Page 715 - Environment
No threat to coastal Guj from cyclonic storm 'Sagar'
Cyclonic storm 'Sagar' which is building up near Yemen is less likely to have any significant impact on coastal Gujarat as it is moving towards Gulf of Oman, according to meteorological department. However, not willing to take any chance, the state administration has initiated precautionary measures that include hoisting of Distant Warning (DW) signal number 2 at all major ports along the Gujarat coast. The meteorological department has issued an advisory asking fishermen not to enter deep sea in view of adverse weather conditions. As per the warning-cum-advisory issued this afternoon by Met Centre here, the cyclonic storm is currently centred in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen coast in the Arabian sea and it is likely to "intensify further slightly during the next 12 hours". "Fishermen are advised not to venture into Gulf of Aden and adjoining areas of west-central and south-west Arabian sea. Hoist signal DW-II at all the ports of south and north Gujarat" it stated. As per .
India rice prices drop to five-month low; Vietnam hits multi-year high
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Rice prices in top exporter India fell this week to their lowest in five months as the rupee depreciated, while rates in Vietnam hit a four-year high amid stronger demand and limited supplies.
EU takes Germany, five others to court over air pollution
The European Commission said today it is taking Germany, France, the United Kingdom and three other EU countries to court for failing to comply with the bloc's air quality standards. The Commission, the European Union's executive arm, gave the six, also including Italy, Hungary and Romania, a last chance in January to take the required steps to improve air quality after years of warnings. However, EU Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella told a press conference in Brussels the six, which include Europe's top four economies, had not acted quickly enough. "The commission had to conclude that ... that the additional measures proposed are not sufficient to comply with air quality standards as soon as possible, and therefore are being referred to court," Vella said. "We cannot wait any longer," Vella said, warning that Brussels may end up waiting several more years before the countries put measures in place. Vella had also given Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia a last chance in ...
HP Guv inaugurates farmers training camp
Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Dev Vrat today inaugurated the three-day farmers training camp under the Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) organised by the Agriculture department in Kangra district. The governor said that Badsar and Jiya Panchayats of Palampur would be the first to take the lead in implementing natural farming in the district. He added that it was a historical day when the mission, for which he was diligent from the last two and half years, was now taking a practical shape. Vrat congratulated the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur for implementing the model of natural farming in a real sense and said that it was a "pious mission to save the future generation and protect the fertile land". The past practice of chemical farming and organic farming was not fit in present context. As far as chemical farming is concerned, the products produced are harmful and poisonous and is also costly, he said. The governor said that side effects
UK announces extra measures to support shale gas development
LONDON (Reuters) - The British government announced new measures on Thursday to speed up shale gas planning applications to support development of the industry in Britain.
Rajasthan's tiger population rising, 28 cubs born in two years
The tiger population in Rajasthan has gone up with the birth of 28 cubs in the last two years, including two last month, wildlife officials said today. "Twenty-five tiger cubs were born in Ranthambore (National Park) and three in Sariska (Tiger Reserve) from 2016 to 2018 till date," Rajasthan's Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW), G.V Reddy, told PTI. He described this as an achievement and a morale booster, considering the high mortality rate in tigers due to natural and anthropogenic causes. The current strength of tigers in Rajasthan stands at 85, including 70 in Ranthambore, 14 in Sariska and one in Mukundara Hills National Park. Field Director of Ranthambore National Park, Y.K Sahu, attributed the growth in numbers to the rehabilitation of villagers living in forest area, curbing illegal activities such as poaching and increasing prey base for the big cats. Eight tigers were translocated from Ramthambore to Sariska in 2008 to help boost the numbers of the wild cats. Three tigresses .
Smart Cities Mission - 1,333 projects worth Rs.50,626 crores completed or under implementation / tendering
Mission wise progress of funds released, projects progress and utilisation status, etc. is given below:
Bandhan-Konnagar NGO to expand health outreach programme
Bandhan-Konnagar, an NGO working on different social programmes in the rural economy of the country, is planning to expand its health outreach programme to more villages. In the first phase of the programme with assistance from HDFC Life Insurance's CSR initiative, the NGO had already covered more than 5000 villages on issues such as malnutrition, good hygiene habits and safe drinking water, its founder-mentor Chandra Sekhar Ghosh said here today. "In the second phase, we want to take the programme to 7500 villages of the country. In the first phase, six districts of West Bengal had been covered, besides a few in other states like Jharkhand and Odisha", Ghosh said. He said the project concluded with a total of 11 lakh households and more than 50,000 children under age of five years. "The intervention had resulted in significant reduction in the prevalence of malnutrition in the targeted communities," he claimed.
Falling rupee to impact investor return of solar projects: Ind-Ra
Depreciation of rupee will impact investor return of solar power projects, according to rating agency Ind-Ra. A weakening rupee, if unhedged, will impact investor returns in bid solar projects in the event of a significant exchange rate variation between the time of bidding and finalisation of module supply agreement, it said in a statement. Ind-Ra said the exchange rate deteriorated 5 per cent year-on-year in May 2018, when the bids were hovering around Rs 2.5 per unit. However, it said post module supply agreements, the developer may opt to hedge the exchange rate risk evaluating the costs involved. As per the agency's calculations, an increase of Re one in dollar/rupee exchange rate leads to a 2 paisa/unit increase in tariff. The renewable energy ministry awarded about 10.5GW of capacity to solar power developers (SPDs) in 2017-18, when the rupee hovered around 64-65. The rupee has now depreciated to 67-68. The study is based on the premise that SPDs will pass on the full impact of
Forest guard injured in firing by poachers
A forest guard was injured when unidentified poachers opened fire near Titwala in the district this morning. The incident took place when teams of forest officials were conducting combing operations in a forest near Titwala upon a tip-off that some poachers were moving around in the area, said chief conservator of forests S R Kadam. Poachers opened fire with air guns on one of the teams when it chased them, he said. Forest guard Pankaj Gadre (36) received pellet injuries in the incident. Gadre was treated at a hospital and would soon be discharged, he said. Deputy Conservator of Forests Jitendra Ramgaonkar said a case has been registered with the Titwala police station and a search is on for the culprits. Poachers are known to hunt wild boars and other animals in the area.
