Page 423 - Environment

Fast-tracking river water dispute resolution: Centre may bring legislation in Winter Session

The Centre is planning to bring a legislation to fast-track inter-state river water dispute resolution and also better manage work on 13 river basins across the country, an official said. The bill is expected to be introduced in Parliament in the coming Winter Session, the official said. The proposed River Basin Management Bill will replace the River Boards Act 1956. The legislation proposes to set up 13 river-basin authorities. Each authority will have a two-layer system comprising a governing council and an executive board. The council will have chief ministers from the river-basin states. The chairperson of the governing council will be the chief ministers, who will share the post on rotation. The bill also envisages that the chief ministers of the basin-states will meet twice a year to discuss issues concerning the basins. The authorities will be set up for major rivers such as Ganga, Indus, Brahmaputra-Barak, Mahanadi, Cauvery, Krishna, Tapi, Subarnarekha, Brahmani-Baitarani. The

Sikkim to get '100 pc organic state' UN award in Rome

The "100 per cent organic state" Sikkim, the first in the world, will get the "Oscar for best policies" at a UN ceremony in Rome and it bolsters efforts to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, an Indian MP said on Sunday.

Decision to seek info from B'desh on effect of Bt Brinjal commercial release unacceptable: Activists

Anti-genetically modified (GM) crop activists have raised concern over the recent decision of India's biotech regulator GEAC to seek information from Bangladesh on the effect and impact of commercial release of Bt Brinjal, and said it is completely "unacceptable". The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the Union Environment Ministry in its 136th meeting decided to ask the secretary of Department of Agricultural Research (DARE) to request ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, to obtain relevant information from Bangladesh. The GEAC decided this while hearing a request made by M/s Mahyco Pvt Ltd seeking permission for large-scale environmental release and demonstration of Bt Brinjal. However, anti-GM crop activists termed the decision "shocking" and "unacceptable", and said it is "ridiculous" that the GEAC is acting as a promoter. Bangladesh had commercialised Mahyco's Bt Brinjal technology in 2013. Around 50,000 farmers of the neighbouring

Woman trampled to death by wild elephant in Chhattisgarh

A 45-year-old woman was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Korba district of Chhattisgarh on Sunday, police said. The incident occurred early morning in Gudrumuda Manjhipara village under Katghora forest division when the woman, identified as Dukalin Bai, was going to a farmland close to the forest, a forest official said. The victim came face to face with the elephant and tried to escape, but the pachyderm lifted her with its trunk and slammed her on the ground killing her on the spot, he said. After being alerted about the incident, a team of police and forest officials rushed to the spot and the body was sent for post-mortem, he said. The kin of the deceased were given immediaterelief of Rs 25,000 while the remaining Rs 3.75 lakh will be given upon completion of all formalities, official added. Notably, the thickly forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja,Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, are notorious for incidents of human-elephant ...

China's first satellite for space-based gravitational wave detection

China plans to launch its first satellite to test the technologies of the space-based gravitational wave detection programme "Tianqin" by the end of 2019.

MCL signs MoU with BAIF for Rs 20-Cr CSR project in Odisha

Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) has signed an MoU with Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF) for a CSR project to uplift the economic status of rural households in Odisha by providing them with sustainable livelihood opportunities. The company will spend Rs 20.29 crore for the CSR project 'Utthaan in' the next five-and-half-a-year under this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). It was signed by B Sairam, General Manager (CSR), MCL and D N Shindey, vice-president, BAIF, in the presence of L N Mishra, Director (Personnel), MCL on Friday, a company official said. "This association of MCL with BAIF, which has a proven record in the field of community development, will go a long way in the socio-economic development of rural peripheral villages," Mishra said. With this CSR project, MCL aims at creating self-employment opportunities for the rural poor families by promoting agro-based activities in 40 shortlisted villages of Jharsuguda, Angul, Sundargarh and Sambalpur ...

Delhi's air quality remains poor: authorities

The air quality in Delhiremained poor Sundaywith drop in wind speed even as authorities predicted further fall in air quality indexof the national capital in the coming days. The overall air quality index(AQI) recorded at 10 am Sunday stood at 208 which falls in the poor category, according to Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). On Saturday, the AQI of the national capital stood at 300. According to the CPCB website, Anand Vihar recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 261, DTU registered AQI of 207, ITO recorded AQI of 204 while Jahangirpuri recorded an AQI of 300, just one point below the very poor level. An AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'. The PM10 level (presence of particles with diameter less than 10 micrometres) in Delhistood at 183 and the PM2.5 level was recorded at 93, according to the data. Authorities have predicted further ...

