Reportage on a planet without equitable or sustainable development.
Compounding Errors: Lafarge’s limestone mining operations in Meghalaya
Can a forbidden act be converted, by a few rupees more, into an acceptable practice given the sanctity of the law? This is the dilemma that Lafarge’s limestone mining operations in Meghalaya have imposed on the Supreme Court (SC).
NOTE (21 Oct, 2026): I just realised, while writing something on the Forest Bench, that I had failed to upload this report back from my early days in Economic Times. This was one of my early — albeit transient — successes. On the day the SC was about to legalise Lafarge’s illegality, we had this edit out in the newspaper saying “Hey SC, we are watching you”. From what I recall, they postponed the matter.
I am an Indian journalist with interests in energy, environment, climate and India’s ongoing slide into right-wing authoritarianism. My book, Despite the State, an examination of pervasive state failure and democratic decay in India, was published by Westland Publications, India, in January 2021. My work has won the Bala Kailasam Memorial Award; the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award; five Shriram Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism; and, more recently, been a finalist at the True Story Award and GIJN’s Global Shining Light Awards. Write to me at despitethestate@protonmail.com.
“Westland closure: Titles that are selling fast and a few personal recommendations,” by Chetana Divya Vasudev, Moneycontrol. (Because this happened too. In February, a year after DtS was released, Amazon decided to shutter Westland, which published the book. The announcement saw folks rushing to buy copies of Westland books before stocks run out.)
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