Page 240 - Environment
Top US Navy officer urges China to avoid confrontations
The US Navy's top officer said he urged China to follow international rules at sea to avoid confrontations and insisted Friday that ships should be able to pass safely though disputed areas of the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. Chief of US Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told reporters in Tokyo that U.S. Navy ships will continue to operate freely in international waters, including the possibility of an aircraft carrier navigating through the Taiwan Strait. Richardson, who held meetings in China earlier this week, said he told Chinese officials that the U.S. is committed to a one-China policy and is opposed to any unilateral action "from either side of the strait" to change the status quo. Richardson said the US considers the Taiwan Strait as international waters. "We don't see any kind of limitation on whatever type of ship could pass through those waters," he said. His comment follows new tensions between the U.S. and China over Taiwan that have already been frayed over ...
Pilot project in Mumbai soon to monitor illegal constructions using satellite: HC told
The Maharashtra government Friday told the Bombay High Court that it would soon set up a pilot project in any one area of Mumbai to take satellite images to keep an eye on illegal constructions. Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told a division bench of Chief Justice N H Patil and Justice N M Jamdar that Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping will be initiated in one area of the metropolis as a pilot project. GIS is a system designed to capture, store, analyse, manage and present spatial and geographic data. The court had in September last year, while hearing a petition filed by a society that was declared as illegal later, asked the government if it can use satellite imaging to monitor illegal structures. The bench was informed by Kumbhakoni that a team of experts in the field has been formed to study the issue and that the government has also consulted an expert from Germany, who was part of the team that set up a similar system in Hyderabad city. The court, while adjourning
'Threatened' Ladakh tribe seeks govt help to preserve heritage
A tribe of Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region has demanded that the Centre make serious interventions to help it preserve its cultural heritage, which, experts say, is under threat due to rapid "modernisation, migration and religious conversion". Members of the Dard Aryan tribe submitted a charter of demands to Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Sudarshan Bhagat on Friday. The tribe, inhabiting Dha, Hanu, Beema, Darchik and Garkone villages in Leh and Kargil districts, claims to be the descendants of "pure Aryan race". Many researchers believe they are the descendants of Alexander, an official of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) said. "The villages are together called the Aryan valley. The people of the region are completely different from those in other parts of Ladakh. The community prohibits marriage with outsiders to keep the gene pool intact. Of late, the Dard men are marrying outside the tribe," the official said. The tribe is considered "threatened" due ..
Imran Khan seeks expedition of CPEC projects
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday stressed on expediting projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the country.
Japan to lend Rs 3,420 cr to India
Japan will be giving a loan of Rs 3,420 crore to India to assist in constructing the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road and for joint efforts towards meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
More animal species likely to get extinct: Study
Researchers have found that more than a hundred species currently identified as non-threatened on the Red List of Threatened Species, are actually likely to be at risk of extinction.
MOIL, GMDC plan to set up plant in Gujarat
State-run manganese ore producer MOIL Friday announced that it has entered into a pact with GMDC to set up a plant in joint venture in Gujarat with an investment of around Rs 250 crore and to conduct joint exploration of manganese-bearing areas. MOIL has signed a memorandum of understanding with Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) "to take up project of joint exploration of manganese-bearing areas, exploring its feasibility and to conduct mining operations as well as to set up value additional plant in JV at Vadodara and Chhota Udepur (Gujarat) with a proposed investment of approximately Rs 250 crore," the company said in a BSE filing. The company said it is proposed to commence activities of exploration on this project in 2019. The Gujarat government would facilitate MOIL to obtain necessary clearances from the concerned departments of the state, it said. "MoU is made to facilitate MOIL and GMDC for operating manganese mines and/or establishment of the aforesaid project(s)
MOIL signs MoU with Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation
Government of Gujarat would facilitate MOIL to obtain necessary permissions / registrations / approvals / clearances etc. from the concerned departments of the State, as per the existing policies / rules and regulations of the State Government.
Better not be in Delhi, it's like 'gas chamber': SC
It is better not to be in Delhi, the Supreme Court said Friday, expressing its despair over the lack of implementation of measures to curb air pollution and traffic congestion in the capital which, it added, has become like a "gas chamber". "In the morning and evening, there is so much pollution and traffic congestion," Justice Arun Mishra said, hearing a matter related to air pollution in the National Capital Region. "It is better not to be in Delhi. I do not wish to settle in Delhi. It is difficult to live in Delhi," he said. A bench of justices Mishra and Deepak Gupta said these problems affect the right to life. Justice Mishra cited an example to explain the problem of traffic, saying he was stuck in traffic on Friday morning and could have missed the swearing-in of two judges at the apex court. Advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the court as an amicus curiae, told the bench that Delhi has become a "gas chamber" due to pollution. And Justice Gupta agreed, "Yes, it is like gas ...
China's energy giant inks deal with UK firm for Bangladesh power plant
China's energy giant PowerChina has signed an agreement and a contract with GCM Resources, a leading British resource exploration company, for development of a coal-fired power plant in Bangladesh.
