of the Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi, a fishing union. “The dredging up of the seabed will lead to detrimental environmental damage which will deplete fish stocks.” In November 2024, the Union Ministry of Mines launched the first ever auction of 13 offshore mineral blocks for mining. Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy said the auction would support India’s infrastructure development and energy transition, while also supporting the country’s quest for self-reliance in the global critical mineral supply chain. Critical minerals are vital materials for batteries, solar panels, electric vehicles and other instruments used in renewable energy sources. Offshore mining could turn the country into “a leading player in the global critical minerals market,” Reddy had said. On offer are three blocks of construction sand off the Kerala coast, three blocks of lime mud off the Gujarat coast, and seven blocks of polymetallic nodules off the coasts in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Polymetallic nodules are small rocks containing a mix of metals, like nickel, copper, zinc and iron, which are globally sought after. The resistance to offshore mining, however, has now reached Parliament’s doorstep. Around 200 fishers from the Kerala Fisheries Coordination Committee marched to Parliament&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/auction-for-offshore-mineral-blocks-met-with-resistance-and-delays/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Budget boosts EV battery manufacturing plans, but a big leap needed for success [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/budget-boosts-ev-battery-manufacturing-plans-but-a-big-leap-needed-for-success-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/budget-boosts-ev-battery-manufacturing-plans-but-a-big-leap-needed-for-success-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Mar 2025 13:34:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Suresh Seshadri]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[battery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electric vehicle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electric Vehicle Policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[renewable policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Union budget]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/03/19110019/Electric_car_charging_station_in_Begumpet_Hyderabad-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31897</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon emissions, Mining, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s latest budget, presented by the Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharamanin February this year, makes a welcome policy push, encouraging the domestic production of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), as part of its ‘mission mode’ approach to further manufacturing in India. Underscoring the government’s “commitment to climate-friendly development,” the budget makes a case for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s latest budget, presented by the Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharamanin February this year, makes a welcome policy push, encouraging the domestic production of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), as part of its ‘mission mode’ approach to further manufacturing in India. Underscoring the government’s “commitment to climate-friendly development,” the budget makes a case for providing an enabling environment for supporting manufacturing in clean technologies, including EV batteries, solar photovoltaic cells, and grid-scale batteries, as part of the country’s transition to renewable energy sources. A closer look at the policies listed for assisting EV battery manufacturing shows the government’s main thrust in this direction centres around providing customs duty exemption for 35 items of capital goods that are used in the manufacture of EV batteries, particularly of the lithium-ion variety. S. Venkatraman, an expert in battery technology, describes the proposed duty exemption for capital goods as “a welcome development” that will help reduce capital costs for investors looking to manufacture EV battery cells “at scale” in India. Currently, India’s production of EV batteries is limited to the assembly and packaging of the batteries using imported cells, which actually supply the energy. There are, however, ongoing efforts by several companies, including at least a couple of established traditional lead-acid battery manufacturers, to set up cell manufacturing facilities. Amara Raja Energy &amp; Mobility plans to spend up to Rs. 95 billion as capital expenditure on its proposed ‘Giga Corridor’ near Hyderabad in Telangana state. The company has commenced work on setting up&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/budget-boosts-ev-battery-manufacturing-plans-but-a-big-leap-needed-for-success-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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</rss>