01.09.21

Khandu urges Centre for extending area under oil palm cultivation in Arunachal

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Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has requested the Centre for increasing the area under oil palm cultivation in the state to 12,000-15,000 hectares in the first year of the Centre’s new mission to boost its production. The had on August 18 approved the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), with a focus on the northeast region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, to promote the domestic cultivation of oil palm in the next five years. Allaying the fear of the impact of oil palm cultivation on forests, the chief minister said it is unlikely to have any effect since the areas identified for the purpose cover only wasteland.

On slow coverage of oil palm cultivation in the state, he attributed it to a lack of commitment from the promoters in setting up processing factories, which had led to a loss of confidence among the farmers. Khandu said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with one of the promoters was cancelled and meetings have been called with the existing ones to fast track the mission. Speaking on the Organic Mission, Khandu said that the state had launched the mission in 2016 with the target of completing it by 2023, covering an area of 1-lakh hectares.

Despite ruckus in the State Assembly on the first day of the Monsoon Session on farmer issues, seven important bills were introduced in the House by the Government on Wednesday as per the business.

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These were Odisha Town Planning and Improvement Trust (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers (Amendment) Bill 2021, Odisha Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2021, Indian Stamp (Odisha Amendment) Bill, 2021, Odisha Government Land Settlement (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Odisha University of Land Health Sciences Bill, 2021 and Odisha University of Technology and Research Bill 2021.Besides, Urban Development and Housing Minister Pratap Jena laid the Odisha Town Planning and Improvement Trust (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (Odisha Ordinance No 1 of 2021).

Chief ministerM K Stalinon Wednesday announced that Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board set up to improve the lives of poor will henceforth be known asTamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board.

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The chief minister said the board was formed by former chief minister M Karunanidhi during his first stint in Fort St George in 1970. He built thousands of tenements for the poor which was appreciated by former Union minister Jagjivan Ram, affectionately called Babuji.Babujialso expressed his wish to see such a scheme being followed by all states. To that extent, the slum clearance board has been effectively extending its service, Stalin said.

The renaming of the board was being done with to uplift the livelihood of the people living in huts and raise their standard of living, not just removing the huts, the chief minister said.

The slum clearance board, a pioneer in providing housing to urban poor, has programmed 9.53 lakh tenements and individuals under Housing for All scheme for the urban slum/poor families before 2030. The board implements various housing schemes, including in-situ tenement schemes, integrated townships, construction of houses by the beneficiaries and reconstruction of dilapidated tenements.

The Cauvery River Water Management Authority on Tuesday directed Karnataka to release 28tmcft of Cauvery water toTamil Nadu which is the shortfall against the allotment of 86tmcft of water for the period ending August 30 besides the September quota.Karnataka has released 57tmcft of water as on August 30. The Cauvery authority meeting was held in Delhi.

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Karnataka has to release a prescribed amount of water to Nadu every month in accordance with the monthly quota fixed by theSupreme Court. But this year, the state has not been able to meet the quota due to a shortfall in rain and depleting inflow into its reservoirs in the Cauvery basin.

The government is likely to allow installation of Ganesha idols and celebration of the festival in public places, heeding to pressure from some ruling party MLAs and pro-Hindutva groups.

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The government asked deputy commissioners and superintendents of Police of districts where the festival is celebrated in a grand way to hold meetings with organisers and chalk out plans. Sarvajanik Ganesh festivals are celebrated in a big way in major districts of northKarnataka, including Dharwad and Belagavi. “

Drought-prone Wanaparthy inTelanganaand terror-hit Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir are witnessing an aroma revolution. Eight labs, including Hyderabad-based Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) regional node, are part of the aroma mission.Lavender is being cultivated in Kashmir, while farmers grow lemongrass in thousands of hectares in Telangana.

