02.11.21

In a move to give boost to eco-tourism and generate new employment opportunities in the State, Haryana Government has proposed to allow construction works like permanent buildings for camps, helipads, new roads, tourist bungalows, commercial lodges among other facilities for eco-tourism purpose within forest areas after obtaining requisite environmental clearance.

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The draft eco-tourism policy released by the states Forest Department, envisages district level eco-tourism plans, creation of such sites in public private PARTNERSHIP in identified areas, development of eco-tourism circuit, involvement of local communities besides conserving the existing and ecosystem in Haryana.

The policy will be applicable to all types of notified forest lands in the State and areas covered under Punjab Land Preservation Act wherever the owners of such lands become partners in the eco-tourism projects.

Around 3.5 per cent Haryanas land is under the administrative control of the Forest Department, with two national parks, seven wildlife sanctuaries, two Ramsar sites, two conservation reserves, five community reserves and many faunal habitats in addition to the old Aravalli hill range, Shivalik hills and host of water bodies.

As per the India State of Forest Report 2019, the recorded forest area (RFA) in Haryana is 1,559 sq km of which 249 sq km is reserved forests, 1,158 sq km is protected forests and 152 sq km is unclassed forests.

The eco-tourism activities included in the States policy are nature camps, eco-friendly accommodation, trekking and nature walks, wildlife viewing, adventure Sports, angling, educational tours and excursions, herbal eco-tourism, medical and Health activities, religious and cultural eco-tourism, visitor interpretation centres and conservation Education among others.

Under the policy, potential sites will be identified jointly by the Department of Forests and Wildlife and Department of Tourism and will be prioritised for phased development. An eco-tourism circuit will also be created which will allow the visitors to access the existing infrastructures related to eco-tourism in the State.

In a glowing tribute to the history of Sikhs, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday announced that the state of the art ‘Dastaan-e-Shahadat’ (Theme Park) depicting glorious history of Sikhs from ‘Pehli Patshahi to Dasvin Patshahi’ and Heritage Street would be inaugurated by Mid November.

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Chairing a meeting, the Chief Minister said that the theme park would contain 11 galleries equipped with the ultra modern gadgets such as revolving theatre, Dome, Static Set, Live action studio, mixture of set and live shoot, 270 degree screen projection screen with double screens, set with murals, 360 degree screen with revolving table, Hologram with projection, mapping 270 degree and 3D animations.

Channi said the inauguration would be marked with full religious fervour (Khalsai Jaho Jalal) and prominent personalities from all walks of life besides representatives from other religions would also be invited for the mega event.

He directed the formation of the departmental committees for smooth and successful conduct of the event. “The DC Roopnagar has been made the overall coordinator and the SSP has also been ordered to ensure ample parking spaces besides unhindered movement of the traffic so as to avoid congestion on the roads,” added Channi.

Frame policy for inauguration of small projects: HC to Himachal government

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The HP has asked the State Government to consider framing a policy for the inauguration of small projects, the cost of which is not very high and which are comparatively not of much public importance. It has said that such projects need not be inaugurated and instead may be put to public use immediately on the completion of the construction work to save unnecessary expenses.

While passing the order, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Sabina said, In our considered view, it is essentially a policy matter, and the government ought to consider framing a policy.

The High Court said that the government may also consider to allow the pradhans or up-pradhans of gram panchayats to inaugurate projects of up to a particular value.

PM Narendra Modi to visit Kedarnath on November 5 to inaugurate key infra projects

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Prime Minister NarendraModiwill visitKedarnathinUttarakhandon November 5 to inaugurate and also lay the foundation stone of several key projects.
As per a release of the PMO’s office, the Prime Minister will offer prayers at Kedarnath Temple and thereafter inaugurateShri Adi Shankaracharya Samadhiand unveil the statue of Shri Adi Shankaracharya.

“Prime Minister will review and inspect the executed and ongoing works along theSaraswati Ashtapath, PM will also address a public rally. He will inaugurate key infrastructure projects which have been completed, includingSaraswati Retainig WallAshtapath and Ghats,MandakiniRetaining Wall Ashtapath, Tirth Purohit Houses and Garud Chatti bridge on river Mandakini,” it added.

