Page 930 - Environment
Welspun Enterprises update on restructuring of Dewas Industrial Water Supply Project
MPSIDC and Dewas Waterprojects Works (subsidiary) enter into concession agreement
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways signs MoU with Transport for London to revamp public transport system in the country
The Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari said that the country needs a good transport policy that promotes convenient and comfortable public transport system. He said an effective public transport system would be one that ran on electricity or other less polluting, indigenously produced fuels like methanol, ethanol and bio-diesel. Such a system would not only reduce pollution, but would also be cost effective, he said.
Now, Parrikar says Mahadayi issue to be fought before tribunal
Making a U-turn on Mahadayi river water sharing issue, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today said that ongoing dispute with Karnataka will be fought before the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal. Parrikar, who has been facing flak over his letter on the dispute to Karnataka BJP president B S Yeddyurappa last December, today blamed the media for "making an issue out of a non-issue". In his missive sent to Yeddyurappa, Parrikar had said Goa could share the river water with Karnataka for drinking purposes and expressed his willingness for bilateral talks. The letter created a controversy as it was addressed to the BJP leader instead to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who represents the state government. The letter, which was viewed as a political gambit by Parrikar ahead of assembly polls in the Congress-ruled southern state, had evoked a sharp reaction from Siddaramaiah and various opposition parties. Mahadayi river riparian states Karnataka and Goa, besides ...
K'tka yet to release 81 tmcft of Cauvery to TN, says CM
Tamil Nadu government today said Karnataka has so far released 111 tmcft of Cauvery water of stipulated 192 tmcft annually (April-May) and steps were being taken to get the remaining quantum. Chief Minister K Palaniswami, referring to the 2007 tribunal award on the Cauvery water sharing dispute, said Karnataka has to annually release 192 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water to Tamil Nadu. "Till date (this year), (Karnataka) has given only 111 tmcft. The rest 81 tmcft has to be provided before May 2018," he said in the Assembly, while responding to DMK member Durai Chandrasekar, who raised the issue of irrigating crops in some parts of Cauvery delta districts of the state. To ensure that Tamil Nadu realised the rest of its share of water from Cauvery, the state was insisting Karnataka on the same, directly, as well as through the Centre, Palaniswami said. "Steps are being taken to ensure relief from the Supreme Court also," the Chief Minister added. He also ...
8,935 enquiries pending with DVOs of different depts in J&K:
The Jammu and Kashmir State Vigilance Commission (SVC) said 8,935 enquiries are pending with vigilance officers of different government departments for nine years. According to the fourth annual report of J&K State Vigilance Commission tabled in the Legislative Council by PWD Minister Naeem Akhter on behalf of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, the highest number of 2,163 cases are pending for disposal with the department Vigilance Officers (DVOs) of revenue and relief department. It is followed by 117 such enquiries with education department, 823 with rural development, 517 with police, 431 with social welfare, 394 with health, 392 with public health engineering, 733 with forest, 310 with municipality and 209 with private persons, among others. The report said statements of complaints and, enquiries and complaints referred to various departments from time to time by the State Vigilance Organisation presented at dismal picture as hardly any complaint was found disposed .
Registration of livestock/poultry breeds rises to 169: Govt
The registration of indigenous livestock and poultry breeds has increased to 169 so far, but more work needs to be done as 54 per cent of the country's livestock population remains unidentified even today, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said. Out of the 169 registered breeds, 41 are of cattle, 13 of buffalo, 42 of sheep, 28 of goat, 7 each of pig and horse, 9 of camel, one breed each of yak and donkey, among livestock. At the beginning of the registration process, 129 breeds were registered. In case of poultry, 18 breeds of chicken and one each of duck and geese have been registered. For the first time, breeds of yak, duck, and geese have also been registered, he said in a statement. "But even today, 54 per cent of the country's livestock population is yet to be identified in the form of breeds," Singh said after giving away the animal breed registration certificates. He said five out of nine newly-registered breeds are from North-Eastern states. "Still, there is
Parrikar blames media for blowing up Mhadei, beef controversy
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday squarely blamed the media for unnecessarily raking up the Mhadei water dispute and beef shortage controversies.
