Debadityo Sinha's Blog

Debadityo Sinha discusses how a coal power plant managed to receive environmental clearance by giving false information, which the National Green Tribunal finally overturned. Every piece of information/data furnished and/or collected at every stage of the process is expected to be wholesome, free from any twist or turn in order to truly aid the correct appraisal of the potential impacts of the project. (National Green Tribunal) On 21st December, 2016, the Principal Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) quashed the environmental clearance granted to a 1320 MW coal based thermal power plant proposed in district Mirzapur of Uttar Pradesh. The power plant, for which 875 acres of land was already acquired, was at the final stage of being transferred to the  Adani Power  Corporation from the project proponent M/s Welspun Energy (U.P) Pvt. Ltd. The estimated cost of the project when received the  environmental clearance  in August, 2014 was shown as Rs. 7,500 Crores. Site of the

There is a growing global movement to recognise the rights of rivers, writes Debadityo Sinha. But rights alone are not enough. We must love and respect rivers, and even think like rivers to understand the vital functions they perform within landscapes and ecosystems, and so discover where their 'best interests' truly lie. And then we must be willing to act: protecting rivers and restoring them to health and wholeness. Does the use value of river exhaust its whole value, or is there something beyond economics? Are there cultural, historical, emotional, aesthetic, religious and spiritual dimensions to a river's being that make it far more than a mere 'resource'? We Indians have historically had a deep emotional connect with our rivers. We see them as extension of our society, often elevating them to godly status. While most rivers are treated as females ( Nadi ), there are instances where rivers have been treated as males (' Nad '). Many female