Page 677 - Environment
Maharashtra farm panel raps Agriculture Minister for 'anti-farmer jibe'
After the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, a Maharashtra farm panel has castigated Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh for his recent 'anti-farmer jibe' here on Monday.
Badal blames Congress 'misrule' for farmers' plight
As farmers' protest entered 6th day in several states, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today blamed the Congress' 70-years "misrule" for the current plight of farmers and described the party as "pot calling the kettle black". She further said Congress President Rahul Gandhi should first address the agrarian crisis in Punjab where farmers are committing suicide every day, before talking about transforming the entire nation. Farmers in several states including Punjab and Haryana have launched a 10-day agitation to press their demands, including loan waiver and right price for crops. They are dumping vegetables, milk and other farm produce on roads and blocking supplies to cities in several states. "The current plight of farmers was mainly due to 70-years of misrule by the Congress party," said the food processing minister, who is also a leader of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). "They looted the nation and created policy paralysis. They are now fine talking about farmers. As far as ...
Only 60% plastic waste is processed: Environment Minister
Urging the states to work together for the country to achieve its environment targets within a year, the Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday said that only 60 per cent of 25,000 tonnes of "plastic pollution" generated daily gets recycled.
Bhartiya Kisan Union to end protest in Punjab
The Bhartiya Kisan Union on Monday decided to end the farmers protest in Punjab on June 6.Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Punjab Unit President Balbir Singh Rajewal said, "Protests have been peaceful so far. In several places, farmers set up shops to sell vegetables directly to consumers which benefited everyone. But to avoid dispute between suppliers and farmers we have decided to end our protest, in Punjab, on June 6 itself."The farmers have called on the strike to press for their demands of waiver of loans and the right price for crops.Farmers in different parts of the country were seen raising slogans and throwing vegetables on the streets.The strike started on June 1 when thousands of farmers from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana started a 10-day nationwide strike demanding waiver of loans, right price for their crops and implementation of recommendations of Swaminathan Commission.On May 29, the farmers of the Bharatiya Kisan Union ...
India's forest cover stood at 21.34 per cent in 2015: report
India's forest cover stood at 21.34 per cent in 2015, an increase of 1.29 per cent from 2009, according to a government report on environment. The 'Status of Environment Report, India 2015', released by Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan at the state environment ministers's conference here today, said forests and tree cover together constitute about 24.16 per cent of the country's geographical area. As per the latest estimate by Forest Survey of India (FSI), in 2015, the forest cover stood at 21.34 per cent of India's total geographical area, with a marginal rise from 20.05 per cent in 2009, it said. Mizoram with 89 per cent has the highest forest cover among the states and Union territories in the country. It is followed by Lakshdweep (84.56 percent), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (82 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (80 per cent), according to the report. Assam's forest cover at 35 per cent was the lowest in the list of 15 states and Union territories (UTs) having more than 33 per cent ..
Case against Agriculture Minister for 'anti-farmer' jibe
A case was lodged against Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district on Monday for "insulting farmers", a lawyer said.
Krishi Kalyan Abhiyan being implemented in 25 villages in each of the 111 Aspirational Districts from 1 June to 31 July 2018
An Action Plan comprising specifically identified activities under various departments of the ministry namely, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Animal Husbandry Dairying & Fisheries (DAHD&F) and Department of Agricultural Research & Education (DARE-ICAR) will be implemented to saturate these 25 villages in each district with these activities.
Complaint filed against Union agriculture minister
A complaint was filed against Union minister Radha Mohan Singh in a court here today for allegedly making insulting remarks against farmers. Tamanna Hashmi, a social activist, filed the complaint in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Hari Prasad, alleging that the minister had said that the farmers' protests were attempts to grab media attention, and sought a direction for issuing summons to Singh. According to the complainant, the minister's statement is not only irresponsible but has also hurt the sentiments of the complainant, who is a farmer's son, and the farmers who are protesting for their rights. He sought registration of a case under sections 297 (trespassing on burial places, etc) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The court is likely to take up the matter on June 14. Farmers across the country had launched a 10-day agitation from June 1 to press their demands, including loan waiver and higher MSP ...
Plastic water pouches banned in Gujarat's Rajkot from June 5
Plastic water pouches will be banned on public roads, gardens and government offices from tomorrow, coinciding with the World Environment Day. The theme for this year's World Environment Day is "Beat Plastic Pollution". A release from the Rajkot Municipal Corporation today stated that the civic chief had ordered a ban on the sale and use of water pouches, starting tomorrow, on 48 public roads, gardens and government offices under section 376 of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 1949. "People tend to throw water pouches on the roads after use, which ends up choking drainage lines," the release stated, adding that it in turn creates health problems due to drain water spilling out into the open. The civic body release said that violators of this ban would be penalised under section 376 of the BPMC Act, and if required, under section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code which empowers a magistrate to pass an order for "removal of nuisance". The state government,
Solar energy sector sees 76% rise in job searches: Report
With the government focusing on growing the renewable energy sector in the country, the solar energy sector has seen a 76 per cent growth in job searches since 2014, according to a report. The government has set a target to produce 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022, out of which 100 GW has to come from solar power, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from biomass and 5 GW from small hydro power. "There has been a surge of demand for jobs in the renewable energy sector in India. The solar energy witnessed 76 per cent growth in job searches between October 2014 and October 2017," global job portal Indeed said in its report. There has been an increase in job searches for solar design engineers by 404 per cent, solar project engineers by 332 per cent and solar electrical engineers by 169 per cent, it added. In contrast, the wind energy sector, which is largely complementary to solar in the country, saw only a 28 per cent increase in job searches during the same time period. "India has ..
