10.03.22

Reviving the inland water transport system for the Northeast

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A month after setting sail on the Ganga from Patna, the MV Lal Bahadur Shastri carrying 200 metric tonnes of food grains for the Food Corporation of India (FCI), docked at Guwahatis Pandu port on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra on March 6. The occasion is believed to have taken inland water transport, on two of Indias largest river systems, to the future.

Around Independence, Assams per capita income was the highest in the country primarily because of access for its tea, timber, coal and oil industries to seaports on the Bay of Bengal via the Brahmaputra and the Barak River (southern Assam) systems. Ferry services continued sporadically after 1947 but stopped after the 1965 war with Pakistan, as Bangladesh used to be East Pakistan then.

India has invested 80% of 305.84 crore to improve the navigability of the two stretches of the IBP (Indo-Bangladesh Protocol) routes Sirajganj-Daikhowa and Ashuganj-Zakiganj in Bangladesh.

The seven-year dredging project on these two stretches till 2026 is expected to yield seamless navigation to the north-eastern region.

The Government has also undertaken the Jal Marg Vikas project with an investment of 4,600-crore to augment the capacity of NW1 for sustainable movement of vessels weighing up to 2,000 tonnes.

Assam-Mizoram border areas peaceful: CRPF DIG

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CRPFdeputy inspector general (DIG) (Silchar Range) ShahnawazKhanhas claimed that a peaceful atmosphere has been prevailing along the Assam-Mizoram border areas inCachardistrict after the forces jawans were deployed last year as per the Centres instructions

Khan, who attended an event at Lailapur CRPF camp in Cachar district nearMizoramborder on Friday, said a miasma of fear and panic hovered for many days in the area after sevenAssampolicemen were killed on July 26 last year, but the situation now is normal. Peace was restored after CRPF personnel were deployed following that incident as per the instructions of the central government, he said.

NABARD signs pact with Odisha Govt

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The NABARD Odisha Regional Office signed a Memorandum of Agreement under FIDF with the Government of Odisha.

The MoA was signed between Principal Secretary FinanceVishal Kumar Devand Chief General ManagerC Udayabhaskarin the presence of Principal Secretary AH and FRDR Raghu Prasad, Special SecretaryNK Rout, Additional Secretary, FinanceRN Das andJoint Director FisheriesSR Panda.

He said dedicated Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) would help in creation of fisheries infrastructure facilities both in marine and inland fisheries sectors and augment the fish production of the State.

State to study prevalence of chronic kidney disease

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In a first of its kind initiative in the state, the directorate of public health and preventive medicine is all set to conduct a survey to find out the prevalence of chronic kidney disease inTamil Nadu. The survey is likely to begin on the World Kidney Day.

The public health director said they have randomly identified 177 clusters in the state for the survey and 30 people, who were selected through theKish Gridmethod, would be interviewed from each cluster. Health department officials will collect their details. Some patients may not have come under our radar so far. The survey will hopefully address the issue, while throwing light on whether the patients need a transplant or dialysis.

Forest revenue on a steady decline in Kerala

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Forest revenue that contributes a significant share to the States non-tax revenue has witnessed a steady decline since 2018.

The Economic Review 2021 which recorded the trends in forest revenue from 2017-18 to 2020-21 found the gradual fall coincided with the decrease in timber production during the last few years.

According to official statistics, the revenue from the forestry sector by way of sale of timber and other forest produce was 236.8 crore in 2020-21. The returns have declined from 287.21 crore and 251.45 crore in 2018-19 and in 2019-20 respectively.

Notably, the slump began after 2018 when the Forest department had achieved a 17% hike in revenue from 245.42 crore in 2017-18.

The area under forest plantations also decreased marginally by 1.2% from 1.563 lakh hectares in 2019-20 to 1.544 lakh hectares in 2020-21.

