Page 38 - Environment
Zero-tolerance policy for states that fail to allot land for Central institutes: HRD minister
The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry will adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards states that fail to allot land for centrally funded institutes, including the IITs and the IIITs, and will shift those to other cities if the campuses are not provided within a stipulated time, officials said Wednesday. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' made this announcement at a recent review meeting of the IITs, IIMs, NITs and IIITs. The Indian Institute of Technology-Goa and the National Institute of Technology-Sikkim are functioning out of temporary campuses. IIT-Goa started functioning from July, 2016 and has been operating from Goa Engineering College, Farmadi. The Goa government had sanctioned land at Cotarli-Nagvem for the institute but had to go back on its promise following agitation. Construction of the other IITs, sanctioned by the Centre, in Jammu, Dharwad, Tirupati, Bhilai and Palakkad, which have been allotted land, is underway. The National Institute of Technology-Sikkim was
Anti-dumping duty imposed on jute sacking cloths from B'desh
India has imposed anti-dumping duty on the import of jute sacking cloths from Bangladesh which will have a positive impact on West Bengal's ailing jute sector. "Anti-dumping duty on sacking cloth from Bangladesh was our long standing demand to save the Indian jute sector. With active efforts of Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani, this has been achieved," jute industry veteran Sanjay Kajaria said in his reaction. "It will be applicable for 5 years effective from June 18, 2019," he said. This will help jute farmers and the jute mills of West Bengal which are ailing or running in a very low capacity, Kajaria said. The IJMA had filed an application for initiation of anti-circumvention investigation concerning import of the product exported from Bangladesh. It has requested for extension of the existing anti- dumping duties on the imports, alleging circumvention of the duty. Countries carry out anti-dumping probe to determine whether their domestic industries have been hurt
Greenpeace sounds alarm over plastic pollution in rivers
Greenpeace on Wednesday raised the alarm over microplastics in rivers after finding the pollutant in all the rivers it tested in Britain, calling it a "problem of enormous complexity". "We ignore this problem at our peril," warned David Santillo, senior scientist with the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter. "Once microplastics are in the river, they become impossible to remove again, so we have to solve the problem at the source." Researchers from the NGO tested 13 rivers earlier this year, casting nets in 30 rural and urban areas. They found 1,271 pieces of 15 different types of plastic, nearly half of which were polyethylene, and included items from degraded straws to microbeads. Only two of the "relatively rural" 30 areas did not test positive, Greenpeace said in its report, published Wednesday. "We are witnessing just the tip of a plastics iceberg," it said. The nets were only able to collect samples that were no deeper than 10 centimetres (four ...
MP govt fixes Rs 5000 as minimum aid to calamity-hit farmers
The Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh Wednesday announced to provide Rs 5000 in minimum compensation to the small and marginal farmers in the event of crop loss due to natural calamities. Revenue and Transport Minister Govind Singh Rajput also said that the government has taken several administrative steps including filling up vacant posts of Patwaris (revenue officials) for speedy work. The Kamal Nath-led government recently completed six months in power. "The state government has decided that minimum compensation for the small and marginal farmers would be Rs 5000 in case of crop loss due to a natural calamity. We have made amendments to this effect in rules," Rajput told a press conference. The minister said the government had also taken measures like filling up vacant posts of Patwaris to fast track the redressal of matters pertaining to land. "As per a pilot project being launched in two districts of the state, Patwariswould be given laptops for expediting .
Tripura now exporting power to Nepal: DyCM
Power surplus state, Tripura in now exporting electricity to Nepal, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Devvarma said Wednesday. Devvarma who is also the Power minister said "We have been selling 190 MW power to Bangladesh for last so many years and now we have started exporting 40 MW power to Nepal from our surplus power since April last". "The proceeds earned from selling surplus power is being used for developing the state power corporation," the deputy chief minister said. ONGC Tripura Power Company-run Palatana gas thermal power plant produces 726 MW power. However, this plant has power sharing agreements with different NE states. The Union Ministry of Power has allocated more than 58 per cent of power from the project to the Northeast states with Assam (240 MW), Tripura (196 MW), Meghalaya (79 MW), Manipur (42 MW), Nagaland (27 MW), Arunachal Pradesh & Mizoram (22 MW each), while 98 MW is allocated to OTPC for merchant sales. The Rs 4,047 crore power plant is capable .
Adani Green Energy arm bags 600 MW solar wind hybrid projects
Adani Green Energy Wednesday said its arm Adani Renewable Energy Park (Gujarat) has bagged 600 MW wind-solar hybrid projects in an auction conducted by state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The company has received Letters of Award (LOAs) from SECI for the 600 MW projects. The fixed power purchase agreement (PPA) tariff is Rs 2.69/kWh for a period of 25 years, it added. "Adani Renewable Energy Park (Gujarat) Ltd (AREPGL), a Wholly-owned Subsidiary of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) had won bids for setting up 600 MWac ISTS-connected Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Projects in a Tender issued by SECI," the company said in a BSE filing. The projects are expected to be commissioned by Q4 of FY2021. With this, AGEL's portfolio of renewable generation capacity in India stands at 5.16 GW with 2.02 GW operational projects and balance 3.14 GW in development stage.