Bengal aims at adding 1,620 acres land under sericulture in FY19
The West Bengal government, which has been ramping up raw silk production in the state, is planning to add about 1,620 acres of cultivable land under sericulture production in the current fiscal, a minister said on Monday.
Ind-Ra: Coal Supply Shortages Widen, Impacting Private Players
In April 2018, Coal India Limited's monthly coal production declined to 45 million tonnes after increasing continuously since August 2017; although, 11.7% higher yoy compared to April 2017. With the lower mom coal generation, coal inventory also declined to 15.9 million tonnes in April 2018. Compared to April 2017, the decline is 56% yoy, indicating coal supply shortages. Similar to March 2018, the number of plants with critical and supercritical levels stood at 28 in April 2018, due to non-uniform distribution of coal across plants across the country.
States need more rights to combat pollution: Bihar Deputy CM
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi on Monday said that states need more rights to combat pollution and to be able to amend legislations like the Motor Vehicles Act which discards automobiles that are over 15 years old.
Combating migration: How a climate initiative is reviving a Garhwali hamlet (June 5 is World Environment Day)
Ramveer Rauthela, a farmer in this small hamlet in Uttarakhand's Garhwal region, points towards a house with a rusting lock on its front door and sighs: "Earlier, they would often visit home; later, they returned during the harvest; now they even skip festivals."
Scientists unveil genome of India's national bird
Bhopal, June 4 (IANS/Mongabay .com) After a two-year-long effort, a team of researchers from IISER-Bhopal has been able to sequence the genome of India's national bird, the peacock (Pavo cristatus).
'Draft CRZ notification dangerous for Kerala, coastal folk'
The most recent draft notification by the Union Environment and Forests Ministry on the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) where the no-development zone (NDZ) for the new III-A category will be 50 metres instead of 200 metres will be detrimental to Kerala, says experts from the state.
CM seeks public support for polythene-free U'khand
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today sought the supportof people of the state for building a polythene-free Uttarakhand. In his message to the people on the eve of the World Environment Day, Rawat expressed his government's commitment to build a polythene-free Uttarakhand, but said that the objective could not be achieved without their support. The theme of the World Environment Day 2018 is 'Beat Plastic Pollution'. DescribingUttarakhandas the flag-bearer of environment protection due to its huge forest wealth and rivers, he said besides government efforts, public support is a must for protecting the state's rich biodiversity. The chief minister appealed to the people, public representatives and voluntary organisations to make the public aware of the importance of environment protection and make efforts for its preservation. He said along with the plantation of trees, there is a need to make efforts to keep the rivers and water resources clean. Rawat said efforts are being made .
NASA's mini-satellites successfully steer towards Mars
The world's first mini-satellites to venture into deep space - designed to monitor NASA's InSight Mars lander - have successfully oriented themselves towards the red planet, according to the US space agency. Over the last week, two CubeSats called MarCO-A and MarCO-B have been firing their propulsion systems to guide themselves toward Mars. This process, called a trajectory correction manoeuvre, allows a spacecraft to refine its path to Mars following launch. Both CubeSats successfully completed this manoeuvre, NASA said in a statement. The pair of CubeSats that make up the Mars Cube One (MarCO) mission were both launched on May 5, along with the InSight lander, which is headed toward a November 26 touchdown on the red planet. They were designed to trail InSight on the way to Mars, aiming to relay back data about InSight as it enters the planet's atmosphere and attempts to land. The MarCOs were never intended to collect any science data; instead, they are a test of miniaturised ...
Sushil Modi demands inclusion of Bihar cities in 'non attainment cities' list
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi demanded inclusion of cities of his state in the list of 'non attainment cities' prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board. At the state environment ministers' conference here, he said three cities of Bihar -- Patna, Muzaffarpur and Gaya -- where PM 2.5 situation is worrisome, were included in the list of 10 most polluted cities in WHO's latest report. "Surprisingly no city of Bihar is included in Central Pollution Control Board's 'non attainment cities' list. The cities of Bihar should be added to the list of non attainment cities," Sushil Kumar Modi, who also holds the forest and environment portfolio, said. Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan was present at the conference. The Centre has formulated the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) as a medium term national-level strategy to tackle the problem of increasing air pollution across the country. In February, Vardhan had said that his ministry hopes to bring down air ...
A mission to 'green' India over the next year
Spurred by the success of Green Kanha, a successful initiative for shaping the micro climate of hundreds of acres of Kanha Shantivanam in Hyderabad, the Heartfulness Institute has started three major initiatives linked to preservation, enrichment and sustenance of ecosystems.These three initiatives are:1. Earmark 25 acres of land to create a mini-rainforest in Telangana2. Commit to plant, adopt and nurture 10 million trees over one year across India3. Associate with Google India to plant 300 trees in Kanha Shantivanam and spreading the green message on June 5 and 6 as part of World Environment Day.Kamlesh D Patel of Global Guide of Heartfulness said,"Green Kanha is a result of extraordinary efforts to recharge the dry and barren ecosystem into a flourishing green environment.It is now home to over 1.5 lakh trees,including indigenous andseveral of the IUCN redlisted speciesamongst those being nurtured here.Thishas helped create a positive microclimate in and around Heartfulness region.
