Page 957 - Environment
Chouhan lays foundation of Rewa Ultra Mega Solar project
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today laid foundation stone of 750 MW Ultra Mega Solar Project at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. "Foundation stone of 750 MW Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Project was laid by Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan in presence of Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy R K Singh at Gurh tehsil, Rewa," Madhya Pradesh New & Renewable Energy Department said in a statement today. Chouhan said in statement that "750 MW Rewa Solar Park is one of the largest solar parks in the world and it is a proud moment for all of us". He highlighted that Rewa Solar Project busted the myth that solar power is expensive with achieving record low tariff of Rs 2.97 through competitive bidding. Singh said that Madhya Pradesh through its commitment can fulfill target of 5,000 MW of renewable capacity in coming few years. Rewa Solar Project is utilising barren and rocky land for productive purposes and being one of the largest in the
Jumbo electrocuted, poachers held
Forest department officials arrested three persons today for allegedly killing a tusker by electrocuting it at Digi village in Buguda forest range in Ganjam district. The decomposed carcass of the tusker was recovered by the forest officials yesterday, said the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Ghumusar South, B K Acharya. An official said livewires were laid on Wednesday for poaching animals such as wild boar and spotted deer. The elephant got entangled in the livewires and died on the spot, the official said.
Odisha Minister sacked for casteist remarks
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday dismissed Agriculture Minister Damodar Rout over his casteist remarks.
Pragati Maidan's IECC to diversify India's trade: Naidu
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) project at Pragati Maidan here will further strengthen and diversify the country's trade and help promote it in different world markets.
33 kg gold worth Rs 11 cr seized from cargo in B'luru airport
In a major catch, Customs officials seized 33 kg of gold valued at about Rs 11 crore at the Kempegowda International Airport here today. The gold was found in a cargo consignment which was supposed to be dispatched from here, Customs officials said. They, however, declined to divulge more information, saying the investigation was underway.
Don't confine yourself only to research for increasing agri
Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh today asked agriculture universities and experts to not just confine themselves only to research for increasing agriculture produce. He said that the scholars and experts should also study the market trends so that farmers can get beneficial price of their agriculture produce. Speaking at the convocation ceremony of the Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology here, Singh said that experts should research and work on agriculture economy in the interest of farmers and the universities should play a role for maintaining a balance between farmer and market. He awarded gold medals to meritorious students in the function which was attended by state Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria and others.
Ban on onion stocking extended till March
The Central government on Friday extended the ban on stocking onions beyond the prescribed limit by three months in order to curb its rising prices.
'Ganga Gram' project for villages to be launched tomorrow
The Union government will formally launch the 'Ganga Gram' project tomorrow as part of its clean Ganga mission, named Namami Gange, for holistic sanitation development in villages on the banks of the Ganges. In August, the Centre declared all 4,470 villages on the banks of the Ganges, located in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, open defecation-free (ODF). Of these villages, the Centre and the state governments have identified 24 villages to be taken up under a pilot project to transform them into 'Ganga Grams'. The project will be launched tomorrow at the Ganga Gram Swachata Sammelan here, according to an official statement. The event will be presided over by Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Uma Bharti. It will be attended by Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari and Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. The villages selected will set the benchmark for cleanliness and integrated efforts of development ...
Bengal seeks Centre's okay to sell more power to Bangladesh
The West Bengal government, which is currently selling 250 megawatts (MW) of power to Bangladesh, has approached the Central government seeking clearance to sell an additional 1,000 MW of power to the neighbouring country, a minister said on Friday.
Suzlon Energy provides business update
To sell SPVs to Skeiron Renewable
Environment ministry launches pilot project for beach clean-up
To enhance standards of cleanliness on beaches, the environment ministry has launched a pilot project for its clean-up and development. Minister of State for Environment and Forests Mahesh Sharma, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, said that under the project, each state or union territory has been asked to nominate a beach which will be funded through the ongoing Integrated Coastal Management Programme. "With the prime objective of enhancing standards of cleanliness, upkeep and basic amenities at beaches, the ministry has launched a pilot project for beach clean-up and development, also striving for the 'Blue Flag' certification for such identified beaches," Sharma said. The 'Blue Flag' is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, Marina or sustainable boating tourism operator, meets its stringent standards. "All the coastal states have nominated the pilot beaches in their receptive territories including Goa. "Formal nominations
MP CM lays foundation for 'world's largest' solar power plant
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today laid the foundation stone for the "world's largest" ultra mega solar power plant at Gurh tehsil in the district. The green energy generated at this station will be provided to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to run its trains in the national capital. "It is a matter of happiness that the foundation stone for the world's largest solar plant is laid at Gurh. It will generate maximum green power without any pollution. Earlier, electricity was generated using thermal and hydro sources and it (thermal) causes lot of damage to the environment," Chouhan said while addressing a function on the occasion. According to an official, the solar plant will generate 750 MW electricity and is being established with at an investment of Rs 4,500 crore. It will spread in an area of nearly 1,600 hectares land. "The green energy to be produced at this plant will be supplied to Delhi Metro trains for its operations. An agreement ...