RPower gets CERC nod to meet new environment norms at Sasan UMPP
Reliance Power's 3,960 MW project at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh has received regulatory nod from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission for implementing a system to control emissions and meet new environmental norms. The CERC approval would enable the company to recover the cost of the system from its consumers, according to the company. "Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) has received a specific regulatory recommendation from Central Electricity Authority for implementation of the Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) System to meet the new environmental norms prescribed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)," a company spokesperson said. The MoEFCC had notified new environmental norms as per Environment (Protection) Amendment Rules 2015 on December 7, 2015 to minimise pollution in thermal power plants. All the thermal power plants are required to comply with new environmental norms by September 2022. The Sasan UMPP, which has six generating units of 660
Sri Lanka successfully launches its first satellite 'Ravana-1' into orbit
Sri Lanka's first satellite 'Ravana-1', designed and developed by two local engineers, was successfully launched into orbit this week from the International Space Station (ISS) along with two other BIRDS 3 satellites from Japan and Nepal. Raavana 1, the cube satellite measuring 11.3 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm, and weighing around 1.05 kg, was launched into orbit at 3:45 pm (Sri Lanka time) on Monday, the Colombo Page reported. The satellite was designed and developed by two Sri Lankan engineers - Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika - studying space engineering at Japan's Kyushu Institute of Technology. Raavana-1 was deployed to the 400-km of orbit at an inclination of 51.6 degrees using the JAXA (Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency) owned Kibo experiment module, the paper said. The satellite was officially handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on February 18 and was sent to the ISS on April 17, through the assistance of Cygnus-1 spacecraft from the US. Raavana-1 is ...
South Korea to send 50,000 tons of rice to North Korea
South Korea said Wednesday it plans to send 50,000 tons of rice to North Korea through the World Food Programme, in its second aid package announced over the past month as it seeks to help with North Korean food shortages and improve bilateral relations. South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, Seoul's point man for North Korea, said his government will work with the U.N. agency to ensure that the food reaches North Korean people without delay. South Korea last week sent USD 8 million to the World Food Program and the United Nations Children's Fund for programs providing medical and nutritional aid for North Korean children and pregnant women. UN agencies last month said that about 10 million people were facing "severe food shortages" after one of North Korea's worst harvests in a decade. Kim said South Korea will decide whether to provide more food aid after reviewing the outcome of the current assistance. Kim said South Korea and WFP are reviewing how to send the rice to ...
MEIL constructs world's largest lift irrigation marvel
MEIL, India's leading infrastructure company has completed the construction of the world's biggest engineering marvel, the largest lift irrigation scheme namely the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation.It is going to be inaugurated on 21st June. Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) have completed the project on a fast track mode and the construction has been completed in record time. All the civil and electro-mechanical works in Medigadda to Mid-Maneru link-1 and link-2 has been completed.Leading the industry with decades of experience, the company installed 105 Machines out of 120 machines and constructed 17 pump houses out of 20 in entire KLIP. Medigadda, Annaram, Sundilla (link 1) pump houses along with the world's biggest pump house at Lakshmipur (Package 8 in link 2) are ready for pumping water. This prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation (KLIP) Project would cater irrigation water to 37.08 lakh acres of land; another 18.82 lakh acres of command area will be stabilized ...
DRI seizes black pepper worth nearly 4 cr smuggled in from Singapore
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized black pepper worth Rs 3.92 crore smuggled in to India from Singapore. The commodity was mis-declared as plywood to be sent to Nepal via India under the provisions of the Indo-Nepal Treaty on Trade and Transit, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday. Acting on inputs, DRI officials seized from a godown here two containers carrying 56 metric ton of black pepper, it said. Explaining the modus operandi, a DRI official said that the black pepper was smuggled in from Singapore for its illegal sale and consumption in India. "A syndicate, which is being probed in this case, would swap the goods with other items. Ultimately, the goods don't reach Nepal and downloaded in Indian market. In some cases, even if they go to Nepal, they come back in some form or other from that country. Usually the goods are grossly mis-declared," he said. Nepal being a landlocked country sources its imports through different sea ports of India .
Wheat plants that can survive drought conditions developed
Scientists have engineered wheat plants that utilise water more efficiently, and may be able to better survive drought conditions arising due to climate change. Scientists at the University of Sheffield in the UK found that engineering wheat to have fewer stomata helps the crop to use water more efficiently, while maintaining yields. Agriculture accounts for 80-90 per cent of freshwater use around the world, and on average it takes more than 1,800 litres of water to produce a single kilogramme of wheat. Yet as water supplies become scarce and more variable in the face of climate breakdown, farmers will need to produce more food than ever to feed a growing population. Like most plants, wheat uses stomata to regulate its intake of carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, as well as the release of water vapour. When water is plentiful, stomatal opening helps plants to regulate temperature by evaporative cooling -- similar to sweating. In drought conditions, wheat plants normally close their ...
Massive traffic jam on Srinagar-Leh highway near Zojila pass
A massive traffic jam near 11,575 feet high Zojila pass along 434-km Srinagar-Leh national highway Wednesday left thousands of commuters including tourists stranded for hours altogether, officials said. The traffic on the highway came to a halt when the Border Roads Organisation, which maintains the highway, pressed its men and machines to carry out some urgent repairs on the arterial road, the officials said. "We had reached Zojila pass around forenoon and are caught in a massive traffic jam for the last four hours," a tourist heading for Leh told PTI. He said the authorities concerned should have intimated the travellers before suddenly stoping the traffic and causing unnecessary inconvenience to them. "There is no information and we do not know how long we have to face this nightmare," he said. A traffic department official said the traffic on the highway was restored and cops are on the job to ensure smooth movement of vehicles.
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 ..