Work on the proposed Film City near Noida is expected to gather momentum at the next meeting of the empowered committee to be held on Monday.

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The proposed Film City is to come up at Sector 21 of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) under public-private PARTNERSHIP (PPP) guidelines.

The meeting is expected to roll out the bidding process by finalising the request for proposal (RFP) of the tender document. The RFP will clearly define the form and content of the final offer. The project involves development of the Film City on about 1,000 acres of land which includes industrial and commercial land use. The total allotment value of the land is about Rs 7,213 crore, whereas the acquisition cost and external development cost is about Rs 2,157 crore.

In this DFR a total two scenarios were created — one focused on the film and media alone while the other focused on a fair mix of filming and media industry along with a healthy entertainment segment. The latter scenario was selected for further study and financial modeling and structuring.

The recently launched National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM) by the Government of India (GoI) will soon be implemented in Jharkhand for the integration of e-governance services in cities across the Country. In this regard, a four-member team of National Institute of Urban Affairs met Secretary, Urban Development and Housing Department, Vinay Kumar Choubey on Friday and through the power point presentation discussed this new plan and the entire plan.

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On this occasion, Choubey said that it is a good initiative and said that the has already made a lot of efforts in the direction of Database integration. We are determined to provide basic facilities to the citizens on time, so most of our urban Services are being provided online and monitoring is also being done from the data centre.

Many services including tax collection, cleanliness, trade license and map approval are online in all our bodies. There should also be a system for tracking solid Waste Management in the board of National Urban Digital Mission, he added.

NMCG’s next target: Clean Ganga tributaries in 5 years

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The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)’s next target is to pace up the cleanliness process in the tributaries of the Ganga in the next five years, Jal Shakti Secretary Pankaj Kumar said.

NMCG has cadres like ‘Ganga Prehri’ (Guardians of Ganga) and ‘Ganga Doot’. They are trained volunteers who work among the local communities to create public awareness as to how crucial the cleanliness of the river is to keep it alive.”

The upper portion of Ganga stem in Uttarakhand has already been cleaned. Now the work is going on in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. In the process we are also targeting ‘ghats’ of major cities for modernising them. This all would need a mass movement as rivers and their surroundings cannot be kept clean without help from the masses.

Raghupati Raghav’ will be sung in Chhattisgarh schools: CM Bhupesh Baghel

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TheChhattisgarhgovernment is making the singing of ‘Raghupati RaghavRaja Ram’ and ‘Vaishnav Jana To’ bhajans mandatory in schools.

Chief ministerBhupesh Baghel said these two bhajans, much cherished by Mahatma Gandhi, are his favourites too, and they will be sung regularly inChhattisgarh schoolsto “inculcate the thoughts of nationalism in children”. It’s a tribute to Indira Gandhi and , he said.

While ‘Vaishnav Jana To’, composed by the Gujarati poet Narsinh Mehta, was part of life at Sabarmati Ashram, ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ was the marching anthem of the 1930 Dandi Yatra.

Players of Madhya Pradesh State Water Sports Academy won 12 Gold, 12 Silver and 5 Bronze medals by performing brilliantly in the 31st National Senior Canoe Sprint Kayaking-Canoeing Championship-2021 held in Himachal Pradesh.

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In the championship, the Women‘s team of MP won the overall championship, while the men’s team was the overall runners-up.

Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia has congratulated the players of Water Sports Academy on this achievement. She said that this is the result of the tireless hard work put in by the players of the academy.

Surat police bag best safety award

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City Police commissioner Ajay Tomar received the City with the best safety and security system and record from Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri in New Delhi on Friday. Tomar was accompanied by city Mayor Hemali Boghawala and deputy commissioner of police Prashant Sumbe.

The city also won the award for best public transport system. The award ceremony was held at the end of two-day Urban Mobility India conference in New Delhi. Kochi was judged the city with the most sustainable transport system.