Page 631 - Environment
Don't cut trees till July 4: Delhi HC
In a relief to residents, the Delhi High Court on Monday asked authorities not to axe till July 4 the 16,500 trees set to be cut for a residential project here.
NBCC defends decision to fell 14000 trees, to compensate by planting 2 lakh trees
Amid a major hue and cry over felling of around 14,000 trees for redevelopment of residential colonies here, the state-owned NBCC today defended its decision, saying it would compensate the move by increasing the green cover 15 times. Underscoring the need for redevelopment, NBCC CMD Anoop Kumar Mittal said that several decades old colonies had hundreds of "unserviceable and unlivable units out of a total of 12,970 flats as of now and the same would be transformed into the most modern colonies with 25,667 units having an extensive green cover, sewage treatment plants, organised parking and other amenities. He said in a bid to protect the environment, NBCC would be planting not only saplings but also 10-foot-long trees whose care would be properly taken as long as required. The government has announced that it would be cutting over 14,000 trees for building over 25,000 flats for government employees in seven colonies of south Delhi. The government-owned real estate development body is .
India, Seychelles sign MoU on education, technology
India and Seychelles signed six Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for establishing cooperation in the field of education, information technology, culture, and technology.A MoU was signed to provide Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of small development projects through local bodies, educational and vocational institutions under the presence of Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar and Minister for Habitat Infrastructure and land transport in Seychelles Pamela Charlette.A twinning agreement was also signed to establish friendship and cooperation between the Corporation of the City of Panaji (Municipal Corporation) and the City of Victoria of the Republic of Seychelles.Another MoU was signed between the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Republic of India and, the Department of Information Communications Technology of the Republic of Seychelles on Cooperation in the area of cyber-security in the ...
Kerala assembly session ends on stormy note over wetland bill
: The 12-day-long Kerala assembly session ended today on a stormy note with the UDF Opposition members protesting against the passing of Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland (Amendment) Bill 2018, alleging it would lead to the destruction of the environment. Congress led UDF members tore a copy of the bill and trooped out of the House at the fag end of the discussion, alleging that the amendment would virtually result in destroying the remaining paddy and wetlands in the state. Winding up the discussion over the Bill, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hit out at the UDF and said the amendment was brought with 'social commitment' and that he failed to understand why the Opposition was blindly against it. Rejecting the UDF charge that the amendment would favour realtors, he said the Bill makes it clear that paddy and wetland can be filled only for government approved projects. The Chief Minister said that there were also provisions in the new Bill for expanding the ..
Chambers should help farmers : Mollah
West Bengal Food Processing Industries and Horticulture minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah today said that organisations like industry chambers should help small and medium farmers to opt for modern and scentific way of farming in the land-critical state. The concept of big farmers is missing in Bengal and the state has small and medium farmers only, he said in his keynote address on 'Prospects of Horticulture in Modern Era' at Bengal National Chamber of Commerce & Industry here. West Bengal does not have enough farm land considering the large number of farmers and the land holdings are small compared to north India. "Our farmers are not introduced to the latest technology in farming. If we have to meet the global standards, the Chambers must act as go-between between agri-farmers and scientists who are advocating technologies like organic farming." The state should go for participatory farming model in which registered farmer bodies consisting of farmers in a particular .
Siemens Gamesa bags 150 MW wind project order from ReNew Power
Renewable solution provider Siemens Gamesa today said it has bagged a wind energy order from ReNew Power for construction of 150 MW wind farm in Gujarat. "Siemens Gamesa, the renewable energy leader in India, has secured a wind order from ReNew Power, India's largest renewable energy Independent Power Producer (IPP), for the construction of a 150 MW wind farm located in the Kutch district, in the state of Gujarat," a company statement said. According to the statement, as part of the turnkey contract, the Siemens Gamesa will provide the infrastructure needed to install and operate the facility including supply, erection and commissioning of 75 units of SG 2.0-114 MW wind turbines in Bhuvad, Gujarat. ReNew Power is independent renewable energy producer with a capacity of more than 5,800 MW of operational and under-construction clean energy assets. "We are happy to announce this deal with ReNew, one of the most reputed players in the renewable energy space in the country. Having already .
