Page 963 - Environment
India, Bangladesh will find a solution to Teesta issue: Quader
Bangladesh Transport Minister Obaidul Quader today expressed hope that New Delhi and Dhaka would find a solution to the Teesta water-sharing issue. The emotive issue features prominently whenever the bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh are discussed. "The signing of the Land Boundary Agreement was a historic step. We hope that through discussions, we (both the countries) will also work out the Teesta treaty. Everything can be solved through discussions," Quader told reporters here. The Teesta river originates in Sikkim, flows through the northern parts of West Bengal, before entering Bangladesh and joining the Brahmaputra river. India and Bangladesh were set to ink a deal on Teesta water sharing during the then prime minister Manmohan Singh's Dhaka visit in 2011, but West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had declined to endorse it, citing scarcity of water in her state.
NITI Aayog asked to study food grains procurement trends
The NITI Aayog has been asked to study the trends in procurement of food grains and assess impact of Decentralized Procurement Scheme (DCP) system, Parliament was told on Tuesday.
China lifts 16-year ban on Italian beef
Rome, Dec 19 (IANS/AKI) China has removed a 16-year-long ban on Italian beef, the country's Agriculture Ministry and quality control agency announced on Tuesday.
Not an inch of land forcefully acquired for Samruddhi E-way:
Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde today informed the Legislative Council that not even an inch of land for the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway was acquired forcefully. Shinde, the Public Works Department minister, was replying to a query during the question hour by Congress MLC Husnabanu Khalife. Khalife alleged that the farmers were being threatened and forcefully made to handover their land for the project. "The measurement of 380 out of 392 villages has been completed. Meanwhile, discussions are underway in 12 villages where protests from farmers are being witnessed. Besides, no measurement of land is conducted in the villages witnessing protests and not single inch of land is acquired forcefully," said Shinde. Similarly, Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt alleged that the concerned project does not have sufficient funds and no banks are coming forward to lend loans for this project. Shinde said there is no shortage of funds for the project. "MHADA has given 1000 ..
Examine safety of two Kudankulam n-plants, shift out new units: Stalin
Citing the frequent shutdowns of the two nuclear power units at Tamil Nadu's Kudankulam, DMK leader M.K. Stalin has urged the Central government to examine their safety and also shift the upcoming units from the state.
Do comprehensive review of transmission:Par panel to Power Min
A parliamentary panel on public sector undertakings has asked the power ministry to undertake a comprehensive review of the planning process of the electricity transmission system in view of the prevailing anomalies in the sector. The Committee on Public Sector Undertakings, in a report tabled in Parliament today, said the total transfer capability (TTC) was less than half of the physical capacity of (power transmission) lines. "Total TTC in March 2016 works out to 21,870 MW as against the total physical (power transmission) capacity of 54,750 MW," the panel said in its report "Planning and Implementation of Transmission Projects by State-run Power Grid Corp". The committee has asked the power ministry to undertake a comprehensive review of the transmission system planning process keeping in view of the prevailing anomalies in the power sector, constraints being faced by CPSUs and prospective electricity requirement of the country. It said that such an exercise will ...
Jan-2019 deadline for reducing power losses to 15 pc: Singh
Union Power Minister R K Singh said today that the government had set a deadline of January 2019 for bringing down power losses due to theft and unmetered supply to 15 per cent of the total generation in the country. Replying to questions in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said the deadline was fixed at a meeting of power ministers of all states as some states had more losses than others. He cited the example of Uttar Pradesh which has suffered a lost of 21 per cent. He said the main reason for power losses were theft and unmetered supply of power. "We have kept a target for bringing down power losses in the country. At a meeting of state power ministers held recently, we have set a target of January 2019 by when such losses would be brought down to less than 15 per cent. "After that we will bring a regulation under which power losses of over 15 per cent will not be accepted in the power tariff. All state power ministers agree to this and we have set this deadline," he told
Taj city intersections to get country's first public gas heaters
In a first-of-its-kind move in the country, new Mayor of Agra Navin Jain has launched an initiative to provide gas heaters to the public at 10 major city intersections this winter.
