Page 655 - Environment
Greenfield Highway issue once again echoes in TN assembly
The Salem-Chennai greenfield highway issue today once again echoed in Tamil Nadu Assembly, with the government seeking to allay any apprehensions over the Rs 10,000 crore project. Chief Minister K Palaniswami said while claims were being made about large-scale land acquisition for the Central project, "only required land will be acquired" and that some persons were "giving false information" about the project to "block" it. The Greenfield highway was a 'special initiative' by the government to ensure an accident-free highway, he said. "There is no need for panic.Some persons are giving false information (on land acquisition) only (with the intention) to block the project," he said intervening during a debate. The Chief Minister said those parting with land would be adequately compensated as per the new land acquisition law and assured to extend government assistance towards construction of state's solar-powered green houses in select cases. Collectors of districts which ..
Tata Power Renewable signs power purchase pact with GE
Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd today said it has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with GE to provide solar rooftop solutions for six manufacturing and services sites in India. "Tata Power will install solar rooftop projects at manufacturing sites located at Durgapur in West Bengal, Pallavaram and Hosur in Tamil Nadu, multi-modal manufacturing site at Pune and upcoming factory at Marhowra in Bihar and maintenance facility at Roza in Uttar Pradesh," the company said in a statement. The project would be executed on build-own-operate basis, it said. Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd is the wholly-owned arm of Tata Power. The installation of the solar rooftop projects will help to generate over 1 million kWh of electricity per year, and will lead to an average tariff reduction of around 30 per cent, the statement said. GE will also be able to curb the emission of over 13,000 kg of carbon dioxide per day. "We are hopeful that the renewable segment will also be encouraged by ...
BHEL bags Rs 125 cr worth orders for solar plants
State-owned BHEL today said it has bagged orders worth more than Rs 125 crore for setting up solar photovoltaic power plants in Gujarat. The solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plants will be set up on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis, the company said in a statement. The first order for setting up a 20 mw SPV power plant has been placed on BHEL by Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd, while the other for setting up a 10 MW SPV power plant has been received from Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd, the statement added. Both the solar power plants will be set up at Gujarat Solar Park, Charanka, Gujarat.
Goa mining: Gadkari for balanced solution
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today said the solution to Goa mining ban has to be found while keeping the "employment security and protection of environment" in mind. Mining activity in the coastal state came to a halt on March 16 this year following a ban imposed by the Supreme Court. Gadkari also hinted at approaching the apex court on the matter. "We are going back to the supreme court. We will try to find out the solution between the lines of employment security and protection to environment," Gadkari told reporters here. He is on a two-day visit to Goa to attend a meeting of Highways department officials to review the ongoing works across the country. Taking a jibe at opponents of mining, Gadkari said, "....No philosophy can be taught to any individual if economy itself is finished". "We have to find a way out for this (mining) problem. The solution has to be a balanced one between the protection of jobs and conservation of environment," .
Rajasthan working on integrated farming to double farm income: Minister
Rajasthan is working on the concept of integrated farming to double farmers income, the state agriculture minister Prabhu Lal Saini said today. Integrated farming will help in doubling the income of farmers and the state is working on this concept. "Blue and green revolutions are being pushed and vegetables and fruits are being cultivated in adverse climate conditions, Saini told reporters at the BJP party office here. Speaking on the achievements of his department, he said that the government is providing loans up to Rs. 15 lakh to youths for the production of species. Taking a pot shot at the Congress, the minister said there was black marketing of wheat distributed under PDS system during the previous government's rule which had affected flour distribution to the poor.
CAI hikes cotton crop estimate for 2017-18 to 365 lakh bales
The Cotton Association of India (CAI) today increased its May estimate of the cotton crop production for the 2017-18 season (October to September) by five lakh bales to 365 lakh bales. The April estimate of cotton crop was at 360 lakh bales of 170 kgs each. The upward revision in the May estimates is mainly due to higher yield estimated in Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, CAI said in a release. The total cotton supply up to May 31 this year has been projected at 378.50 lakh bales, which consists of the opening stock of 30 lakh bales at the beginning of the season on October 1, 2017, the arrival of 340 lakh bales up to May 31, and imports which is estimated at 8.50 lakh bales up to May end. Further, CAI said, it has estimated cotton consumption for eight months, October 2017 to May 2018, at 216 lakh bales at an average of 27 lakh bales per month, while the export shipment till May 31 has been estimated at 62 lakh bales. The total stocks ..