Home Min wants DoT to install 4000 towers in naxal-hit area
The Home Affairs Ministry has asked the Department of Telecom to install 4,072 additional mobile towers in naxal-hit areas on priority basis, official sources said. "Home Ministry has asked DoT provisioning of 4,072 mobile towers in LWE (Left Wing Extremist) affected areas on priority basis," a telecom ministry official told PTI. The DoT has already installed around 2,200 mobile towers in nine naxal-hit states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh through BSNL under the first phase. BSNL received bids from only two domestic telecom gear makers- Vihaan Networks Limited and Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited for the project. Both the vendors jointly installed 2,199 solar powered mobile towers in the naxal affected areas four months before the deadline of December 2016. The proposal to install additional mobile towers was placed before the Telecom Commission, the highest decision making
64 per cent of forest area is fire prone: Govt
Over 64 per cent of the Recorded Forest Area (RFA) in the country is fire prone, the Lok Sabha was today informed. Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma in a written reply said that the number of forest fire alerts reported by Forest Survey of India, Dehradun this year across the country stood at 35,888. "According to the India State of Forest Report 2015, published by FSI, the estimated fire prone area under heavy, moderate and mild fire are 2.40 per cent, 7.49 per cent and 54.40 per cent respectively, making the total forest fire prone area as 64.29 per cent of RFA," he said. In the report, it is stated that tropical thorn forests, tropical dry deciduous forests and sub tropical broadleaved hill forests are more prone to forest fires, he said. He said the ministry issues advisories to states and UTs for taking effective steps for prevention and management of forest fires. "The ministry has prepared Crisis Management Plan (CMP) to deal with forest fire ...
Delhi breathing better, not good, as air quality improves
Air quality in Delhi improved today with PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels dropping in parts of the national capital, a day after the pollution had soared to the 'emergency' level. The city's average Air Quality Index (AQI) was 336 on a scale of 500, classified as 'very poor', marking a significant improvement from yesterday's 'severe +' category. According to the Central Control Room for Air Quality Management of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the NO2 levels measured at stations at R K Puram, Anand Vihar, Dilshad Garden and Dwarka were 38.67 ug/m3, 67.83 ug/m3, 35.85 ug/m3 and 24.3 ug/m3 respectively in the evening. A CPCB-led taskforce yesterday recommended the closure of all coal-based industries operating in Delhi-NCR for a fortnight from January 15 to contain air pollution during the upcoming ASEAN summit here. The taskforce, formed under the Centre-notified Graded Response Action Plan, made the recommendation to the Environment Pollution - ...
GVK Power & Infrastructure update on subsidiary - GVK Power
GVK Power set to sign fuel supply agreement with Coal India
Green court dismisses petition against Kochi LPG terminal
The Chennai bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday dismissed the application of the LPG Virudha Samara Samithi against Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) Puthuvypeen, Kochi LPG Import Terminal, said the IOC.
Maha plans to generate 25-K MW through solar energy: Bawankule
Maharashtra Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule informed the state Legislative Council today that the government has set the target of producing 25,000 MW electricity using solar power. The minister gave this information during the Question Hour while replying to a question by MLCs Anandrao Patil, Hemant Takle, Bhai Jagtap and others. "Maharashtra is number one state in producing power through renewable energy, with 7,500 MW generation capacity. The government wants to take to this capacity to 10,000 MW...We have started new power generation units, in which we are focusing more on renewable energy. We plan to generate around 25,000 MW through solar energy," he said. The government will particularly focus on electricity generation from renewable sources between 2021 and 2030, Bawankule said adding, "We are planning to provide power to every farmer through solar energy and have already issued work orders for 800 MW solar power projects." Similarly, work orders for ...
Panda footprints can reveal their identities, sex
Footprints left by giant pandas in the wild can help conservationists identify the individual panda that made them and determine its sex, says a new study.
Ensure no animal blood flows into Yamuna: NGT to Delhi govt
The National Green Tribunal has directed the Delhi government and other authorities concerned to ensure that no blood is allowed to flow directly into river Yamuna due to slaughtering of animals. A bench headed by Acting NGT Chairperson Justice U D Salvi said it is undisputed that animal blood going into the river is an act of violation of the provisions of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and it must be stopped. "We, therefore, direct the interim order dated September 24, 2015 as absolute. All the respondents shall ensure that no blood of slaughtered animals shall be allowed to flow directly into the Yamuna," the bench said. The directions came during the hearing a plea of the religious grouping, Ojasvi party, which had approached the green panel against the pollution caused in the Yamuna due to slaughtering of the cattle.