Salt particles from Afghanistan spiking pollution in Delhi:
Air-borne particles from the salt mines of Afghanistan are pushing up the levels of air pollutants in Delhi, a team of scientists has found. Initially, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) team had thought that the wind might be carrying sea salt from either the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea. Subsequently, the source of the pollutants was traced to Afghanistan. A study by the CPCB scientists, including its air laboratory chief Dipankar Saha, has found that about 11 per cent of PM2.5 in Delhi are salt particles. However, since the study was undertaken during the winter months, the scientists ruled out the possibility of the particles being carried from the sea as the wind direction was generally from the north or north-west during this period. "We undertook a study, using the trajectory models of the US government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That is when we found that the salt particles were coming from those areas of Afghanistan, which have
Tendulkar visits his adopted village Donja in Marathwada
Cricket icon and Rajya Sabha member Sachin Tendulkar today visited Donja village in Osmanabad district of Marathwada, Maharashtra. Tendulkar has adopted the village under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY). He has committed Rs four crore from his MP Local Area Development scheme funds for the infrastructure development in the village, a release issued by his spokesperson said. "I am overwhelmed by your enthusiasm and spirit and hope that all of us can work together towards development of the village. The initial challenges in implementing the development work have been successfully overcome and I am sure that the execution of the work will pick up speed. "We want to showcase the development in Donja as a case study for other villages across the country," it quoted Tendulkar as saying. Donja is the second village adopted by Tendulkar under the SAGY after Puttumraju Kandriga in Andhra Pradesh. Under the SAGY, a water tank will be constructed and pipelines will be laid for
BSES gears up to meet Delhi's power demand this winter
Peak power demand in Delhi this winter is expected to go up to 4,300 MW and the two BSES discoms in the national capital are ready to ensure the adequate electricity in this period, the company said today. "BSES discoms are fully geared to ensure adequate power availability during the winter months," a BSES spokesperson said. The discoms have entered into long-term arrangements for power availability. "In case of any unforeseeable contingency, BSES discoms will buy short-term power from the exchange which is available at economical rates," he said. Last year, the power demand had peaked up to around 4,168 MW in the city. The peak power demand in BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL) areas had reached 1,758 MW and 982 MW respectively during last winters. BRPL and BYPL are power distribution companies and joint ventures between the Reliance Infrastructure Limited and Delhi government.
Methanol economy to cut oil import bill by 20%: V.K. Saraswat
Recommending a big push for "methanol economy", NITI Aayog Member V.K. Saraswat on Tuesday said it would not only curb the rising pollution level due to combustion of petrol and diesel, but would also cut India's oil import bill by at least 20 per cent over the next three years.
Expedite development work, Sachin tells Maharashtra government
Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar paid a visit to the tiny Donja village in Osmanabad district in Maharashtra on Tuesday to review and inspect the developmental works taken up there.
Oppn protests govt reply on compensation for bollworm attack
The opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council today staged a walk-out, terming the BJP-led state government's reply on farmers' issues, including compensation for losses due to bollworm attack on cotton crop, as unsatisfactory. Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde (NCP), Neelam Gorhe, Jayant Patil, Amar Singh, Jogendra Kawade and others cornered the government on the issues of farmer suicides, loan waiver, irrigation, minimum support prices and losses suffered by cotton growers due to bollworm attack. Munde demanded that the government announce a compensation of Rs 25,000 per hectareto cotton growers affected by the bollworm attack. He also demanded that the government publish a list of farmers who have got the benefit of farm loan waiver, and the details of money deposited in their accounts. Minister of State for Agriculture Sadabhau Khot said that orders have been issued to district collectors to conduct panch-nama (inspection) of the losses due to the pest ...
