Goa Seeks Input on Declaring 108 Villages as Eco-Sensitive

26 Aug 2024 CW Team

The Goa government will circulate a draft notification proposing to declare 108 villages as eco-sensitive areas (ESAs) to panchayats and MLAs to seek their objections and suggestions. With 40 days remaining to submit feedback to the environment ministry, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has stated his intention to request that the Union government limit the ESA designation to just 63 villages.

In July 2022, the Union Ministry issued a draft notification proposing 99 Goan villages, covering 1,461 square kilometers, be declared ESAs. In June 2024, the ministry acknowledged discrepancies in the draft notification and stated that these would be rectified. The Goa government is concerned that declaring more villages as ESAs could lead to economic losses and unemployment, especially in areas with mining activities.

The state government hopes to exclude villages that do not meet the criteria and has repeatedly requested the central government to notify only 63 villages as ESAs. The final decision will be made after the 60-day feedback period.

Infrastructure Transport

07 Apr 2026

Tunnelling Begins for Thane, Borivali twin tunnel project

Tunnelling work has commenced for the 11.84-km Thane–Borivali Twin Tunnel, set to be India’s longest urban road tunnel, marking a key milestone in Mumbai’s infrastructure development.As per a post shared by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority on social media platform X, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) ‘Nayak’—the country’s largest single-shield hard rock TBM for an urban tunnel—was launched by Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday. The event was attended by Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, among other dignitaries. A second TBM, ‘Arjuna’, is expected to be launched so..

Large Format Store Planned At M G Road Metro Station

M G Road station in Bengaluru is set to host the city’s first large-format commercial and experience space, with planning led by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited. BMRCL has invited proposals to develop and operate a central business district destination at the Purple?Pink Line interchange. The plan positions the station as a commercial hub designed to serve a broad commuter base across the city. The proposal is part of a broader effort to activate transit nodes commercially. Tender documents set a minimum monthly rental of Rs 0.944 million (mn), inclusive of GST, for the large-format..

Government Cancels Auction Of Eleven Critical Mineral Blocks

The government has cancelled the auction of 11 critical and strategic mineral blocks after receiving a poor investor response and failing to attract a sufficient number of qualified bidders. The decision represents a setback to plans to ramp up domestic exploration and production of critical minerals amid global supply chain disruptions and rising demand for materials used in clean energy and advanced technologies. The mines ministry issued an annulment notice setting out the reasons for the cancellations. The annulment notice indicated that the auction process for five mineral blocks was canc..