US unveils new de facto embassy in Taiwan
The US on Tuesday inaugurated a new de facto embassy in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties with the island and amid growing tension with China.
Myanmar keen not to lose Kyaukpyu Port to China
The Government of Myanmar is reported to be re-evaluating a Chinese investment project to develop the deep-water port of Kyaukpyu because of rising costs.According to the Singapore daily Sinchew, the Kyaukpyu Port project is a part of China's One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. Beijing has invested an estimated USD 9 billion in the project.A concerned Myanmar is anticipating a potential debt default, whichcould lead to losing control of Kyaukpyu.The Sinchew is quoting unnamed Myanmar government sources, as saying that negotiations are going on with the Chinese to reduce the cost of the project.Kyaukpyu is located in west Myanmar's Rakhine Province. That port offers China a direct path to the Indian Ocean from Southwest China, bypassing the Strait of Malacca.If started, the Port of Kyaukpyu development project will be the largest infrastructure project in Myanmar's history.The project is also located at the starting point of an oil and gas pipeline station leading to China's Yunnan ...
Projects worth Rs 1.85 lakh cr awarded under Sagarmala by March 2018
Projects worth Rs 1.85 lakh crore have been awarded under the ambitious port-led development programme Sagarmala by March 2018, the government said today. The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2015 had given in principle nod to the project which was launched in 2016. A total of 224 projects -- entailing an investment to the tune of Rs 1.85 lakh crore -- were launched by March 31, 2018, Ministry of Shipping said in a statement. It said 196 projects worth Rs 71,868 lakh crores are expected to be awarded in 2018-19. Ninety-eight projects worth Rs 31,046 crore expected to be completed in 2018-19, the statement said, adding that 59 projects worth Rs 11,299 crore have been completed till March 31, 2018. "These include various infrastructure projects, coastal berth projects, fishery harbours and skill development projects. These projects are being implemented by relevant Central Ministries, State Governments, Ports and other agencies primarily through the private or PPP ...
3.3 gw solar installed in Jan-March period: Report
Driven by large-scale projects, the solar installation in India during January-March period of the current calendar year was 3,269 megawatt (mw), up by over 9 per cent compared to 2,991 mw installed in the corresponding period last year, a report said on Tuesday.
Particles from early solar system found in comet dust
Scientists have discovered that interplanetary dust particles in comets contain leftovers from the early solar system, which may provide a deeper understanding of how the planets were formed. Researchers from University of Hawaii showed that the initial solids from which the solar system was formed consisted almost entirely of amorphous silicate, carbon and ices. This dust was mostly destroyed and reworked by processes that led to the formation of planets. Surviving samples of pre-solar dust are most likely to be preserved in comets - small, cold bodies that formed in the outer solar nebula. In a relatively obscure class of interplanetary dust particles believed to originate from comets, there are tiny glassy grains called GEMS (glass embedded with metal and sulphides) typically only tens to hundreds of nanometres in diameter, less than 1/100th the thickness of human hair. Using transmission electron microscopy, researchers made maps of the element distributions and discovered that ...
TN to study feasibility of 250 MW floating solar power plant
In a bid to reduce evaporation of reservoir water and increase sourcing of solar power, Tamil Nadu is looking at the feasibility of setting up a floating solar power plant, Chief Minister K. Palaniswami said on Tuesday.
Haryana govt enacts Bovine breeding Act
The Haryana government has enacted the Bovine Breeding Act, 2018 for genetic improvement of bovines by regulating breeding activities in the state. Stating this here today, a spokesman of animal husbandry and dairying department said an authority will be constituted to be known as the bovine breeding authority under the chairmanship of director general, animal husbandry and dairying. The authority will formulate and implement the breeding policy and services in the state and regulate the production, storage, sale and use of semen or embryos produced within or outside the state or imported from any other country, he said. It will also certify bovine breeding bulls used for natural breeding or service or for production of semen, which meet the standards, as may be prescribed, he said.
IAEA offers to help verify future US-North Korea deal
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said today it stood ready to help verify any future agreements between the US and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. In a statement, Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, welcomed the statement issued by US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the end of their summit in Singapore, "which includes the DPRK's commitment towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula". "The IAEA will closely follow the negotiations to be held between the two countries to implement the outcomes of the US-DPRK Summit," the statement added. "The IAEA stands ready to undertake any verification activities in the DPRK that it may be requested to conduct by the countries concerned." Last week Amano said the IAEA would be ready to restart inspection work in North Korea "at short notice, within weeks, not months" if a political agreement were reached, adding that the agency would be ..
