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Climate change: Rising sea levels ring alarm bells for Mumbai August 3, 2023 https://mumbai.citizenmatters.in/mumbai-coastal-cities-rising-sea-levels-floods-53991 By 2070, Mumbai is projected to be home to over 11 million people in areas susceptible to rising sea levels and heightened flooding. That is almost four times more than current exposed population of 2.7 million. These vulnerable residents will face the risks to their homes, livelihoods and their basic safety.

Journalist Pamela Cheema, AGNI (Action for Good Governance and Networking in India) Coordinator and Powai ALM, criticises the government’s approval of forest exploitation. Her organisation, AGNI, had taken a stand against the coastal road project, as she believes it will inevitably be submerged due to rising sea levels. “Despite the project’s high cost, we advocate for its termination, considering it detrimental to the city’s well-being. Our plea calls for prioritising the protection of these critical areas to safeguard Mumbai from the impacts of climate change,” she says..

Rather than pursuing short-term construction and increasing the FSI, the city must invest in long-term solutions that can effectively withstand climate challenges. Sustainable infrastructure that can endure rising sea levels and extreme weather events is crucial for ensuring the safety of Mumbai’s people, say activists.

 that seeks to amend forest act  Aug 03, 2023 https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/parliament-clears-contentious-bill-that-seeks-to-amend-forest-act-101691002458287.html The Rajya Sabha cleared the contentious Forest Conservation (Amendment) bill 2023 on Wednesday, opening the door for development and exploitation of vast tracts of forest lands that are not recorded as such in government records and potentially endangering sensitive ecosystems in the Northeast that fall under a national security exemption. The forest bill was passed after a debate lasting one hour and 40 minutes without any member from the Opposition that walked out over the violence in Manipur.

And, with the controversial Biological Diversity Amendment bill -- which sparked a row for exempting users of traditional knowledge and Ayush practitioners from sharing benefits with local communities -- that was passed by the Upper House on Tuesday, it marks the beginning of a new era in India’s environmental protection regime.

BEST drivers’ strike at two bus depots continues; Aamchi Mumbai Amachi Best to hold rally Somit Sen / TNN / Aug 2, 2023,  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/102362033.cms  As many as 500 drivers are likely to continue the agitation which started on Wednesday morning and this could inconvenience citizens for the second day on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Aamchi Mumbai Amachi Best, a Citizens' platform, will take out a protest rally on the occasion of "BEST Divas" on August 7 from Kotwal garden opposite Plaza Cinema (Dadar West) to Wadala Depot to submit memorandum to BEST authorities on increasing fleet, maintaining buses properly, merging BEST budget with BMC budget, restoring discontinued bus routes and also introducing dedicated lanes for buses in city.