Moves by India's new right-wing government to block Greenpeace funds and weaken environmental protection laws send a "chilling message", the head of the lobby group said Monday, as he urged the prime minister to release the money.

Kumi Naidoo also called on India not to lose sight of the environment in its campaign to boost economic growth, saying the country of 1.2 billion had a leading role to play in saving the planet.

New Delhi tightened controls on foreign fund transfers to Greenpeace India in June after the Intelligence Bureau accused activist groups of "stalling development projects" by protesting against power projects, mining and genetically modified food.

The new government has also been accused of watering down environmental rules after it allowed polluting industries to operate closer to national parks, and said small coal miners could expand production by 50 percent without seeking public approval.

"It's been a little bit of a shock to see the allegation being made that civil society is acting against the national interest," said Naidoo in an interview with AFP in New Delhi.

"The clampdown of Greenpeace on the one hand as well as the watering down of certain aspects of the current environmental legislation does send a very chilling message."

The Greenpeace executive director urged against governing "in a way where we pretend as if we don't have children and their children coming afterwards" and said leaders should not be driven purely by "the tyranny of quarterly reporting cycles where businesses have to show profit".

"India has a leadership role to play if we are to succeed in securing this planet for future generations," he said, adding that he hoped to meet the environment and home ministers before leaving the country on Wednesday.

Naidoo defended Greenpeace's record in India, citing a solar energy project in the eastern state of Bihar and a campaign against Indian energy group giant Essar's plans to mine coal in central Madhya Pradesh state, which he said would damage one of India's oldest forests.

India's biggest corporate groups have flocked to business-friendly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose right-wing government swept to power in May elections on a pledge to revive the ailing economy.

Since coming to power, his Bharatiya Janata Party has pushed through a series of long-awaited moves that will make it easier for companies to win approval for new projects.

But it has faced criticism over the environmental impact of these moves.

Naidoo, who is South African, said he had appealed personally to Modi to release Greenpeace's funds after the Delhi High Court recently directed authorities to unblock them.

Greenpeace India says it has not received any money in the past six months. A final hearing on the matter is expected on January 22.

Bhopal victims launch hunger strike for better compensation
New Delhi (AFP) Nov 10, 2014 - Victims of the Bhopal gas disaster, suffering deformities and illnesses, staged a hunger strike in the Indian capital Monday for increased compensation ahead of the 30th anniversary of the tragedy.

Holding signs that read "Justice for Bhopal", about 100 mainly women and children gathered at a protest site in New Delhi, including first and second generation victims of the world's worst industrial accident.

Bhopal activist Satinath Sarangi said a handful of the protesters would fast indefinitely in the hope of attracting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attention to the plight of the victims of the 1984 disaster.

"We have come here with the hope that the present government led by Mr Modi will correct the wrongs done by the previous government and ensure gas victims are given extra compensation," he told the crowd.

Sarangi also urged Modi's right-wing government, which won power in May on a pledge to revive the economy, against overlooking any environmental crimes committed by companies in its quest to lure foreign investment.

Thousands of people were killed when 40 tonnes of lethal methyl isocyanate gas spewed from the Union Carbide chemical plant in the central city of Bhopal on December 2, 1984.

The disaster killed 8,000-10,000 people within the first three days, according to data from the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research, but hundreds of thousands more suffer the consequences.

"I remember people running from their homes to try and get away from the gas, children dead in the streets," said Premlata Chaudhary, 67, who lives in her ancestral village less than a kilometre from the plant.

"I remember covering my face and my children's, just grabbing them and running," said Chaudhary, who lost one of her six children in the disaster.

Chaudhary, who suffers from respiratory and stomach problems, said her 25,000 rupees ($406) in compensation from the company was finalised 15 years after the disaster.

The protesters on Monday demanded the Modi government attempt to speed up legal action for greater compensation.

The Indian government in 2012 filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking for higher compensation from the company, which was initially set at $470 million in a settlement reached in 1989.

US-based Dow Chemical, which bought Union Carbide after the disaster, insists that all of the company's liabilities were settled in the 1989 agreement.