Page 38 - Environment

MNRE to set up dispute resolution panel for solar, wind projects implemented by SECI, NTPC

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has decided to set up a three-member dispute resolution committee (DRC) to look into disputes beyond contractual agreements between solar or wind power developers and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) or state-run power giant NTPC. This mechanism will cover all those projects that would be implemented through or by SECI and NTPC. Solar and wind power industries have been demanding to set up such dispute resolution mechanism. "It is felt that there is need to erect a transparent, unbiased dispute resolution mechanism, consisting of an independent, transparent and unbiased DRC), for resolving the unforeseen disputes that may arise in implementation of contractual agreements and also for dealing with issues which are beyond the scope of contractual agreements between solar power developers/ wind power developers and SECI / NTPC," an MNRE office order said. According to the order, a three-member DRC will be set up with the approval of

VA Tech WABAG bags orders worth Rs 1,477 crore

: Water treatment player VA Tech WABAG Ltd Wednesday said it has bagged Rs 1,477 crore worth orders for taking up operation and maintenance of sewage treatment plants in Agra and Ghaziabad. The city-based company said the award from the 'State Mission for Clean Ganga-Uttar Pradesh' comprises operation and maintenance of 22 sewage treatment plants, 22 pumping stations and underground network of over 3,000 kms in the two cities. The duration of the project would be for 10 years initially, which can be extended to additional five years. WABAG shall also improve, rehabilitate and upgrade facilities related to systems, structures and equipment associated with the sewage treatment plants and underground collection systems, a company statement said here. "This is a proud moment for WABAG as we have been recognised as a competent technology partner for providing long-term sustainable solutions by the Government through the One City-One Operator model", India Cluster-CEO, Pankaj .

Coastal Road a win-win situation for all: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Wednesday sought to allay various concerns regarding the proposed Coastal Road project in Mumbai and hailed it as a "win-win situation" for all stake-holders. Replying to a question in the Legislative Council, the chief minister said the Coastal Road would serve as a barrier against strong waves. The Coastal Road is an under construction 8-lane, 29.2-km long freeway that would to run along Mumbai's western coastline connecting Marine Lines in the south to Kandivali in the north. Different citizens' groups have been demanding that the stretch be built on stilts and the reclamation part be dropped from the project plan. Concerns are also raised that the proposed alignment might encroach upon empty spaces and snatch livelihood of fishermen in Worli. Fadnavis said, "the prime minister of the Netherlands had earlier expressed interest in construction of the coastal road. We learned that the coastal road functions as a barrier from

Ganga Praharis: Guardians of the Ganga

Ever since Namami Gange program was launched, several concrete steps have been taken to clean the river and to maintain its cleanliness.Among other projects and initiatives, wider public participation in the movement to clean River Ganges is of the utmost priority for National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and numerous steps have been taken from then and now to ensure the same.NMCG has selected self-motivated and trained volunteers from among the local communities, they are called 'Ganga Praharis' or the Guardians of the Ganga.The Ganga Praharis work for biodiversity conservation and cleanliness of the holy river with the ultimate objectives of restoring the 'Nirmal' and 'Aviral' Dhara of the pious river.They are also playing a crucial role in reporting and rescuing of aquatic wildlife in distress, reporting of illegal activities like poaching.A group of about 500 trained volunteers or Ganga praharis are reaching to each and every house in areas along river Ganga to educate them ...

Report on high tariff charged by Adani Power soon: Minister

Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule Wednesday said he is likely to soon get a report on the alleged high tariff of Adani Electricity, supplying power to Mumbai suburbs, and that any excess amount charged from consumers will be adjusted in future bills. The energy minister was speaking in the state Assembly during the Question Hour in reply to the issue raised by Shiv Sena member Sunil Prabhu. Bawankule said theAdani Electricity took over power distribution in Mumbai suburbs from Reliance Energy in August 2018 and complaints about high tariff were received in November last year. The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) latertook suo moto (on its own) congisance of the matter and sought a report into it from the company, he said. AMERC committeeis looking into the changes in electricity bills since the Adani Electricitytook over the distribution operations, he told the House. Bawankule said the report will be ready by June 30 and if the tariff is .

Indonesia pet orangutans released back into the wild

The young orangutan looks back at her rescuers before clambering over her steel cage and into the trees, swinging from hand to hand and hanging upside down. Five-year-old primate Elaine, covered in fuzzy cinnamon-coloured hair, was one of two critically endangered Sumatran Orangutans released back into the wild Tuesday. Both female apes were rescued after being kept as pets by villagers in Aceh province on Sumatra island. Elaine and four-year-old Reipok Rere spent nearly two years learning to fend for themselves at a rehabilitation centre and "forest school" before being returned to the wild at Pinus Jantho Forest Reserve. The healthy pair have joined nearly 120 other orangutans freed from captivity at the conservation site, said the Aceh natural resources conservation agency. The rescue is a rare spot of bright news for the critically endangered species, which has seen its habitat shrink drastically over the past few decades largely due to the destruction of forests for logging, ...

