MAHARASHTRA

The is asking hospitals for details of everyhysterectomyperformed before and after central Health ministry guidelines on preventing unnecessary hysterectomies was released last year.

After district-wise data is gathered, the state public health department will conduct a randomised study by interviewing some patients and doctors in each district.

Hysterectomy, a surgical procedure to remove all or parts of the uterus, is advised for Women suffering from fibroids and heavy periods or severe problems such as endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease.

s the Central government has allowed vaccination for all citizens above the age of 45 years starting April 1, the Brihanmumbai (BMC) aims to vaccinate around 4 million citizens above the age of 45 years by May-end.

According to BMC officials, the civic body has undertaken several measures to ensure the turnout at vaccination centres is increased. BMC has also written to the Centre seeking permission for door-to-door vaccination for those who are bed-ridden, and also for the general public.

The state budget tabled in the Legislative Assembly accorded priority to achieving the net zero emissions target. “An of Rs 75,000 crore is expected in the field of green hydrogen, green ammonia, solar and Wind Energy,” deputy chief minister and finance minister Devendra Fadnavis announced in his budget speech.

“The state will also raise Rs 5,000 crore by 2024 through green Bonds to combat the problems of Climate-change”>Climate Change. Activities such as RENEWABLE ENERGY, green buildings, green hydrogen, electric mobility and charging facilities will be taken up from it,” he said.

The budget estimate for new and renewable energy was Rs 977 crore for 2023-24 as compared to the revised budget estimate of Rs 496 crore for 2022-23.

Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP) was released, which was prepared by Brihanmumbai (BMC).

Before the preparation of MCAP, a vulnerability assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) and natural green cover inventory was conducted. World Resources Institute (WRI), India, and the C40 Cities Network provided technical support to BMC for the preparation of the plan.

Highlights of MCAP

The MCAP has laid down a 30-year roadmap for Mumbai to tackle the challenges of Climate Change. It has set short-, medium- and long-term climate goals to achieve the target of net zero emissions by 2050. It has identified six strategic areas where massive changes will have to be made over the next 30 years.

Energy

The main focus of MCAP will be decarbonizing Mumbais energy grid. This is important because 95% of Mumbais energy needs are met by fossil fuel sources. MCAP envisages 90% of Mumbais energy from renewable sources by 2050. The city will also explore energy sources like tidal power, green hydrogen, etc. There is a plan to shift from LPG to other cleaner methods such as electrified cooktops. MCAP also encourages green buildings.

Transport

The transport sector contributes to a major portion of Mumbais emissions. MCAP proposes giving a push to public transport and non-motorized transport. There is a plan to purchase 2,100 electric buses by 2023. Incentives like a reduction in toll charges, parking fees, etc. will be offered to electric vehicles.

Waste Management

Every day BMC manages an Average of 5,500 million tonnes of solid waste. Even though Solid wastes contribution to emissions is less, it is the biggest Health concern in the city. Thus, there is a need to reduce the quantity of waste generated. The plan proposes a Reduce, Reuse and Recycle approach. There is a plan to phase out the usage of single-use plastics by 2025.

Air quality

MCAP aims to improve monitoring and forecasting of air quality and also prescribe sector-specific strategies to reduce emissions. Some proposed strategies include reducing traffic congestion by adopting better management systems, banning entry of heavy vehicles during peak hours, promoting RENEWABLE ENERGY in industrial units and power Plants, etc.

Urban greening and Biodiversity

MCAP aims to increase the green cover to 30-40% of the surface area of Mumbai by 2030. It also proposes increasing budget allocation for urban greening, raising funds through green Bonds, offering property tax rebates to housing societies that promote urban greening, etc.

Urban flooding and Water Resource Management

MCAP proposes building flood-resilient Infrastructure. It also plans to promote water conservation through increasing permeable surfaces, reducing surface run-off of water, making rooftop rainwater harvesting mandatory, etc.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons, a super speciality in dentistry, will now be allowed to perform aesthetic surgeries and hair transplant procedures.
The Dental Council of India (DCI), a statutory body of dentists, issued guidelines for this practice recently.

The move would bring about a major change in the hair transplant . Along with dental treatment, hair transplant facility will soon be available in government or private dental clinics.

Maharashtra State Dental Councilmembers said it is likely to take some time to introduce this new department in government dental hospitals.

A Health department report has revealed there are nearly 52 lakh Covishield doses lying in the reserves of private hospitals across the state, a quantity that has sparked concerns about wastage due to imminent expiry dates and low turnouts for paid jabs.

Private hospitals have now been told to send data on doses with imminent expiry dates (February-end or early March) to avoid wastage. The report said private hospitals in Pune have the most doses in reserves – 19.96 lakh doses, followed by Mumbai (17.95 lakh doses).

Maharashtra Government set to introduce a broad curriculum for Grades 1 to 8 to teach Climate-consciousness and green values to the next generation.

Highlights:

This new curriculum has been developed by the Department of Environment and global and UNICEF.

The curriculum is known as the “Majhi Vasundhara (MV) Curriculum”.

It is being introduced to teach application-based awareness on issues like global climate change among students from Grades I-VIII.

This awareness will be raised among students by keeping a balance between traditional and native knowledge.

Maharashtra Government launched My Vasundhara (My Earth) initiative environmental conservation and protection, focusing on all the five Elements of nature called “Panchmahabhutas”.