Page 581 - Environment
Kejriwal inspects mohalla clinics, dismayed over objections of 'space constraint'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited three mohalla clinics that were reported "non feasible" by officials and ordered re-inspection of all such sites for approval. Accompanied by Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Kejriwal inspected the sites for new Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics in Paschim Vihar and Saraswati Vihar, a government statement said. In a feasibility report for setting up new mohalla clinics, a large number of sites were marked non-feasible by concerned officials due to "space constraint", the statement said. "The Chief Minister was amazed when it was found that these sites, the three that the CM visited on Friday, were having huge empty space, much more than what was required to build Mohalla Clinics," it said. "There is so much space here, where is the constraint? Kejriwal asked, alleging that it seem there was something wrong with the inspection. "I have seen three sites today, all of them have space and the report submitted says there is no space," the chief minister .
Government sets November deadline for multi-modal terminal at Varanasi
The government on Friday said it was set to complete the multi-modal terminal at Varanasi by November this year, while two others at Sahibganj and Haldia would be completed next year.
Delhi power minister writes to Centre on coal shortage at Dadri power plant
Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain today raised an alarm over the shortage of coal at the Dadri power plant and sought the Centre's help to tide over the crisis. The coal stock at the Dadri thermal power plant has declined steeply over the last four days and the present availability will not last even for another day, Jain wrote to Union Power Minister R K Singh. "Dadri I and II officials have informed the Delhi State Load Dispatch Centre that the in spite of constant follow up with coal companies and Railways, the coal supply position is deteriorating and they are forced to reduce declared generation capacity for July 20-- 1696 MW to 934 MW," the letter read. Expressing concern over an imminent likelihood of shutdown of the two units, Jain said that it will have an adverse impact on Delhi's power supply. Appreciating Singh's intervention in a similar situation in June this year, the Delhi power minister urged him to resolve the crisis through an early action.
Two snakes rescued from Delhi : Wildlife SOS
Two snakes, including an eight-foot-long python, have been rescued from two localities here, an NGO said here today. In a first incident, the Indian rock python was spotted in Nardan Basti located near Lal Kuan in Tughlakabad, the Wildlife SOS said in a statement. A team of two snake rescuers from the NGO rushed to rescue the python from the boundary wall of the residential colony, it said. The Indian rock python, though commonly found across India, face extreme threat due to prevalent misunderstanding and ignorance among public. It is often confused with venomous Russell's viper and killed, the statement said. In a separate incident, a 3-foot-long cobra had made its way into the staff room of a shelter for stray dogs in Rohini. After ensuring that the area was cordoned off, the Wildlife SOS rescuers carefully transferred the cobra into a safe transport container, designed for the purpose, the statement said. Both snakes are currently kept under observation and will soon be released ..
Bullet train: Japanese delegation meets Thane civic chief
A Japanese delegation held today discussion with Thane Municipal Commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal on various aspects of the bullet train project. The discussion mainly centred around facilities to be provided at Thane station of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail project, an official release of the Thane Municipal Corporation said. The commissioner assured the delegation that the TMC civic corporation would render all possible assistance to the bullet train project. The delegation was led by Shantaro Kawahara and comprised officials from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the main funding agency of the project. R P Singh, Project Director of the National High Speed Rail Nigam, was also present. The 500km route will have a dozen stations. Four of them - Mumbai, Thane, Virar and Boisar - fall in Maharashtra. The Thane station will be located at Mhatardi village.
Delhi may witness power supply crisis: Jain
National capital may face a power crisis as the coal reserves with the Dadri I and II power stations has decreased, Power Minister Satyendar Jain said on Friday.
Nabard launches Centre for Climate Change in Lucknow
Agri-lender Nabard today said it has launched a centre for accelerating concerted action on climate change by various stakeholders including government, private and financial sectors. It said the Centre for Climate Change, set up in Lucknow, would help Nabard in enhancing its capacity building efforts manifold. The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement that it will extend professional support to stakeholders for designing climate related projects and take up collaborative studies and action research projects in area of climate change. It would also support capacity building and project preparation effort in developing countries in the region as also in Africa. Nabard Chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, said "a total of 35 climate change projects, with financial outlay of Rs 1,592 crore are in various stages of implementation in different states". India has experienced the impact of climate change on agriculture and rural livelihoods, Agriculture and ...