Green buildings, energy efficient solutions needed for growing urban areaa: VP
At least half of the country's population will live in towns and cities by 2050 creating a lot of pressure on housing sector and infrastructure, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said here today, while stressing on the need to develop green and energy-efficient solutions to meet these needs. There are huge challenges to be overcome if the country has to sustain rapid economic growth of close to 7 or 7.5 per cent per year on a continuous basis. "At the same time, we must ensure that the development is sustainable by protecting our environment and resources," he said. Naidu was addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone for the World Trade Centre at Nauroji Nagar and redevelopment of Netaji Nagar General Pool Residential Accommodation Colony here. About 31.7 per cent of the country's population lived in urban areas in 2011. It is projected that over 50 per cent of the people in the country will be living in cities and towns by 2050. It is projected that the urban population ..
Banned ozone-destroying chemical emissions rising: Study
Emissions of a banned chemical most responsible for the giant Antarctic ozone hole are on the rise, according to a study which suggests that an international treaty that required an end to its production in 2010 is being violated. Trichlorofluoromethane, or CFC-11, is the second-most abundant ozone-depleting gas in the atmosphere and a member of the family of chemicals most responsible for the giant hole in the ozone layer that forms over Antarctica each September. Once widely used as a foaming agent, production of CFC-11 was phased out by the Montreal Protocol in 2010. The new study, published in the journal Nature, documents an unexpected increase in emissions of this gas, likely from new, unreported production. "We're raising a flag to the global community to say, 'This is what's going on, and it is taking us away from timely recovery from ozone depletion,'" said Stephen Montzka, scientist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). "Further work is needed to .
Maharashtra mulls PPP model to acquire land for low-cost homes
The state government is mulling a public private partnership policy under which it plans to acquire land parcels in the MMR region and develop low-cost homes, giving further impetus to its affordable housing programme. The policy is likely to be presented in the cabinet in a month's time, state housing minister Prakash Mehta told reporters on the sidelines of CII event here today. "There are large land parcels like 100 to 500 acres in the MMR region where the owners want to develop them but don't have finances. Also, even if they develop on their own they may get an FSI of 1 or maximum 2.5 and will have to pay premium on that FSI. Now, under the new policy, we are proposing that we will acquire these land parcels through Mhada and develop affordable homes and compensate the land owners," Mehta said. He said currently discussions on how to compensate these owners, are on. "It could either be by paying the beneficiary the cost of land as per the ready reckoner rates or ...
Centre asks coastal states to adopt sustainable fishing
Expressing concern over exploitation of marine fisheries from the mainland, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today urged coastal states to take steps to ensure sustainable fishing. Scientists are of the view that marine fishery resources are overexploited up to 200 metres depth from the mainland, thereby posing serious threat to the livelihood of traditional fishermen, he said. Addressing fishery ministers from the coastal states here, Singh said the states must ensure "a sustainable and responsible fishing" under the National Policy of Marine Fisheries notified on May 1, 2017. He appealed the state governments to take all necessary steps to ensure sustainable fishing and asked them to fix fleet size, gear size, minimum legal size of fish, minimum net size in their respective territorial waters to ensure proper utilisation of marine fishery resources. The minister also asked states to stop adopting harmful methods in exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as the government has banned use
Ozone-destroying chemical emissions on rise despite ban
Emissions of one of the chemicals that can cause hole in the ozone layer are on the rise, despite an international treaty that required an end to its production in 2010, a new study says.
19 teams formed to clean beaches, riverfronts: Environment Ministry
In the build up to the World Environment Day on June 5, the government has formed 19 teams which will undertake cleaning of 24 beaches and an equal number of polluted riverfronts and lakes across India. India is the global host of this year's World Environment Day Celebrations, the largest UN-led celebration on environment, and the theme for this edition is 'Beat Plastic Pollution'. The Environment Ministry said that cleaning up of around 24 beaches in nine coastal states and riverfronts in 24 identified polluted stretches in 19 states will be undertaken by the teams. A special cleanliness drive will be carried out at Yamuna riverfront in Delhi while certain lakes and water bodies have also been identified for cleaning. The 19 teams will include senior officers of the ministry, state nodal agencies in-charge of eco-clubs of schools, State Pollution Control Boards, district administration, college of fisheries located along the coastal stretches and other educational and research ...
Vedanta's Thootukudi copper smelter to remain shut until June 6 - lawyer
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Vedanta Resources Plc's Thootukudi copper smelter, one of India's biggest, will remain shut until at least June 6, said a lawyer petitioning against the plant reopening.
China says no one can carry out oil, gas activities in Chinese waters without Beijing's permission
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that no country, organisation, company or individual can carry out oil and gas exploration or exploitation in Chinese waters without permission from Beijing.
Odisha to spend Rs 75,000 cr on developing water resources
The Odisha government said on Thursday Rs 75,000 crore will be spent in the next five years for developing the state's water resources.
'Many miles to go before the tiger is safe in India'
Latika Nath was just seven when she decided she would dedicate her life to the conservation of wildlife. Along the way, she became India's first woman wildlife biologist and spent a quarter of a century working at the grassroots level for tiger conservation but laments that though much work has been done, "there are many miles to go before the tiger is safe".