Timber sale that generally accounts for over 90% of the forest revenue also fell from 226.52 crore in 2019-20 to 216.82 crore in 2020-21. During the period, the production of teak decreased by 7,402 cubic metres, despite there being a marked increase of 645 hectares in teak plantation. The government has attributed the recent drop in forest revenue to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In spite of a glum scenario, certain other products including honey, reeds, sandalwood and acacia mangium witnessed an increase in production from 2019 to 2020. Among them, sandalwood production increased from 11.7% during the period.

Bommai launches scheme for door delivery of documents

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Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday launched a scheme to door deliver basic revenue documents such as caste certificates, income certificates, and land records (RTCs).

After the launch of the programme at Chickballapur, the Chief Minister said, It is a pity that people, particularly farmers, have been made to run from pillar to post to get basic documents such as RTCs and other records. Under the programme, records would be delivered on the doorstep of people for free.

The Chief Minister said a sum of 1,050 crore had been set aside in the State Budget for the Raitha Shakthi programme which would help farmers having landholdings upto 5 acres as aid to purchase diesel and hire farm equipment.

New health policy to improve patient care in govt. run hospitals

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The State government has announced a new health policy titled `Integrated Hospital Facility Management Services for improving patient care services in government hospitals.

The new policy replacing the existing policy envisaged improvement of services in government hospitals, nursing colleges & nursing schools (including hostels) in the State with an amount of 7,500 per bed per month.

The reckonable bed strength would be taken as basis rather than sanctioned bed strength as per the actual occupancy of last year or 50 per cent whichever was higher. The policy of providing manpower at the rate of one person for 7,000 SFT built up area and one person per 27,000 SFT for open area which was currently applicable to medical colleges had also been extended to nursing colleges and hostels.

DISCOMs told to promote energy-efficient appliances in Andhra Pradesh

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The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has asked the power distribution companies (DISCOMs) to conduct a thorough study and come up with a good financing model for promoting the use of energy-efficient appliances by domestic consumers, with a focus on the widely adopted on-bill financing system.

During a review meeting here on Sunday, APERC Chairman Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy said energy efficiency activities would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save on electricity bills. Every possible effort should be made to achieve these goals, he said.

Shalu Agarwal, senior programme lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), one of Asias leading not-for-profit policy research institutions, said that the APERC deserved all praise for encouraging the consumers to use energy-efficient appliances.

The CEEW is keen on partnering with the DISCOMs in Andhra Pradesh for implementing the demand-side management projects, she said.

Cabinet moves to dissolve assembly

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A day after theassemblyelection results, which gave BJP 20 seats, the statecabinet decided to recommend to the governor todissolvetheassemblyon Monday. The tenure of the current House ends on March 16.

Sawant said, he led a cabinet meeting at the assembly complex in Porvorim. Sawant also thanked the people of the state for giving him the opportunity to serve them over the past three years.

As per procedure, CM has to tender his resignation to dissolve the assembly

Maharashtra targets 114 more liquid medical oxygen units, 2,300 MT a day

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TheMaharashtragovernment has estimated that the requirement of liquid medical oxygen could go up to 2,300 metric tonnes (MT) a day in future and is keen to offer incentives for more units in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

This has been indicated in the State Economic Survey released on Thursday on the eve of Fridays Maharashtra budget. Currently, the state registered a daily production of 1,300 MT of liquid oxygen per day, as against the requirement of 1,800 MT if the Covid cases were to rise, stated the report.

The report stated that Maharashtra has planned for 114 liquid medical oxygen manufacturing units in the six revenue divisions at a proposed investment of Rs1,870 crore and employment of 2,931.

Consumption of medical oxygen in Maharashtra had reached the full production capacity of 1,250 MT last year when the active Covid cases in the state had soared over 6 lakh. At least 10% of them, an estimated 60,000-65,000, were requiring oxygen. This was highest for any state.
Maharashtra, during that crisis, had to draw 50 MT of oxygen each fromChhattisgarhandGujaratand 100 tonnes from theRelianceplant inJamnagar. Maharashtra was among the 12 high-burden states for essential medical oxygen supply. Over 17,000 MT of oxygen were then directed in three batches from states with surplus stock.