SC pulls up Centre for 'sitting' over Rs 77,000 cr funds for environment protection
The Supreme Court today pulled up the Centre for "sitting" over funds of a whopping Rs 77,000 crore meant for protection of environment and asked it to inform "for the sake of the country" as to where this money would be spent. A bench comprising justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta observed that if these funds were used in a proper manner, Delhi would not have been facing the problem of air pollution. It also raked up the issue of situation of rivers Ganga and Yamuna and said that schemes were not implemented properly by the authorities. "We are talking about Rs 91,000 crore. It appears that only Rs 14,000 crore has been spent. We have no idea where these Rs 14,000 crore has gone. May be, the fund was used for good purposes but now Rs 77,000 crore is left. You are sitting on it," the bench told the Centre. "It is meant for the sake of environment of the country and for benefit of the people. What are you doing on it? Why this is not being utilised," the bench asked. The bench ...
Upcoming projects to employ 80 pc locals: Himachal CM
At least 80 percent of the state's youth will get jobs in the upcoming private projects, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said today. The government will ensure at least 80 percent employment opportunities for Himachalis in the upcoming private power, industrial and tourism projects, Thakur said in a meeting of investment targets in tourism, multipurpose power projects and power and industries here. The chief minister further said that the state has immense power potential and if fully exploited, has the capacity to transform the state's economy. Five hydro power projects with a total capacity of 594 MW would be completed by next year. Eleven other projects with total capacity of 307 MW would be completed within the next few years, Thakur said. While reviewing the investment targets achieved in industries department, the CM said electricity duty on existing industries was reduced from four to two percent in small scale industries and from ten percent to seven percent in .
Kerala announces measures to speed up investment
To speed up investments in Kerala, state Industries Minister A.C. Moideen on Friday said that it had been decided if the various committees that inspect investment proposals do give a clearance in 30 days, the project can be deemed cleared.
Malaysia to publish final report on missing MH370 flight on July 30
Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced on Friday that the final report on the investigation into Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing in March 2014 with 239 people on board, will be made public on July 30.
ITF taking steps to bring down trash level in cotton
The Indian Texpreneurs Federation is taking steps to bring down the trash level in cotton being purchased from various ginners in the country. As part of the efforts, both ITF and ginners will bring down the trash level from two to three per cent now to nil, which will have an impact on the cost of purchase, ITF cotton team convener Prabhu Damodaran told reporters here. ITF, which has already formed a consortium with 64 ginners from Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and other cotton producing states, will focus on creating more awareness among the ginners, since the cotton loses its quality during processing--farm to finish, he said. "Though Indian cotton is very good in quality compared to available in the world, it has not lived up to its potential due to lesser awareness," he said. Representatives of ginners associations from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana, who were present at the press conference, said they anticipated increased acreage and also good quality ...
UP govt lauds Centre's decision to raise MSP of kharif crops
Ahead of the BJP's kisan rally in Uttar Pradesh, state Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi today lauded the Centre's decision to increase the MSP of kharif crops, saying this would raise farmers' incomes. "Ever since its formation, the NDA government has been working for the welfare of farmers and a number of steps have been taken to reduce the damage incurred to them," he said. He said the latest pro-farmer step is fixing the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif crops equivalent to 1.5-times the input cost for these crops. This will increase the farmers' incomes which had stagnated in the past few years, he added. In the last three years, the Centre has increased the MSP of rabi crops, kharif crops and pulses, he said, adding that this was a record increase since Independence. On opposition parties terming it as "insufficient" and "cheating farmers", Shahi said, "They ruled the country for more than 50 years, but never took any step in interest of the farmers. In the 10 years of
Missing fishermen: total 9 bodies found
With the recovery of another body today, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has recovered the bodies of nine of the 19 fishermen who went missing on Monday after their trawlers capsized in the Bay of Bengal, a top ICG official said. "Coast Guard Dornier aircraft, hovercraft and ship Sujay are continuing the search for the 10 others who are not accounted for yet," ICG Inspector General (North East region) K S Sheoran said. The search area has been extended, he said adding that one more Dornier from Bhubaeswar has also been engaged in the search operation. "Despite challenging weather condition due to the formation of a low pressure area in north-west Bay of Bengal, all out efforts will be made by the Coast Guard to continue search for the remaining 10 fishermen," Sheoran said. The ICG official said the ICG station at Frazerganj is maintaining close liasion with West Bengal government's Department of Fisheries, fisheries associations and families of the missing persons. While ..
