Page 743 - Environment
Tiger census to begin in Goa from May 1: Forest official
The Goa leg of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018 would begin across the state from tomorrow, said Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Anil Kumar, adding that camera traps would be extensively used. The tiger estimation exercise, carried out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Wildlife Institute of India and respective state forest departments, is the world"s largest wildlife survey effort in terms of coverage, intensity of sampling and quantum of camera trapping, said officials. The national status assessment exercise provides details such as the size of tiger population, extent, covariates of prey, co-predators, habitat and human impact, officials informed. Speaking about the Goa leg, Kumar said that the survey would conclude on June 1 this year. He said that the census would be conducted in three phases across 67 transit points spread over all five protected areas of Goa. "The first phase, lasting for three days, will survey carnivores while the next ...
Village electrification definition has lost relevance: Centre
A day after the Centre announced that all villages in India have been connected with power, the government on Monday said the definition of village electrification - of connecting at least 10 per cent households in it - had lost relevance in view of the actual levels of electrification achieved.
NABARD extended over 15K cr financial support to Haryana in FY18
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) extended financial support of Rs 15,787 crore for agriculture and rural development in Haryana during 2017-18. The support was extended for providing financial assistance to farmers, rural artisans, creation of rural infrastructure and procurement of food grains in the state. Refinance support of Rs 7,975 crore was provided to the banks in the state to meet short-term and long-term credit needs of farmers for carrying out crop production and capital formation in agriculture and rural economy, said an official release. In addition, NABARD disbursed Rs 508.27 crore to the state government to develop rural infrastructure such as roads, bridges, drinking water schemes and irrigation schemes. To enable the state government agencies in the procurement of food grains, NABARD sanctioned Rs 3,900 crore to HAFED and HSWC in the kharif and rabi marketing seasons of 2017-18. NABARD also sanctioned a term loan of Rs 55 crore for ...
Cong, DMK & Left parties hold demo against Kiran Bedi
Ruling Congress, its ally DMK and Left parties today staged a demonstration near Raj Nivas here, condemning Lt Governor Kiran Bedi's recent bid to 'dislocate' the free rice scheme in rural areas. Party leaders who spoke at the demonstration condemned Bedi's recent announcement that implementation of the scheme in rural areas was subject to the maintenance of hamlets and keeping them 'open defecation free and garbage free.' DMK said the Lt Governor has no locus standi to fix conditions for its operation and that the demonstration today was aimed at urging Bedi "to keep herself within limits." Bedi had on April 28 directed authorities to make clean villages, a precondition for distribution of free rice, but withdrew it within hours after protests by Opposition parties. She had cited poor sanitation conditions in rural Puducherry during her visits and to make a turnaround,directed linking rice distribution to good sanitation in villages. She also set a May 31 deadline for ...
Analysis: Brazil ethanol sales to Japan to sputter as Tokyo woos Trump
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil ethanol producers stand to lose a big chunk of their largest market, Japan, to U.S. agribusiness, after Tokyo bent to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump and tweaked requirements for gasoline additives.
Wheat purchase in Haryana reaches 78.91 lakh MT
Wheat procurement in Haryana reached 78.91 lakh tonnes, surpassing 74.25 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period last year. While stating this here today, a spokesman of Haryana Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department said, while state agencies have procured over 78.91 lakh tonnes, traders have procured 441 tonnes. Giving details of the wheat procured by government agencies, he said 32.04 lakh tonnes has been procured by Haryana State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (HAFED) and whereas Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department purchased 23.37 lakh tonnes. Food Corporation of India purchased 9.55 lakh tonnes and Haryana Warehousing Corporation purchased 13.94 lakh tonnes of wheat.
Offshore wind power firms see Taiwan as a battleground to expand in Asia
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Taiwan is becoming the next battleground for the world's top offshore wind developers as they seek a foothold in Asia for a technology that has been expanding fast in Europe.
10 jumbos from Karnataka to help conservation at UP's Dudhwa
With a new rhino area to monitor and rising man-animal conflict to control, Uttar Pradesh's Dudhwa National Park will get ten elephants from Karnataka to deal with the situation, officials told IANS on Monday.
Tigress found dead in Corbett
A tigress has been found dead in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), officials said today. The tigress, aged about six years, was found dead by a patrol party near the Karaungiya water body in the Sarpduli range of the tiger reserve yesterday, its director Surendra Mehra said. Deep wounds were found on the animal during the post-mortem, which suggested that it was killed in a fight with another big cat or wild animal, he said, adding that most of the limbs of the tigress were found intact.
Govt launches pilot scheme to buy 2.5 GW from power plants not having PPAs
State-run Power Fiance Corporation (PFC) today said the government has launched a pilot scheme to procure 2,500 MW electricity for 3 years under medium term arrangement from commissioned power plants without power purchase agreements. The bids under the scheme will be invited in the first week of May. The main purpose of the scheme is to revive commissioned power plants which are unable to sell electricity in the absence of valid power purchase agreements. These plants can bid for power supply under the scheme. "The government kicks off a Pilot Scheme for Procurement of Aggregate Power of 2,500 MW on competitive basis for 3 (three) years under medium term i.e. from generators with commissioned projects but without Power Purchase Agreement," PFC said in a statement. Power Ministry had recently issued the model bid documents, PAPP (Pilot Agreement for Procurement of Power) and PPSA (Pilot Power Supply Agreement) on April 6, 2018. The guidelines for the said scheme was issued on April ...