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CIMAP-Hyderabad scientists said they have been cultivating lemongrass as the agro-Climate in the Deccan region suits it. CIMAP-Hyderabad has been distributing lemongrass slips (Krishna variety) to the farmers of tribal hamlets like Chekuruchettu tanda in Wanaparthy district.

Currently, India imports 182 tonnes of lemongrass oil annually. Initially, the target of aroma mission was only 5,500 hectares, but now it has been increased multifold due to good response.

Andhra Pradeshhas collected about Rs 27 crore from violators ofCovid-19appropriate behaviour.

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These violations range from not wearing masks in public places and floutingsocial distancingnorms to social gatherings in excess of permissible strength, public consumption of tobacco, etc.

As per the existing guidelines, officials can impose a penalty of Rs 10,000-Rs 25,000 on commercial establishments for allowing persons without masks. Similarly, individuals can be charged Rs 100 for not wearing masks in public places.

The has already banned consuming smokeless, chewable tobacco or non-tobacco products and spitting in public places as part of prevention measures against thepandemic.

The governments move to develop a newcurriculumfor computer education by including coding and robotics is commendable, given thatitcomes almost 10 years after the last change, said Goa IT Professionals (GITP). GITP hasurgedschools and other stakeholders to assist the government in the initiative so that students can gain skills in information and technology.

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State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Goa has developed a new curriculum for computer Education under the CARES (Coding and Robotics Education in Schools) scheme and has decided to involve teachers in preparing the content.
GITP said that Goa lags behind in computer and information technology because of which Goan students are unable to enhance their capabilities and skills.

The state cabinet approved the use of public-private partnerships for setting up governmentmedical colleges and super-speciality hospitals. The state hopes it will lead to a rise in medical professionals and medical facilities, especially in rural areas.

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The state hopes it will result in 2,600MBBS graduatesbeing added to the state each year in 10 years. In post-graduate medical degrees, the state hopes to add 1,000 seats within three years.

The scheme will be supported by International Finance Corporation and state industries department will offer support through the package scheme of incentives. Projects will be cleared by a high-powered committee led by the chief secretary. The state will use the model concession agreement of for such projects.

The cabinet also approved setting up of Rajiv Gandhi Invention City in Pimpri-Chinchwad to commemorate the leaders 75th birth anniversary.

The residents in Haryana are losing an average lifespan of 8.4 years due to exposure to severe air pollution in the state.

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The air quality life index (AQLI), released by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) on Wednesday stated that citizens in Haryana can live upto 8.4 years more on an Average, if particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration in the state is at the level of 10 g/m3(mili-micrograms per meter cube) which is deemed safe by the World Health Organization.

According to the study report on AQLI released by the U.S. research group, Haryana is the fourth worst affected state in the country recording alarming levels of Air Pollution. The annual average PM 2.5 concentration in Haryana was 96 g/m3 in 2019. The air pollution is reducing the life expectancy of people by 5.5 years in Haryana, relative to what it would be if the safe limits for PM 2.5 levels in India i.e. 40ug/m3 is met, the report said.

The AQLI, developed by EPIC, converts air pollution concentrations into their impact on life expectancy and tells how much longer can we live if we breathe in clean air.

On sustained exposure to particulate pollution in neighboring states of Punjab and Himachal where WHO guidelines were not met, the findings in the report stated that this has shortened the lives of people in Punjab by 5.6 years and in Himachal, by 2.9 years.

In the union territory of Chandigarh, which is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, the residents are losing upto 5.5 years of their lives due to exposure to air pollution.

The 510 million residents of northern India, 40 percent of the countrys Population, are on track to lose 8.5 years of life expectancy on average, if pollution levels of 2019 persist, said the report.

Notably, the northern state of Haryana faces a major challenge to improve the worsening air quality due to continuous Growth of urban population, industrial emissions, motor vehicle emissions and the stubble burning.

Many major cities in Haryana have reported air quality index in the severe category over the past few years. Gurugram and Faridabad, which lie to the national capital region, have reported an air quality index of over 400.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.