Discharge of sewage into Ganga: NGT slams municipalities in Uttar Pradesh
The National Green Tribunal has slammed municipalities in Uttar Pradesh for failing to manage discharge of untreated sewage water into the Ganga river saying it appears that "environment and public health do not fall on their priority list". A bench headed by acting NGT Chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim refused to agree with the submission that 'nagar palikas' were facing financial crunch as the state government has not released any money. "It appears that environment and public health do not fall on priority list of all these respondents...," the bench observed. The counsel appearing for the municipalities of Mirzapur, Fatehpur, Chunar and Bhadohi told the bench that they have filed statement of the action taken and the reason for non compliance is that the state government has not released the funds. "Be that as it may, we note it with regret that except procrastination of this proceedings on one pretext or other the 'nagar palikas' concerned have shown least regard regarding ...
Lake-deepening not enough to quench Gujarat's thirst: Mehta
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Sureshchandra Mehta today claimed that the state government's recently-concluded drive of deepening lakes and ponds would quench the thirst of only 10 per cent population. Addressing a press conference here today, Mehta said out of over one lakh lakes and ponds across the state, only 13,000 were covered under the month-long water conservation drive - Sujalam Sufalam Jal Abhiyan - which ended on May 31. "In Gujarat, there are over one lakh ponds and over 200 lakes. Out of these, only 13,000 such water bodies were deepened by removing silt during the month-long drive. This is not enough, as it would only quench the thirst of 10 per cent population. What about others?" he asked. He was referring to the state-wide Jal Abhiyan, under which 13,000 lakes and ponds as well as 32 major rivers were deepended. The drive was aimed at increasing the water storage capacity by carrying out de-silting work. The former CM also attacked the BJP-ruled state ...
BHEL bags two orders worth Rs 125 crore
For setting up Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) Power Plants in Gujarat
NASA's Mars rover contacts Earth despite worsening dust storm
NASA scientists have successfully received a transmission from the Mars Opportunity rover - a positive sign despite the worsening dust storm that has left science operations on the red planet suspended. Data from the transmission let engineers know the rover still has enough battery charge to communicate with ground controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US. The transmission received this week was especially good news considering the dust storm has intensified in the past several days. A dark, perpetual night has settled over the rover's location in Mars' Perseverance Valley, NASA said in a statement. The storm's atmospheric opacity - the veil of dust blowing around, which can blot out sunlight - is now much worse than a 2007 storm that Opportunity weathered. Opportunity's team has requested additional communications coverage from NASA's Deep Space Network, a global system of antennas that talks to all the agency's deep space probes. This latest data transmission ...
BMC justifies nod granted to pvt agencies to trim trees
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) today told the Bombay High Court that it was well within its powers in granting permission to some private bodies for trimming trees on their respective premises. In an affidavit filed in HC through its gardens and trees department, the civic body also told the court that its staff was carrying out trimming and pruning work on trees, and also allowing some citizens and private agencies to do so, only to ensure that such trees do not pose any risk to lives of citizens this monsoon. The affidavit was filed in response to a city-based activist's plea alleging that the BMC had been permitting indiscriminate felling of trees across the city in the name of pruning, and trimming them ahead of the monsoon. Activist Zoru Bhatena had sought that the civic body be restrained from carrying out or allowing residents to undertake such trimming and hacking of trees. In his plea, Bhatena had also highlighted some recent news reports which said that ..
Govt wants to ease process of purchasing ethanol: Pradhan
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has promised to ease the process of purchasing sugarcane-extracted ethanol for doping in petrol, a move that will help farmers get better price for the crop and cut the country's dependence on oil imports. Pradhan, on a visit to the city to promote bidding for city-gas distribution licences, said, "For this, based on co-ordination, a way will be evolved. There is a provision of ethanol blending up to 10 per cent. In the coming days, there will be immense possibilities about use of ethanol. The farmers will also benefit from this in a major way." Just like crude oil is treated as basic raw material for making petrol and diesel, Pradhan wanted ethanol to be given the same treatment. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh government officials said that 50 acres of land has been shortlisted in Gorakhpur for a proposed ethanol project. "Work on this will start soon," Pradhan added. The state government also raised the issue of biomass energy project in Sitapur. Uttar ...
