Carbon Copy A freshly passed amendment to the Forest Conservation Act has created a stir among ecologists, parliamentarians and stakeholders. With several contentious provisions, the amendment reveals an afforestation push where rights and justice take a backseat to commercial interests. This week, amidst a raucous monsoon session, the Indian Parliament saw the passage of several consequential pieces of legislation in quick succession. Among them was the contentious amendment to the Forest Conservation...
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Over 3 Lakh Hectares of Forest Land Diverted for Non-Forest Use in the Last 15 Years - Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
The recently concluded Parliament session saw the passage of the highly controversial “Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023” amid wide protests and without much discussion. The bill is aimed to amend the erstwhile Forest Conservation Act, 1980. Among the changes suggested, the below preamble was inserted into the act, and the “Forest (Conservation) Act” is substituted by “Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam” in the principal Act. While the Environment Ministry claims that...
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KEY TRENDS • Oxfam India's 2023 India Supplement report on poverty and inequality in India reveals that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Following the pandemic in 2019, the bottom 50 per cent of the population have continued to see their wealth chipped away. By 2020, their income share was estimated to have fallen to only 13 per cent of the national income and have less than 3...
More »US FDA Flags Lapses by Indian Firm's Eye Drops Linked to Vision Loss and Deaths - Tabassum Barnagarwala
Scroll.in The US Food and Drug Administration has found a series of violations in the manufacturing process and sterilisation methods adopted by Global Pharma, the Indian manufacturer of an eye drop that has been linked to 68 cases of eye infection in America, including eight cases of vision loss and three deaths. The company recalled its product, EzriCare Artificial Tears Eye Drop, early in February. The over-the-counter product has been linked to...
More »Supreme Court rejects Centre's plea for more compensation from Carbide's successor firms - Ashmit Kumar
CNBC-TV18 The Supreme Court rejected the Centre's curative plea for enhanced compensation for the victims of the 1984 Bhopal Gas tragedy from US-based firm Union Carbide Corporation (UCC). The court rather asked the government to utilise a sum of Rs 50 crore lying with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to satisfy pending claims of victims. The government had sought an additional Rs 7,844 crore from the UCC successor firms to extend...
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