PM visits cyclone-hit TN, Kerala, Lakshadweep (Roundup)
Tamil Nadu and Kerala on Tuesday sought over Rs 17,500 crore for relief and rehabilitation work as Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a hurricane day-long visit to their coastal areas and Lakshadweep promising all help when he met the kin of fishermen who went missing after cyclone Ockhi hit the southern coast.
Will ask Delhi govt to make methanol using solid waste: Niti
Niti Aayog today said it will soon approach the Delhi Government to use municipal solid waste at landfill sites to produce methanol, a clean and commercially viable alternative fuel. The government think tank also proposed using mobile methanol generation plants for producing the gas from stubble. The issues related to landfill sites in Delhi and stubble burning also figured in the Rajya Sabha today. Stubble burning by farmers in Punjab and Haryana recently became a serious issue as it added to air pollution in northern part of the country, including the national capital region (NCR). "We have got landfills in all cities. Using technology of gasification, we can make methanol. We will soon approach Delhi government (in this regard)," Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat told reporters here. Referring to incidents of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, he said mobile methanol generation plant systems can be used to covert crop residue into methanol. "We want to do this as ...
Clean Ganga: CAG flags deficiencies in financial management
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged several "deficiencies" in financial management, planning and implementation of the central government's flagship Namami Gange Programme during the past three years. The performance audit by the apex auditor has revealed "underutilisation" of funds and "delays" in project approvals and in achieving targets under the programme between 2014-15 and 2016-17. The report was tabled in Parliament today. "...Funds amounting to Rs 2,133.68 crore, Rs 422.13 crore and Rs 59.28 were lying unutilised with the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)," the report said. The Clean Ganga Fund having a corpus of Rs 198.14 crore till March 31, 2017 could not be utilised by the NMCG and the entire amount was lying in banks due to "non-finalisation" of action plan. The NMCG could not finalise the long-term action plans even after more than six-and-a-half years of the signing of an agreement with the consortium of Indian Institutes of ...
Thirteen new sniffer dogs join forces to curb wildlife crime
Trained to take on cases of wildlife crime, 13 new sniffer dogs joined their new posts in different national parks and sanctuaries across eight states, officials said on Tuesday.
All Bihar villages will be electrified by month-end: Dy CM
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi today said all the villages of the state would be electrified by the end of this month. "Now, there will be no problem of power connection in any village of the state as all the villages will be electrified by December 27," he said. Modi added that by May 2018, electricity would reach 10,000 human habitations ("tola") and not a single of these habitations would remain without electricity. The BJP leader was addressing a two-day national conference on "Agroforestry Systems For Water Stressed Areas", organised by the Forestry Research and Extension Centre, Patna and Institute of Forest Productivity, Ranchi. Modi, who also holds the finance and environment and forest portfolios, stated that the work on installing separate feeders for irrigation under the Centre's Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, at an estimated cost of Rs 6,000 crore, had begun. "In the next two years, farmers will not require diesel (to run pumpsets for .
Bharat Jal launches its Maiden Water ATM's - India's gateway to clean drinking water
'Clean Drinking Water' was declared as a Human Right by the UNO in the year 2010 and yet, the WHO lists it as one of the Top 10 Global Needs. Ironic as it may sound, getting access to clean drinking water in India is a privilege.Today, with the advent and penetration of technology, most of the urban and rural populace in India has access to smartphones but the basic need of clean drinking water still eludes them. India has more people in rural areas - approximately 63.4 million - living without access to clean water more than any other country, according to Wild Water, State of the World's Water 2017 new report by WaterAid, which is more than the combined population of Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand.Compared globally, that equals the total population of Australia, Sweden, Sri Lanka and Bulgaria.Keeping this burning social issue as the premise, Bharat Jal today, embarks on a journey to set up small (2000LPH) water plants at multiple locations in the Delhi NCR Region and supply water ..