Chinese worker killed in Bangladesh construction site clash

Hundreds of Chinese and Bangladeshi labourers clashed at the site of power plant being built south of Dhaka, police said Wednesday, leaving a Chinese worker dead and more than a dozen others injured. Police said the violence was triggered by the death of a Bangladeshi worker at the site of a China-funded 1,320-megawatt plant, prompting locals to accuse the Chinese of trying to cover up the incident. At one point, hundreds of Bangladeshi and Chinese workers were fighting at the site -- about 200 kilometres south of the capital -- and more than a dozen were injured, including six Chinese who were taken to hospital. "One of the Chinese workers later died in the hospital. He had injuries to his head," local police chief Monirul Islam told AFP, adding it took over 1,000 policemen to restore calm. China is a close ally of Bangladesh, and Chinese state-run and private firms have invested billions of dollars in the South Asian country's infrastructure projects -- mostly in power, energy and ..

ONGC Videsh update on Mozambique LNG Project

Mozambique LNG Project will be the first onshore LNG facility in Mozambique consisting of initial two LNG trains with a total nameplate capacity of 12.88 million tonnes per annum (MMTPA) supported by the development of the Golfinho/Atum fields located offshore entirely within Area 1. The project has successfully secured in aggregate 11.1 MMTPA of long-term LNG sales (representing 86% of the plant's nameplate capacity) with key LNG buyers in Asia and in Europe. Additionally, the project will have a significant domestic gas component for in-country consumption in Mozambique to help fuel the economic development.

Kaleshwaram project to be inaugurated on June 21

Telangana government will inaugurate Kaleswaram lift irrigation project on June 21, an official statement read.Chief Ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra -- K Chandrasekhar Rao, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and Devendra Fadnavis will participate in the function. The three CMs will switch on three pumps at Kannepalli Pumphouse as a token of the inauguration of the project.Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Project is built on River Godavari at Kannepalli village, Mahadevpur Mandal, Jayasankar Bhupalapalli district of Telangana. The project with 45,000 acres of ayacut aims at lift irrigate almost 235 TMC of water from river Godavari. This is the first biggest project taken up after the formation of Telangana state.Kaleswaram lift irrigation project (KLIP) utilizes only the flood water. Though the project is massive in technical and engineering aspects; land acquisition is very limited because of underground set up like pumping stations, tunnels constructing and usage of existing ...

BBMP gears up to combat Monsoons woes in Bengaluru

In a special initiative to combat monsoon woes, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has pulled up its socks to deal with rain-related issues.Every year Bengaluru receives massive 900 mm rainfall. The precipitation is so heavy that it leads to devastation in the city. Not only it causes flood like situation in the region, it creates quite a havoc by uprooting several trees and bringing down electric poles, thus disrupting the daily lives of the people.To ensure a better monsoon experience this year the municipal corporation here have increased the spread of Storm Water Drains (SWD)."This year, we ensured 842 km of SWD before the monsoon and one-time cleaning of this SWD has already taken place. Our team is available for work. We have also taken up construction of SWD in a big way. Till now, we have not come across any waterlogging," BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad told ANI."In the last few days old 300-400 trees, which are bound to fall during the storm, have been ...

Eight EU countries to phase out coal by 2030

Eight of the EU's 28 countries have pledged to phase out coal for electricity production by 2030 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, officials said Tuesday. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, received the pledges as contributions to the bloc's efforts to deliver on the 2015 Paris climate agreement. "More and more member states are making the political commitment to phase out coal in the next decade," EU climate and energy commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said. Canete said that among the European Union countries introducing or confirming such timelines, France intends to phase out coal by 2022 -- before Italy and Ireland by 2025. Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Finland aim to do so by 2030, the Spanish commissioner told a press conference in Brussels. Standing by Canete, commission vice president Maros Sefcovic called the pledges "quite a significant signal coming from quite an important number of member states." The commission added that Germany, the EU's ..

Bengaluru: 440km of drains under annual maintenance before rains

Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner, Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike on Tuesday informed that 440km of drains are under annual maintenance before the rains."For the first time, we have put about 440km of drains under annual maintenance before the arrival of monsoon," he said while talking to ANI.He also informed that this time to take extra precautions, the cleaning of drains has started to take place way before the arrival of the monsoon season.He also said that until now there has been no report of water-logging."Till now we don't have any case of water-logging due to non-removal of silt," he said.