35 developers express interest in Gujarat's offshore wind proj
As many as 35 national and international developers have expressed interest in the country's first offshore wind energy project, and the process of inviting Request For Proposal (RFP) should take place next month, according to senior officials. The wind energy project with a capacity to produce 1,000 megawatt has been planned off the coast of Pipavav port in Gujarat. The project is being developed jointly by Central Ministry of New and Renewable Energy(MNRE) and Gujarat government, said Raj Gopal, Principal Secretary, Gujarat Energy and Petrochemicals department, while talking to reporters on the sidelines of 'Solar Conclave 2018', organised by Gujarat chapter of CII and Dholera Industrial City Development Ltd. "As many as 35 national and international developers have shown interest in that project while responding to the call for 'Expression of Interest' by the MNRE recently. The process of inviting Request For Proposal (RFP) should take place next month," Gopal ...
DRI seizes huge quantity of red sanders
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 14 metric tonnes of red sanders logs attempted to be exported to Dubai from here, an official statement issued today said. Upon preliminary verification, it was noticed that the high-valued timber logs were found in a consignment declared to contain granite slabs being consigned to Dubai, it said. The logs were found stacked in the container, behind boxes of the declared cargo, ostensibly to deceive customs authorities, the statement issued by the DRI said. Last month, the DRI had recalled a container which had sailed from Chennai to Malaysia, and on examination found the consignment containing 12.42 metric tonnes of red sanders logs, concealed behind bags of atta (wheat flour). During 2017-18, the DRI Chennai zonal unit had seized 187.6 metric tonnes of red sanders logs. In the current financial year, the unit has seized about 56 metric tonnes of red sanders, valued at approximately Rs 22 crore, in four cases. Red sanders is an
Shift Nanar refinery project to Vidarbha, says BJP MLA
Disgruntled BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh today demanded in the Maharashtra Assembly that Nanar refinery project should be shifted to Vidarbha from the coastal Ratnagiri district. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said shifting the refinery was not possible, but the state government would recommend that an inland refinery be set up in the region. "Nanar refinery is being opposed by local people. The (ruling coalition partner) Shiv Sena too is opposing the project," said Deshmukh, the MLA from Katol who is also a supporter of the demand of separate statehood for Vidarbha. "This (upcoming) world's biggest refinery project should not go to any other state. If locals at Nanar are opposing it, the chief minister should shift it to Vidarbha," he said. There are already nine inland refineries in the country, he noted. The project would generate 50,000 direct and one lakh indirect jobs, create oil security, ensure decrease in fuel prices and benefit the Vidarbha region, Deshmukh ...
Feeling the heat: Tokyo preps for sweltering Summer Olympics
A heatwave in Japan that has killed more than a dozen people is reviving concerns about the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which will be held during the country's notoriously sweltering summer. While the Games have been held in places that are hotter or more humid than Tokyo, including Athens and Beijing, Japan's sweaty summers offer both blistering heat and smothering humidity in a particularly unpleasant, and sometimes deadly, combination. Olympic officials and Tokyo's local government are touting measures from solar-blocking paint on roads to mobile misting stations to tackle the heat. But some experts fear the efforts are insufficient, in a country where summer heat kills hundreds of people and hospitalises tens of thousands each year. The Games will be held from July 24-August 9, a period where temperatures can hit 37 degrees Celsius and humidity rises to over 80 percent. "Compared to past Olympics, it's fair to say that this will be the most severe Games, as far as heat conditions go," ...
Snag in Palatana project hits power supply to Bangladesh
A technical snag in the 726 MW Palatana power project of Tripura has affected normal supply to Bangladesh for over 10 days, an official of the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd (TSECL) said today. Instead of the committed 160 MW everyday, the power project is supplying 120 MW to the neighbouring country since July 9 because of less production due to a problem in one of its transformers, TSECL Director (Technical) Mahendra Debbarma said. "There was problem in one of the transformers in Palatana power project. As a result there is a shortfall of at least 100 MW power every day," he told PTI. "So, the power supply to Bangladesh was hit, but the transformer was repaired and it is expected that the situation will be improved by this evening," Debbarma said. It was agreed by the two countries in 2016 that Palatana, a gas based thermal power project, would supply 120 MW but later, following rising demand, it was increased to 160 MW, he said. However, depending on ...
Indira was an 'unusual visionary' in environment: Jairam Ramesh
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was an "unusual visionary" who talked of climate change and deforestation back in the 1970s when they were not in fashion, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said today. Gandhi was a born ecologist and she also became the country's first and last prime minister to take ecology seriously in terms of governance, Ramesh said at a discussion of his book, 'Intertwined Lives: P N Haksar and Indira Gandhi'. Giving an example of Gandhi's commitment to the subject, Ramesh said while 90 heads of state, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015, she was "the only visiting head of state" to attend the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, also known as Stockholm C0nference, held in 1972. "As an environment minister, I was deeply influenced by Gandhi's maintaining environment and ecological balance and today the laws which we have for environment like (the) air pollution ..