You can't go on making fool of the people: SC to Haryana
You cannot go on "making fool" of the people and blame them for everything just because you are in power. This was how the Supreme Court rapped the Haryana government for auctioning 558.53 hectares of land for mining purposes, though the available area was only 141.76 hectares. A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta expressed displeasure over a public notice issued by the state was for auctioning of 558.53 hectares when only 141.76 hectares of land was available. Observing that the petitioner firm was entitled to a refund of the deposited amount, the top court directed the state to refund the money the firm along with 9 per cent interest per annum from the date of deposit till the date of payment, keeping in view the "vast discrepancy" of area mentioned in the advertisement and area of land made available. The apex court noted in its order that the firm had refused to take possession of the area sought to be auctioned by the state in Karnal district. When the ...
Odisha collects Rs 6,625 cr under GST in 2017-18
The Odisha government has collected Rs 6,625.91 crore under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) in 2017-18, Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera told the state Assembly on Monday.
'Gobardhan' scheme launched from Haryana
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said that the state government is making arrangements for generating bio-gas from cattle dung and would also assist those gram panchayats seeking to set up a gas plant in their villages.
CPWD backs DTTDC's revised cost for Signature Bridge construction
The construction of the much-awaited Signature Bridge on the Yamuna will pick up pace as the CPWD has endorsed an additional estimate of around Rs 231 crore of the DTTDC to complete the project, an official has said. The PWD had sought the Central Public Works Department's "expert opinion" after the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) had submitted a revised estimate of Rs 1,575 crore. Of the revised estimate, the Delhi government has released Rs 1,344 crore for the project that has witnessed cost escalation several times since its construction started. The official, who is privy to information related to the project, said out of the Rs 231 crore, the Delhi government's Public Works Department (PWD) has already given Rs 36 crore to the DTTDC, but it had not released the amount to the contractor in view of the PWD seeking the CPWD's "expert opinion". Last week, the Delhi High Court pulled up the PWD and the DTTDC for "quibbling over" the amount to be paid ..
Many cosmetics in Indian market contain microplastics or microbeads: Study
Many cosmetics available in the Indian market contain microplastics or microbeads, a new study by an environment research and policy advocacy body has found. Microbeads are non-biodegradable, tiny plastic particles, that pose a serious threat to the environment, especially marine animals. Referring to the study, Toxics Link said next time when people clean their face with a scrub or facewash, they should think twice, as they might be contributing to the dwindling fish population. The new study, "Eco Personal Care Product, Microplastics in Cosmetics", was carried out to investigate the presence of microbeads in personal care and cosmetic products (PCCP) available and sold in India. Different categories of rinse-off and live-on cosmetic products of varied leading brands were tested for microplastics in the study which found that 28 per cent of all the tested products contained microplastics. "50 per cent of the facewash products and 67 per cent of the facial scrubs are found to contain .
Wheat procurement in Haryana crosses 79 lakh tonnes
Government procurement agencies have procured over 79 lakh tonnes of wheat from farmers in Haryana, an official spokesman said on Monday.
Chouhan appeals people to conserve rivers, ponds
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday appealed people to conserve rivers and ponds.He was speaking after inaugurating Water Parliament on the banks of Kolans River."Today, Earth is in danger. The environment is worsening and rivers are drying. The water level is continuously going down. Rivers are the foundation of human life as civilizations developed on the banks of rivers," Chouhan said.He said that this danger looms over our heads because we mindlessly exploited the environment and cut trees."We cut off the stomach of Earth to bore tube wells and as a result water has gone down thousands of feet," Chouhan said.He exhorted the society, social organisations, non-governmental organistaions, and even media persons to conserve rivers and ponds.He also talked about Narmada Seva Yatra and said, "Those who are questioning tree plantations have never planted a single tree. I am telling them 'go and see how many plants are alive on the banks of Narmada ...
74 tigers have died in MP, says ex-officer
At least 74 tigers have died in Madhya Pradesh in the last two and a half years, a retired forest officer said, expressing concern over the decreasing number of the big cat.
Railway firm to hold 'chai pe charcha' with bullet train PAPS
The National High Speed Rail Corporation, which is building a bullet train corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, will hold what the company called "chai pe charcha" with project-affected persons to solve issues. The "chai pe charcha", literally conversations over tea, was a concept started by the BJP as a campaign tool in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. NHSRCL officials said that they plan to start these round of talks with PAPs in May. "We want cordial relations with and support from the people who will be affected by this gigantic project. Therefore, our officials will hold meeting with PAPs at public places and, over tea, discuss facts about the project," said Dhananjay Kumar, spokesperson of the NHSRCL. He said that these talks were meant to sensitise the people about the project, and in turn, make land acquisition for the project easier for the firm and acceptable to the PAPs. Kumar admitted that officials had failed to properly communicate with ...
India must revamp energy taxation, show world it seeks to cut emission: Montek
Advocating a complete revamp of the country's energy taxation system, economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said the world should not get the impression India was emerging as the second largest emitter of pollutants but was doing little to tackle emission levels. At a conference here on India's energy and climate policy hosted by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), the former deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission (now Niti Ayog) said revamped energy taxation could discourage the use of coal. Referring to India's position on future climate change negotiations, Ahluwalia said New Delhi should have a clear strategy that envisaged more action on its part if other countries committed to do more. "We need to go into forthcoming negotiations with a clear strategy which says that we know this is not enough, we are going to do more. We are willing to do even more if you are willing to do more," he said at the dialogue initiated by the policy research institute. "I ...