Govt to give priority to state power producers for coal supply; pvt plants in lurch

The government has asked Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries to prioritise coal supply to state power producers like NTPC, leaving private electricity plants in a lurch, multiple sources said. The coal ministry has directed CIL to prioritise the coal supply to select central and state government-owned power houses under the pretext of building coal stocks at these plants. Following this, all subsidiaries of Coal India like South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) have been directed to supply coal to state power generators such as NTPC. This has come at the cost of private power producers, who are running out of feedstock used to produce electricity. Sources in private producers say rationally Coal India should give first priority to those plants having critical coal stocks. Next should come plants facing supplies below contractual obligations and then to most efficient plants, irrespective of ownership. Preferential and priority distribution should not be limited to public sector, they ...

JSW Energy puts solar power plans on backburner over policy

As uncertainties loom over the solar power sector, mainly on the policy front, the Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Energy has put its ambitious expansions plans in the segment on the backburner. The company in May had announced plans to set up a 1,000-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturing facility at Vijayanagar in Karnataka and to install 200 MW of solar power systems in the current fiscal. However, it has so far commissioned just about 12 MW of solar capacity. "We have commissioned 12 MW capacity. Apart from that, we still feel the uncertainties continue to be present and doubt that any project that is developed on government support and subsidies will be sustainable," said Sharad Mahendra, chief operating officer, JSW Energy. The firm had also said that it would look at entering the PV cell/wafer manufacturing space. "Uncertainties like the imposition of the safeguard duty, among others, make it really difficult towork out the numbers which are sustainable. We are not .

Air quality dips in Delhi, haze engulfs Mumbai

Stubble burning in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana has led to a decline in the national capital's air quality, while a thick blanket of haze continues to envelop Mumbai on Sunday.The air quality index (AQI) recorded in the national capital was 235, which is considered hazardous, while pollution levels in Mumbai soared earlier in the day with air quality plummeting to the poor category (AQI:183), according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Reseach (SAFAR).The organisation has predicted that for the next three days, the AQI in Mumbai will hover around 184.The national capital, on the other hand, will witness pleasant mornings with thick mist and haze. The days will be warm and sunny with a maximum temperature of around 32 degree Celsius, as per Skymet Weather.After Cyclone Titli weakened into deep depression, heavy rainfall is likely to occur at many places over the districts of Coastal Odisha and at a few places over the districts located in the interior of

Delhi air pollution: Emergency plan to kick in from Monday

An emergency action plan will be implemented from Monday to combat air pollution that has begun to show a trend towards poor category, the Central Pollution Control Board said. Under the emergency plan called Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), stringent actions are implemented based on the air quality of the city. If the air quality lies in moderate to poor category- measures like stopping garbage burning in landfills and other places, and enforcing all pollution control regulations in brick kilns and industries would be implemented, an official official said. If the air quality falls in the very poor category, additional measures of stopping use of diesel generator sets, enhancing parking fees 3-4 times and increasing frequency of metro and buses would be implemented, he added. If the air quality falls in the severe category, additional measures would be implemented of increasing frequency of mechanised cleaning of roads, sprinkling of water on roads and identifying road stretches ..

Sugar mills worry over surplus, talk of 'industry collapse'

With the availability of sugar set to reach an unprecedented level of 44 million tonnes thanks to huge unconsumed stock from last year and expected higher production this year, an imminent threat of "industry collapse" is being talked about. This has pushed mills to consider producing globally-accepted high-quality refined sugar as the most promising way to dispose off the surplus.

Australia kangaroo attack leaves three hurt

Three members of an Australian family used a broom and a shovel to fight off a rare attack by a large kangaroo that left all of them injured, one seriously. Linda Smith, 64, suffered a collapsed lung, broken ribs, cuts and other internal injuries, and underwent surgery in hospital on Sunday after the Saturday evening attack at her property in the Darling Downs region of Queensland state. The wildlife carer and her husband Jim had been feeding 30 kangaroos and wallabies at their property every night amid a severe drought that has depleted their food sources. One of the large males -- at least six-foot (1.8 metres) tall -- turned on her husband as he fed it, she told Queensland Ambulance Service. "Jim was on the ground and the kangaroo just kept at him. I went outside to try and help him and took a broom and a piece of bread but he knocked the broom out of my hand then attacked me," Smith said. The 64-year-old managed to get the roo off her husband and grabbed a piece of wood to defend .