China, Asia leaders discuss Mekong dam projects
Leaders of nations along Southeast Asia's Mekong River gather today in the Cambodian capital amid a push by China to build more dams that are altering the water flow and have raised environmental concerns. The meeting is chaired by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen and China's Premier Li Keqiang, who are joined by leaders from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. The stated goal of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation forum, which was created by China in 2015, is to promote sustainable development and boost the quality of life for the millions of people living in the Mekong sub-region. Known as the Lancang in China, the Mekong River is vital to Southeast Asia, where more than 60 million people rely on it and its tributaries for food, water and transport. The world's 12th-longest river, the Mekong runs nearly 5,000 kilometers from the Tibetan Plateau and down into mainland Southeast Asia before emptying into the South China Sea in Vietnam. The river's basin is home to up to ...
J&K has hydro power potential of 16,475 MW: J-K govt
Jammu and Kashmir has a potential to produce 16,475 MW of hydro power as per the assessment made by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh told Legislative Council here today. In a written reply to the question of BJP MLC Vikram Randhawa in the Council, Singh said out of total, 11,283 MW of hydro power can be produced on river Chenab, followed by 3,084 MW on river Jehlum and 1,608 MW on Indus river. A total of 3,263.46 MW has been harnessed on three western rivers from Jehlum, Chenab and Indus through state, central and public private partnership mode of execution, he said. While four projects -- 9 MW Dah project, 9 MW Hanu project, 37.5 MW Parnai project and 48 MW Lower Kalnai project -- are under execution, Chenab Valley Power Project has been entrusted to implement three hydro power projects in Kishtwar including 1,000 MW Pakal Dul, 624 MW Kiru and 540 MW Kwar, he said.
West Bengal: Naxal affected area starts solar drinking water project
In a move that defines development, the Salboni Panchayat Samity started a string of unique projects such as solar drinking project and solar sprinkler agriculture water project in Naxal affected area of Salboni district.About eight drinking water projects have been established in eight villages, while two solar sprinkler projects have been installed in the area's two ponds to supply water in agricultural land.Locals, as well as farmers, are "very happy" as most of the areas of Salboni are drought prone.The villagers are also rejoicing as they will get water without any electricity, where no one has to spend a penny for the water pump.The panchayat now wants this kind of solar water project in every village of Salboni block area.Panchayat Samiti Sabhapati Nepal Sing said that they are willing to establish this kind of project in every village.A local resident named Mithun Mahato talked about the projects and said, "It is very helpful, even after load shedding we are getting drinking ..
Cabinet approves closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products
The Cabinet today approved the implementation of an earlier CCEA decision on closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products Ltd (TSPL) regarding disposal of its immovable assets, an official statement said. The development also provides for getting the name of TSPL removed from the Registrar of Companies after setting balance liabilities of the company. The CCEA had in December, 2015 approved the closure of the company after discharging all dues to employees and creditors. TSPL was established in 1960 with equal equity participation of governments of Mysore and Andhra Pradesh. The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also cleared a proposal to transfer metallurgical and material handling plants to Karnataka along with 20,000 square meter land. "It also approved selling 82.37 acres of land of the company at Hospet to Karnataka Government for use of the Karnataka State Housing Board. The land is being sold to Karnataka Government at the rate of Rs 66 lakh per acre ...
NPCC to undertake infra projects relating to road, environment
The National Project Construction Corporation Ltd, a PSU of the water resources ministry, will now undertake basic infrastructure projects relating to road, buildings and environment, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has said. Set up in 1957, the NPCC has to its credit construction of the Wazirabad barrage across river Yamuna in one working season in Delhi, Asia's longest Sir Arthur Cotton barrage on Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh, Singda earth dam and Khuga Dam in Manipur, Maharani barrage in Tripura and others. Minister of State for Water Resources Meghwal, addressing a function to mark the 61st Annual Day celebrations of the NPCC here yesterday, said the corporation has begun working as the nodal agency in Jharkhand for the 'Clean Ganga' mission, according to an official statement. He expressed hope that the NPCC will serve the country well by implementing projects of the ministry and projects of border areas with high quality standards in a cost effective manner, .