Khattar accords approval for installation of 10 lakh smart power meters
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has accorded approval for installation of 10 lakh smart power meters in five districts of the states. A Memorandum of Understanding between Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under Union Ministry of Power, and Haryana Power Distribution Utilities would be signed soon, an official spokesman said here today. He said the decision was taken to improve the financial condition of power distribution companies, to encourage energy conservation and to tackle problems relating to payment of electricity bills. In the first phase old meters of five districts--Panipat, Karnal, Panchkula, Faridabad and Gurugram would be replaced with smart meters by EESL. "Under the Uday scheme initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 10,000 old meters were replaced in district Panipat as a pilot project. The scheme would then be implemented in other districts of the state. These smart meters would be GPRS equipped. Installation of these .
Ancient syphilis causing genomes recovered
Scientists have recovered the first historic genomes from a bacterium that causes syphilis -- a sexually transmitted bacterial infection -- from colonial-era bones of around 350 years ago.
China lifts French beef ban as PM ends visit
China signed a deal today to lift a ban on French beef and said discussions to buy Airbus planes remained open as French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe ended a four-day visit. The beef ban was imposed over a decade ago as Beijing started closing off its markets to all European imports, and later to US beef imports, in the wake of the "mad cow" disease scare. Philippe and Premier Li Keqiang oversaw the signing of an agreement to lift the embargo, which French producers say will put their beef back on Chinese plates by September. "We are already in contact with Chinese buyers," said the president of French beef industry group Interbev, Dominique Langlois, who said the aim was to export 30,000 tonnes per year. The accord was the culmination of an agreement reached when French President Emmanuel Macron met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this year. China had also committed to buying 184 single-aisle A320 Airbus planes during Macron's January visit, but the deal has not been
2 lakh saplings to be planted to offset felling of 13k trees in 7 Delhi colonies: NBCC
Amid protests over felling of trees for redevelopment of residential colonies here, state-owned NBCC today said over 2 lakh trees will be planted to make up for 13,000 trees that need to cut for building over 25,000 flats for government employees. Protests similar to the 'Chipko movement' of 1973, residents formed human shields around trees that were identified for felling to redevelop seven colonies in the national capital. Stepping in, the Delhi High Court has stayed felling of the trees. NBCC, which is developing three of the seven colonies, sought to assuage concerns saying green cover in these residential localities will go up to 50-55 per cent from average of 14 per cent at present. The colonies, its Chairman and Managing Director Anoop Kumar Mittal said, had become unlivable and so need to be redeveloped at a cost of around Rs 30,000 crore. The projects are self-funded. "Around 13,000 trees will be cut in seven redevelopment projects in the national capital and 2 lakh trees ...
24,000 small dams draining China's Yangtze River
The proliferation of small dams is steadily drying up China's along Yangtze River and its tributaries.A study carried out by the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed that thousands of small dams have been built in recent years along the Yangtze River also known in China as the Blue River.According to a report published by the asianews.it, the updated NAO data at the end of 2017 shows that around 24,000 dams have been built.The hydraulic works are small and medium-sized. They stand only a few hundred meters away from each other. Because of this, around 300 smaller rivers intermittently dry up.The course of the over 6,000-kilometer-long Yangtze and its eco-system are severely tested by other great works: the Three Gorges Dam and, 700 km further upstream, that of Xiaonanhai.The urban and economic areas overlooking the river are among the most important in China. These are 11 provincial areas that cover a total of 2.05 million square kilometers.Pollutant levels in air and water have ..
'Paani Bachao, Paise Kamao' campaign launched
A campaign was today launched to encourage farmers to voluntarily adopt a new scheme 'Paani Bachao, Paise Kamao', aimed at checking depletion of underground water. The state government had proposed to roll out this scheme at two clusters/feeders -Bambiwal and Nawajipur - of the district on a pilot basis, said an official spokesman. He said 178 farmers from Bambiwal feeder and 231 from Nawajipur would be motivated for adopting the scheme. Under this scheme, farmers will get monetary benefit for less use of tubewell. Local MLA Pargat Singh and Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, Varinder Kumar Sharma briefed farmers about the scheme. Citing an example, officials said if the motor capacity of a farmer, who volunteers for the scheme, was 1,500 units per month but he consumes only 1,200 units then Rs 1200 at the rate of Rs four per unit for the remaining 300 units would be transferred in his bank account. They said the aim of scheme was to ensure that farmers use the power with restraint to ...