Know how noise pollution affects your health

From starting the day with the sound of the alarm, until finally hitting the bed at night, we are constantly surrounded by noise. It's everywhere, from people talking in the office to the never-ending traffic jams, to road constructions.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in five people are regularly exposed to noise levels that could "significantly" damage their health.Environmental noise is among the "top environmental risks to health" and people are most affected by road traffic noise.Excessive noise can affect blood pressure and cause hypertension, which can lead to heart attacks and mortality from cardiovascular disease. Children's cognition and health are also affected.The organisation addressed noise levels, including considerations on new noise sources such as wind turbine and "leisure noise," which includes music at nightclubs, pubs, fitness classes, live sporting events and concerts and through personal listening devices.Researchers recommended reducing ...

Farmers in Punjab, Haryana defy ban on stubble burning

Scores of paddy growers in Punjab and Haryana continue to defy the ban on stubble burning, claiming they are "compelled" to do so in the absence of any financial support from the government for farm waste management. Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is a major cause of air pollution not only in the two states but also in the national capital. Governments of the two states are pinning hopes on farm mechanisation for the effective management of crop residue but the use of farm equipments, growers say, is not the "best solution which will take care of just minuscule area" of paddy. With paddy growers being blamed for causing air pollution, farm experts and farmers' outfits said the community is a "soft target" and the "short-sighted" approach of policy makers in the government has not only "failed" to address the concerns of the growers but also to achieve the task of zero stubble burning. Punjab has so far seen over 330 incidents of crop residue burning while Haryana has witnessed .

Counting tigers: NTCA asks MP to correct data entry errors

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has asked Madhya Pradesh to enter correct data related to tigers in its state in an online platform, according to an RTI document. A letter has been sent to the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state by the NTCA to re-enter the data. Certain data entry errors were pointed out in information given by the state during a meeting held in Nagpur in May. Following which, the NTCA had also provided technical assistance to Madhya Pradesh on the basis of a request from the state in this regard. "You are requested to kindly re-enter data in the manner as suggested at the earliest," said the NTCA letter, a copy of which was received in response to an RTI application filed by Bhopal-based wildlife activist Ajay Dubey. There are six tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh -- Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Panna, Bori-Satpura, Sanjay-Dubri and Pench -- which have about 308 big cat, as per a central government report of 2014. There are an estimated 2,226 tigers in India, ..

Green themes abound in Durga Puja marquees

At a time when global warming and high pollution levels have emerged as major challenges for policy planners worldwide, a number of community Durga Puja organisers in and around Kolkata have come up with green themes to spread awareness about a clean environment among the public.

Will make Pak cleaner than Europe: Imran Khan

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has flagged off the 'Clean and Green Pakistan' initiative, vowing to make his country cleaner than Europe in the next five years.He formally launched the programme on Saturday by picking up a broom and sweeping a ground and interacting with school children.Speaking after launching the initiative, Geo News quoted Khan as saying, "Pakistan ranks seventh among countries affected by global warming, [while] Lahore is among the cities with the highest pollution level. There is no litter in Europe. We litter our country, our lakes and are destroying the future of our country. Pollution decreases 11 years of a person's life. We need to get out of this mindset that Pakistan will remain same as before."The cricketer-turned-politician further informed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government planted one billion trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during its tenure. He said that his administration is planning to plant 10 billion trees across the ...

55 cases of Zika virus confirmed in Jaipur

A total of 55 cases of Zika virus have been confirmed in Jaipur, making it the country's biggest outbreak of the disease to date. Officials sources said that a WHO team will be visiting the city soon to monitor the measures being taken to check the virus outbreak in Jaipur.

Container ship damages jetty at JNPT near Mumbai

A portion of the jetty at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Nhava Sheva, near here, was damaged Saturday after a container ship hit it, police said. The ship, belonging to CMA CGM group, was dropping anchor at the port Saturday afternoon when it hit a portion of the jetty while making a turn, said Chetan Kakde, senior inspector of Nhava Sheva police station. He said that damage was not major.