Delhi's air quality slightly improves with increased wind speed: Authorities
Delhi's air quality slightly improved with increased wind speed but was recorded in "very poor" category on Friday, authorities said. The air quality had slipped to "severe" category on Thursday. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the overall air quality index (AQI) in the city was 394, which falls in the "very poor" category. An AQI between 100 and 200 comes under the 'moderate' category, 201 and 300 is considered 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', while that between 401 and 500 is 'severe'. On Friday, as many as 11 areas recorded "severe" air quality and 18 "very poor" air quality, the CPCB said. In the National Capital Region, Ghaziabad and Greater Noida recorded "severe" air quality, while Faridabad, Gurgaon and Noida recorded "very poor" air quality, it said. The overall PM2.5 level -- fine particulate matters in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers -- in Delhi was 252, while the PM10 level was 385, it said. The Centre-run System of Air ...
33 Bhutanese coal trucks stopped from heading to Bangladesh
Indian Customs law disallowed 33 Bhutanese coal-laden trucks at Dawki integrated check post (ICP) in Meghalaya to transit to Bangladesh following a Supreme Court order banning the transportation of extracted coal in Meghalaya, an official said on Friday.
NGT warns of coercive measures after MoEF failure to amend guidelines on tree felling for charcoal
The National Green Tribunal has rapped the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for not amending the notification on "Wood-Based Industries (Establishment and Regulation) Guidelines, 2016" to check illegal tree felling for charcoal making. The green panel granted "last opportunity" for implementing the order dated August 13, 2018 till February 28, 2019 with a warning that coercive measures, including prosecution of the officer responsible, may have to be taken for non-compliance. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said that five months have passed but the needful has not been done and the lawyer for the ministry is unable to give any specific date by which the order of the tribunal will be complied with. "An affidavit has been filed on December 13, 2018 by Rohit Tiwari, Deputy Inspector General of Forests, MoEF to the effect that the Ministry was in the process of framing guidelines which will take six months. No justification has been given. "We do not .
BHEL and LIBCOIN in dialogue to build India's first lithium ion factory
Consortium to initially build 1 GWh lithium ion battery plant and capacity will be scaled up to 30GWh in due course
90 Argentine satellites to be launched by China
China will launch 90 satellites into space for Argentinian company Satellogic, which plans to build an Earth observation network.
Furnish Rs 2cr guarantee to Environment Ministry in Rajaji tiger case: NGT to NHAI
Irked by failure of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to comply with a Supreme Court directive to construct an 'elephant flyover', the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Friday asked the NHAI to furnish a Rs 2 crore 'performance guarantee' to the Environment Ministry within one month.The 731-m long Chilla Motichur elephant flyover was proposed to be built inside the Rajaji National Park nine years ago.An NGT bench headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel observed that wildlife, biodiversity and environment of the western side of Rajaji National Park was in danger due to a red tape attitude of NHAI and tigers were facing extinction due to a delay in construction of the flyover at Chilla Motichur corridor of the national highway that passes through the park.Centre for Wildlife and Environmental Litigation (CWEL) filed a case for the protection and conservation of tigers in the park and stated that tigers were getting locally extinct due to the disturbances between eastern and western ...
Institute of Indian Foundrymen plans to set up reclamation units for waste sand
The Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) is looking at building common reclamation units to reclaim waste sand generated from major foundries, a statement said Friday. The move is aimed at reducing the dependence on river sand besides curbing illegal mining. About 1,200 delegates from 15 nations, including Germany, Italy, China, Japan, the UK and US, are participating in the 67th Indian Foundry Congress (IFC) at the India Expo Mart. "Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) is looking at putting up common sand reclamation or recycle units in major foundries set up at Agra, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Aligarh, Kanpur and Lucknow in order to reclaim waste sand generated from foundries," IFC said in a statement. IIF President Shashi Jain said the association will encourage foundry clusters to jointly set up sand reclamation units in order to recycle and reuse the sand to lessen the dependence on river sand to further check illegal mining and save the environment. "About 2 million tonnes of sand is
Saudi Arabia plans oil refinery, petrochemicals plant in S.Africa
PRETORIA (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia plans to build an oil refinery and a petrochemicals plant in South Africa as part of $10 billion of investments in the country, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Friday.
Dense fog at Delhi airport affects over 450 flights
Dense fog in several parts of Delhi disrupted operations of 450 flights at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday morning, an airport official said. Flight operations were hit between 5.30am and 1pm. "Around 97 per cent of these 450 flights were either departing or arriving beyond their scheduled time due to dense fog that remained till around 10.20am. Rest were either diverted or cancelled," the official said. Departures were largely put on hold between 5.30am and 10.20am. Arrivals were happening only intermittently between 6am and 7.20am, another official said. Five flights were diverted between 5.30am and 10.20am from the airport. One of the flights was coming from Singapore and it was diverted to Kolkata, he said. Four flights coming from Bangkok, Dubai, Guwahati and Muscat, respectively were diverted to Jaipur between 7.30am and 10.20am, he said. "Very few aircraft are departing and that too on the basis of their size, visibility and ATC (air traffic control) ...
India to host UN conference on land degradation, desertification this year
India will host the 14th session of the Conference of Parties to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) this year to address the issue of land degradation and desertification. A source close to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change said Friday the conference of the UNCCD, which has participation from over 100 countries, is likely to be held in October. The UNCCD, established in 1994, has 197 parties working towards maintaining and restoring land and soil productivity and mitigating the effects of drought. Gaurav Khare, the ministry spokesperson, said hosting this conference will be a "prestigious moment for the country". "Hosting UNCCD COP-14 will be a prestigious moment for the country. India's commitment to SDG 15 (life on land) is in coherence to the prime minister's vision for doubling the income of farmers by 2022. "SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) 15 addressing land issues is concomitant to climate change, poverty, food security, clean ..