BSES deal with Finland to induct new technology in power sector
Delhi electricity distribution company (discom) BSES on Monday announced it has entered into a significant cooperation agreement with state-run Business Finland for inducting state-of-the-art technology into the Indian distribution sector.
Thermocol for decoration, fish storage not banned: Kadam
Maharashtra Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam today sought to clear the confusion prevailing in the public over the ambit of the plastic ban that came into force on June 23. Kadam reiterated that non-woven polypropylene plastic bags are completely banned while time is given for setting up plants to recycle other types of plastic material being used for packing and wrapping. "The thermocol material used for decoration is not banned but dishes, spoons and food plates made from thermocol are banned. It clearly means the fish vendors who use thermocol for storage are exempted from it (ban)," the minister told reporters. He said the decision on usage of thermocol for decoration will be taken by a high power committee. "Thermocol producers should have given a thought to its production earlier as it cannot be recycled," the minister said. Thermocol is largely used in decoration during Ganesh festival. Fish vendors in Mumbai use thermocol boxes for storage of fish. Confusion ...
Sisodia calls for SPV to clean Delhi's drains during monsoon
With the monsoon approaching, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today called for setting up of a special purpose vehicle to clean the city's drains and prevent waterlogging on roads in the national capital. After chairing a meeting of an apex committee to review measures for flood control in Delhi, he released the 'flood control order 2018' under which a central flood control room has been set up to deal with waterlogging and flood-like situation in the city. Sisodia, PWD Minister Satyendar Jain and Irrigation & Flood Control Minister Gopal Rai will oversee the work related to flood control measures in all 11 districts of Delhi. The monsoon is expected to surround Delhi on June 29, its normal onset date for the national capital. During the monsoon season, Delhi witnesses waterlogging on roads and agencies blame each other for not taking concrete steps to prevent the situation. According to the government, the control room has been established under the control of the East
Siemens Gamesa bags 150MW wind turbine order from ReNew Power
Wind turbine major Siemens Gamesa on Monday said it has secured an order for construction of a 150MW wind farm in Gujarat from ReNew Power.
Wilmar halts buying from suppliers accused of deforestation by Greenpeace
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's Wilmar International, the world's largest palm oil processor, said it has ceased sourcing from suppliers that are allegedly associated with a company that was accused by Greenpeace of causing deforestation.
China step ups surveillance with flock of robotic doves in Muslim-majority Xinjiang: Report
China has deployed a flock of high-tech drones disguised to look like birds to step up surveillance levels in the troubled Muslim-majority Xinjiang region, according to a media report. More than 30 military and government agencies have deployed the birdlike drones and other devices in at least five provinces in recent years, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. Each drone is designed to move like a bird with flapping wings and carries on board a small camera that will beam images back to its controllers. One part of the country that has seen the new technology used extensively is the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in China's far west, which borders Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, the report said. Resource-rich Xinjiang, bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Afghanistan, is on the boil for years following unrest among Uyghur Muslims over the increasing settlements of majority Han Chinese from other provinces. It ..
Ensure cleaning of drains at earliest: Sisodia to officers
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday urged the authorities to ensure the cleaning of drains at the earliest and also suggested use of modern technology for the same.
Chinese diplomat pressured Oz channel to cancel program
An Australian television channel's repeated moves to highlight China's so-called expansionist designs in the Pacific region through what is now being popularly referred to as "debt trap diplomacy", recently invited the ire of the Chinese embassy in Canberra.According to Chinascope and the Taiwan Liberty Times, the head of the media department of the embassy, Cao Saixian, yelled at Kirsty Thomson, the producer of 60 Minutes on Australian Channel 9, during a phone call for what he claimed as the illegal filming of footage related to China's expansion in the South Pacific Ocean.Taiwan Liberty Times quoted Cao, as saying, "Take this down and take it to your leaders! . You will listen! There must be no more misconduct in the future!" Thomson countered that the footage was taken in the public region using a drone and stated that the program would still be aired on June 18 and 19 as planned.According to the article, 60 Minutes has produced several programs covering China's "debt trap ...