Uttarakhand HC allows Guptas' wedding in Auli

Amid environmental concerns over the Auli wedding extravaganza of the controversial NRI Gupta brothers' two sons, the Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday allowed the event on condition of a Rs 1.5 crore security deposit for compensating any damage at the pristine ski resort.

SC agrees to hear plea on forest fires in Uttarakhand

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would hear, next week, a plea seeking urgent steps to protect forests and wildlife in Uttarakhand from wild fires.

SC to hear on June 24 a PIL on forest fire in Uttarakhand

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a petition seeking urgent steps to protect forests, wildlife and birds from wildfires in Uttarakhand, on June 24.Calling it a serious issue, a Bench of Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Surya Kant agreed to hear the plea and said: "In the meantime, pray for rain."The petition filed by advocate Rituparn Uniyal, a native of Tehri Garhwal in Uttarakhand, mentioned the matter before the Bench for an urgent hearing.The petition sought a direction that the entire wildlife in the region be declared a living entity and the government be directed to take steps to prevent wildfires.The lawyer approached the apex court after media reports highlighted some that as many as 1451 incidents of forest fires were reported in Uttarakhand last year and this year, in the months of April and May 1493 incidents of forest fires have been reported.Uniyal said forest blazes have increased over the years and cause huge loss to the environment.The petition sought ...

Climate change affects crops in India: Study

India's grain crops are vulnerable to climate changes and yields from rice, experience larger declines during extreme weather conditions, found Kyle Davis Environmental data scientist at Columbia University.The research published in the 'Environmental Research Letters' studied the effects of climate on five major crops: finger millet, maize, pearl millet, sorghum, and rice. These crops make up the vast majority of grain production during the June-to-September monsoon season - India's main growing period - with rice contributing three-quarters of the grain supply for the season. Taken together, the five grains are essential for meeting India's nutritional needs."By relying more and more on a single crop - rice - India's food supply is potentially vulnerable to the effects of varying climate," said Davis, the lead author on the paper."Expanding the area planted with these four alternative grains can reduce variations in Indian grain production caused by extreme climate, especially in ...

Environment issues not justifiable: Rawat on Auli wedding

Amidst environmental concerns over the impending wedding extravaganza of the controversial Gupta brothers' two sons in Auli, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday strongly defended the high profile marriage and said such issues were not justifiable.

HC red flags damage to green world by present generation

The Bombay High Court Tuesday said the environmental damage caused by the present generation is going to severely impact the future generations and lead to physical deformities among people. A division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N M Jamdar made the observation while hearing a bunch of petitions filed by activists, residents and fisher folk community from the city challenging the Mumbai civic body BMC's Rs 14,000-crore coastal road project. Chief Justice Nandrajog, during the arguments over the project, drew a caricature on a sheet of paper depicting how a human being would look in the future. The human caricature had long fingers, nose and a big head but shrunken hands, legs and body. "With the damage to environment being caused presently this is how our future generations will look," Chief Justice Nandrajog said, passing the paper with the caricature to the advocates arguing the matter. "Humans will be only sitting in front of computers due to which we .

Strict action will be taken against firm selling unapproved cotton seeds: Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Khot

Strict action will be taken against the companies which are selling unapproved cotton seeds to farmers in the state, said Agriculture Minister Sadabhau Khot on Tuesday."Strict action will be taken against the company which is found indulging in selling unapproved cotton seeds to farmers in the state. A committee has also been formed to look into the matter," said Khot, while speaking to ANI."We were informed that several years back, some farmers tried seeking permission for the use of such cotton seeds but the permission was not given by the government. However, we first need to see the supply source of these seeds," he said.According to reports, the cotton seeds which farmers are using in Akola are usually genetically modified ones and have various dangerous consequences."There is an urgent need to teach and educate our farmers about the use of cotton seeds. It is the lack of knowledge that leads them towards the use of unapproved seeds," he said.

17 'panchaloha' idols unearthed in TN village

As many as 17 idols made of 'panchaloha' (alloy of five metals) and believed to be ancient were unearthed while uprooting the trunk portion of a tree at a village in Pudukottai district Tuesday, officials said. After hearing metal sound while removing the trunk using crowbars, the workers started carefully digging the ground and found the idols of Lord Muruga, Goddess Parvathi among others. On information, Revenue officials rushed to the Peraiyur village near Tirumeyyam and with the help of locals started excavating the entire area, which yielded 17 idols. Officials said the idols would be handed over to the Archaeological experts for dating and estimating their value.