Many mines were operating in dry and deciduous forest lands on India's western ghat region, flouting environment laws, he claimed.

WSJ: Court Eases Mining Ban in Karnataka

At the Nigambodh Ghat, a New Delhi crematorium, three dead bodies were cremated using wood after the power failure, an official at the crematorium said.

WSJ: India's Power Grid Collapses

Tata Tea (now Tata Global Beverages) has sold its vast plantation in the Western Ghat mountains where it was the biggest employer for more than a century.

ECONOMIST: The Tata group

On my visit to India this month, Forbes correspondent Naazneen Karmali and I happened onto trouble at Lavasa, a hill city being built along Warasgaon Reservoir between Mumbai and Pune in the Western Ghat range.

FORBES: A Stop in India's Lavasa