Anil Ambani’s Reliance Power is hopeful the government will allocate natural gas to operate its new 2,400-mw plant in Andhra Pradesh, where shortterm electricity prices have jumped to . 19 per unit, more than three times the national average, because of soaring demand and inadequate transmission network.

Sterlite Grid, L&T, Lanco Infratech, GMR Group, KEC in the race to bid. Power transmission firms are gearing up to bid for two much delayed transmission projects worth . 2,800 crore, which are likely to be awarded by March. After a lull of almost one year, activity in private-sector participation in power transmission has picked up and developers are keen to grab these projects as the ones awarded earlier have been concentrated mostly between Reliance Infrastructure and Sterlite Grid, which bagged four projects worth . 7,000 crore and three projects worth .

The country recorded a decrease of 367 square km in forest cover last year, compared with 2009, according to India State of Forest Report 2011, released here on Tuesday.

The forest and tree cover of the country stands at 78.29 million hectare, which is 23.81 per cent of the country's geographical area, said the report. “Compared with the 2009 assessment, after taking into account the interpretational changes, there is a decrease of 367 square km in the country's forest cover,” the report said.

Andhra’s Khammam Alone Accounts For Almost 50% Loss: FSI Report. India recorded a net loss of 367 sq km of forests between 2009 and 2011, with Khammam district in Andhra Pradesh alone losing 182 sq km of green cover in the period, the latest ‘state of forest’ report has found. The report, prepared biennially by the Forest Survey of India — the Dehradun based wing of the environment and forests ministry — was released on Tuesday.

India’s overall forest cover has declined by 367 sq-kms in the past two years despite a few states actually expanding their forest areas. The net loss is mainly on account of Naxalites destroying close to 200 sq-km of forests in Andhra Pradesh, a government report said in Tuesday. The country’s total forest cover now stands at 23.81 per cent of total geographical area.

Finally it is victory for environmentalists, especially for Dharwad-based NGO Samaja Parivartana Samudaya, which questioned the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education's (ICFRE) suggestion to exploit mining reserves in the Western Ghats.

The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) in its report submitted to the court on February 3 rejected the suggestion by noting that “ICFRE has gone totally out of context and beyond its terms of reference.”

India's forest cover shrank by 367sq km with the maximum 80 per cent loss recorded in Andhra Pradesh mainly due to Naxals felling trees in Warangal and Khammam districts, according to a new survey released on Tuesday.

Forest and tree cover of the country as per the biennial assessment report released by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) is 78.29 million hectares, which is 23.81 per cent of the geographical area. This includes 2.76 per cent tree cover.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar of the AP High Court issued notices to the state government and the HMWS&SB on a PIL against the decision to enhance water tariff. Forum for Good Governance secretary M. Padmanabha Reddy, filed the PIL contending that the decision is against to Article 21 of the Constitution.

Additional power of 75,000 MW to be generated in five years

Union Minister of State for Power K.C. Venugopal said here on Monday that work on the Mysore-Kozhikode transmission line would start soon as the project had secured the final environment clearance from the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment.