RAJASTHAN

The thermal power Plants in the state are in no mood to provide fly ash free of cost to theNational Highways Authority of India(NHAI) so that the toxic residue piling up after the burning of coal is safely disposed of and is utilised in the construction of roads, as per the ministry of Environment, forest, and https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change (MoEF & CC) directions.

The NHAI continues to struggle as plants have failed to adhere to the mandatory provision of providing fly ash for the construction of roads within a 300-km radius of coal-based thermal power plants to ensure safe and sustainable disposal of the toxic material.

Environmentalists alleged that operators of the plants are forging the figures as there is a big gap in generation and stock at the dyke. This way they sell the fly ash in open market.

The state governments pilot project, Poshan Swaraj Abhiyan, launched in tribal-dominated Banswara district, has reduced the number ofmalnourishedchildren aged between 0-6 years by 43 per cent in less than 11 weeks.

Launched in August, the project is a collaboration with Banswara-based NGO Vaagdhara, which works on tribal livelihood issues. Under this campaign, children and adolescents in 750 villages of five blocks Kushalgarh, Anandpuri, Sajjangarh, Ghatol and Gangartalai were screened to identify malnourished and acutely malnourished children.

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) screened 16,000 children in Kushalgarh to figure out 4,045 children were malnourished and severely malnourished.

Health experts have demanded that the should make registration of all the vendors and shops mandatory for selling tobacco products.

Expressed their concern on the findings of Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), released recently, highlighting that 97% of current cigarette smokers (children 13-15 years) and 98% of current bidi smokers bought cigarettes and bidis from a store, paan shop and street vendor or vending machine,the health experts demanded effective implementation of Cigarette and other tobacco product act (COTPA) 2003 and Juvenile Justice Act.

The Services will be free and all the Women and children who come to the vehicle for preliminary Health check-ups will be registered before consultation.

They are part of the 34 primary schools that were opened in different parts of the state as announced by the .

The government had announced to open 1,200 English medium schools and so far only upper primary Hindi medium schools were converted into English medium. With the opening of primary English schools, students can become stronger in the language.

As the importance of English language has increased, parents have shifted their wards from private schools to the the government English medium schools.

The burden ofplastic wasteis huge in the state. In 2021-22, the plastic waste generated in the state was 72,045 tonne per annum (TPA). The estimated plastic waste generation was approximately 51,965TPAduring 2019-20. It has increased by 39% in two years. Concerned over it, the has taken policy decisions to curb plastic menace, however, its effects are yet to be seen on the ground.

Though Rajasthan is producing significant amount of plastic waste, it is slightly better than the national Average. Per capita plastic waste generation in the state based on waste generated in 2021-22 is low and comes out to be around 1.3kg/capita/year which is well below the national average per capita plastic waste generation of 2.4 kg/ capita/year.

The state board is conducting regular field inspections and market surveys in association with Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to ensure effective implementation of ban on single-use plastics. As of now, total 1,10,570 kilogram plastic has been seized and a penalty of Rs 67.8 lakh has been imposed on defaulters from July 2022 to April 2023. The cause of concern that the plastic has become ubiquitous and most of the time, plastic is thrown away after usage; hence being inert in nature, it persists in the Environment. High consumption of plastics and its short-term usage led to high disposal rates.

A study conducted by an NGO has revealed that one-fourth of the Average monthly household income of worker families inRajasthancame from children.

The study was conducted during March-April in four majorsectorsnamely brick kilns, stone crushing and sand stone mining, Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and gems workshops across six districts including Jaipur, Dausa, Dholpur,Hanumangarh, Baran and Bikaner. The survey conducted by NGO Save the Children under the title Status of Child Labours and Legal Entitlements of Workers in Major Sectors in Rajasthan reached out to 543 parents and 317 child labourers.

The study found that the average monthly household income is Rs 11,628 for worker families out of which Rs 2,707 came from children. Family earnings were highest for brick kiln workers who get Rs 17,915 and least for agriculture workers who get Rs 4,528.The average earning per day for a child is Rs 208.

One-third of the children interviewed get EMPLOYMENT for a period of 3 to 9 months in a year.
The study further found that nearly 53% children worked for 8 to 10 hours a day. Working hours are highest in brick kilns where 20% of children work for more than 10 hours per day.

Apart from this, nearly 10% children reported about physical exploitation but no one reported about sexual exploitation at workplace during the study. However, as many as 23% children said that they were aware of sexual exploitation of children at some other work sites.

The grasslands that shelter the Great Indian Bustard in Sorsan in Baran, and the winter Home of Demoiselle Cranes in Khichan in Jodhpur were among three new wildlife conservation areas, the third being Hamirgarh in Bhilwara, declared by the forest department inRajasthanon the occasion of Earth Day, April 22.

After the forest areas become conservation reserves, it will be mandatory to get clearance under the Forest conservation Act, 1990, and approvals of State Board of Wildlife (SBWL) and of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) to carry out any development project within the area. Experts said the CR category was first introduced in the amendment in 2002.