Leopard mauls 3 kids to death in MP, eats one of them
A leopard mauled to death three children in different villages of Chhindwara district and ate one of them, an official said today. Panic gripped the villages, all located in the fringe area of the district's forest range, following the incidents in the last three days. "A leopard mauled to death a 12-year-old boy in Jhirpani village last night and ate half of the body," said divisional forest officer S S Udde. The feline also attacked a three-year-old girl on Sunday when she was out with her mother and sister to collect firewood in Mohlimata village. The same day, the leopard attacked a 10-year-old boy in Bijauli Pathar village when he was playing at his home and dragged him for about 100 metres. "Both the children died after suffering critical injuries," Udde said. "The forest department would provide compensation to the families of the deceased children," he said. A search operation has been launched to trace the leopard in which personnel from the adjoining forest ...
Cabinet approves implementation of CCEA decision on closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products Limited
It may be recalled that CCEA had approved the closure of the company in December, 2015 after discharging all dues to employees/workers and creditors. Cabinet approved transfer of MMH Plants to Government of Karnataka along with 20,000 square meter land. Cabinet also approved selling 82.37 acres of land of the Company at Hospet to Karnataka Government for use of the Karnataka State Housing Board. The land is being sold to Karnataka Government at the rate of Rs. 66 lakh per acre offered by them.
China lodges protest against Australian 'white elephant'
China lodged a formal diplomatic protest today after a senior Australian minister called Chinese infrastructure projects in the Pacific "white elephants", the latest spat in increasingly contentious relations. Friction between the two countries grew last month after Australia singled out China as a focus of concern when it proposed laws on foreign interference, drawing a furious response from Beijing. China has been forging closer links with Pacific island nations, with Australia's Lowy Institute estimating it provided US$1.78 billion in aid, including concessional loans, for projects in the region between 2006-16. Australian International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells said Beijing's influence in the region was "clearly growing", but criticised its development assistance as resulting in "white elephants". "You've got the Pacific full of these useless buildings which nobody maintains, which are basically white elephants," she told The Australian ...
Cabinet backs CCEA's decision on closure of Tungabhadra Steel
The Union Cabinet, chaired on Wednesday, approved the implementation of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs' (CCEA) decision on the closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products Limited (TSPL) regarding disposal of its immovable assets.Headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it also provided for getting the name of the company struck off from the Registrar of Companies after setting balance liabilities of TSPL.The CCEA had approved the closure of the company in December 2015 after discharging all dues to employees/workers and creditors. The Cabinet then approved the transfer of metallurgical and material handling (MMH) plants to the Government of Karnataka, along with 20,000 square meter land.The Cabinet also approved the sale of 82.37 acres of land of the company at Hospet to the Karnataka Government for utilisation by the Karnataka State Housing Board. The land is being sold to the state government at the rate of Rs. 66 lakh per acre offered by them.
Beijing sees sharp dip in PM2.5 pollutants
Beijing saw major air pollutants plummet in the the last quarter of 2017 following a string of measures to improve air quality, the Chinese Environment Ministry said on Wednesday.
Gujarat to conduct census to ascertain presence of tigers
Gujarat, which houses a rich population of lions, will now see an exercise to find out if tigers also inhabit the state. The last time a tiger was spotted in Gujarat was way back in 1985. Now, over three decades later, a census has been planned next month to ascertain the presence of the striped animal in the forest of Dang district. The state forest department earlier sent a proposal to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for the census after some media reports suggested the presence of tigers in Dang, which is full of green forests. The proposal was approved by the NTCA, a statutory body under the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, Gujarat's principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), G K Sinha, said. Till the early 80s, there were tigers in Gujarat, mainly inhabiting the forests of Dang, Narmada and Sabarkantha districts, he said. "The last tiger died in a road accident in Dang in 1985. No tiger was seen in the state after that. Locals ...
Australia records third hottest year in 2017
Australia registered its third warmest year on record in 2017, with an average temperature of 0.95 degrees Celsius above the 1967-to-1990 average, the Met announced on Wednesday.
Tesla says solar roof production has started in Buffalo
(Reuters) - Tesla Inc said on Tuesday it began manufacturing its premium solar roof tiles at the company's Buffalo, New York factory last month and has started surveying the homes of customers who made a deposit of $1,000 to reserve the product last year.
