
New Delhi: Emissions from coal plants resulted in 80,000 to 1,15,000 premature deaths and more than 20 million asthma cases in 2011-12 in the country, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. According to a report titled 'Coal Kills - An assessment of death and disease caused by India's dirtiest energy source', the coal-based plants quantified additional health impacts, such as hundreds of thousands of heart attacks.
The estimated monetary cost associated with these health impacts exceeded Rs.16,000 to Rs.23,000 crore per year, the report said. The Central Pollution Control Board has said that steps have been taken to curb the pollution emission from such coal-based power plants.
Emphasis is placed on cleaner technology while granting environmental clearance to new coal-based thermal power plants, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury said in a written reply.
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05:35 AM, Apr 30, 2013

Mumbai: The oft-heard boarding announcements that would alert passengers at airports about the departure of their flights, is now a thing of the past at Mumbai's domestic airport. Departing private airline passengers at the airport will now have to rely on large display screens put up throughout the airport to find out the status of their flights. It's all a part of the airport's effort to cut noise pollution. A...

09:38 AM, Apr 22, 2013

Chennai: A day-long general strike demanding permanent closure of the copper smelter plant of Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd will be held on Monday at Tuticorin, said MDMK party general secretary Vaiko on Saturday. The company is part of Britain-based Vedanta Resources Group. In a statement issued here, MDMK founder Vaiko said the anti-Sterlite movement has called for a one-day general strike demanding the permanent closure of the copper smelter plant...

01:25 PM, Apr 06, 2013

Sterlite Industries (India) said on Monday that a copper smelter run by the company in Tamil Nadu has been closed after a preliminary inspection by state pollution regulator. ...

10:15 AM, Apr 01, 2013

Jharkhand High Court on Thursday acquitted former chief minister Madhu Koda and his alleged associate Binod Sinha in the Rs 90 lakh scam pollution control board scam. The single bench of Justice RR Prasad acquitted the two due to lack of evidence submitted by the Vigilance Bureau. ...

06:27 PM, Mar 07, 2013

Even as China deals with crippling levels of air pollution, a new report has discovered that air pollution is the fifth leading cause of death in India. Delhi has been rated as one of the most critically polluted cities, and Chief Minister Sheila Dixit has admitted that the situation is out of control. ...

11:35 AM, Feb 18, 2013

Air pollution is the fifth largest killer in India taking 6.2 lakh lives per year and Delhi is among one of the five most critically polluted regions in the country, a study by a US-based health institute has claimed. ...

01:46 AM, Feb 14, 2013

Recent concerns over China's increasing Air pollution has led to one Chinese businessman cashing in on it and how! Chen Guangbiao and his colleagues took to the streets selling cans of fresh air - supposedly collected from the pollution-free regions of the country. ...

09:17 AM, Feb 04, 2013

The Great Barrier Reef near Australia could be stripped of its world heritage status if action is not taken to better protect the natural icon from coal and gas developments, environment groups have said. A coalition of such groups has launched the "Fight for the Reef" campaign in Canberra, saying politicians were putting the reef's international reputation at risk, the Australian Associated Press reported. ...

08:30 PM, Jan 22, 2013

Concerned over rising river pollution, sadhus of various orders are now seeking departure from tradition as they want adequate land to bury their dead instead of the practice of 'Jal Samadhi' (water burial) which has led to environmental concerns. ...

04:23 PM, Jan 20, 2013

China seems to be losing its battle with air pollution as experts warn against the high level of toxins in the air in its capital city, Beijing. Gauging the threat, schools have been advised to keep children indoors and a smog alert has been sounded. ...

08:53 AM, Jan 15, 2013

Green schemes to fight climate change by producing more bio-fuels could actually worsen a little-known type of air pollution and cause almost 1,400 premature deaths a year in Europe by 2020, a study showed on Sunday. ...

04:24 AM, Jan 07, 2013

New Delhi: Comptroller and Auditor General has found that the Railways is yet to formulate comprehensive guidelines for handling and transportation of bulk commodities which are pollution intensive. "No specific criteria have been laid down by the Railway Board to assess the performance of each zone in minimising environmental pollution," CAG has observed in its latest report tabled in Parliament on Thursday. According to Air Prevention and Control of Pollution...

05:07 AM, Dec 21, 2012

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04:37 PM, Dec 17, 2012

Bhavnagar: It's Day 3 of CNN-IBN's Gujarat yatra and CNN-IBN heads to Bhavnagar, where life revolves around a ship breaking yard. Alang, that employs almost 50,000 people, is a big money spinner both for the state and the central government, but is also a big polluter. Alang, the graveyard of ships, is a place where ageing vessels are torn apart by labourers and the metal is then sold as scrap....

09:00 AM, Dec 05, 2012

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre over the rising pollution levels in the capital and asked why an environment compensation charge should not be imposed on petrol and diesel cars. The apex court was hearing an application filed by senior lawyer Harish Salve who pressed for a 25 per cent environmental charge on purchase of new diesel vehicles and a 4 per cent...

03:01 PM, Nov 26, 2012

Diwali was less noisy but more polluted with nearly 50 per cent jump in toxic gases. ...

11:50 PM, Nov 14, 2012

The re-auction of 2G mobile spectrum has been a massive disappointment, ending at less than Rs 10,000 crore - way below the government target of Rs 40,000 crore. Idea is the provisional winner in seven circles while Videocon is also the provisional winner in seven circles. Others like Airtel and Vodafone bid cautiously. The bidding comes after the Supreme Court had cancelled 122 licences in February 2012. ...

11:29 PM, Nov 14, 2012

New Delhi: The Diwali in the national capital this year has been a more polluted one, and this has been revealed by the data from the central pollution control board. According to the information, the air quality in Delhi was worse than that in last Diwali. The maximum level of sulphur dioxide recorded this year was 63 while it was just 40 on Diwali in 2011. The level of nitrogen...

09:29 PM, Nov 14, 2012

New Delhi: It's the day after Diwali on Wednesday and the pollution control board will release it's data on pollution levels. Experts have warned that crackers would add to toxin levels in the atmosphere and cause the smog around the National Capital Region to return. People in the national capital celebrated Diwali with a loud bang. While the Supreme Court had in 2005 put a ban on the use of...

08:02 AM, Nov 14, 2012