21-22.08.21

Vulnerable Arunachal Pradesh draws up roadmap to tackle climate change

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Arunachal Pradesh, a highly vulnerable state to https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change, has come up with the Climate Change Management Mission 2047, a roadmap for the state to contribute to the global efforts to minimise and mitigate the crisis.

The plan aims to attain climate regulation, increase carbon sinks and reduce CO2 emissions, increase green cover, restore the eco-system and improve livelihood and opportunities.

According to records, the state witnessed an increase annual mean temperature of 0.05 degrees Celsius per year and 0.59 degrees Celsius in the past 40 years. From 1980 to 2019, a significant decreasing trend in southwest monsoon rainfall and also in annual rainfall has been observed along with increase in the number of dry spells and decrease in rainy days.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are among the eight Indian states which are highly vulnerable to climate change, according to the latest national climate vulnerability assessment report.

These states, mostly in the eastern part of the country, require prioritisation of adaptation interventions, the report pointed out.

Rs 10,000 cash aid for inter-state bus drivers and handymen: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

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The Assam government on Friday announced a financial assistance of Rs 10, 000 for inter-district bus drivers and handymen. However, the bus operators, who have been adversely affected by several Covid-19 restrictions, including ban on inter-district travel in the state, think the cash amount to be insufficient.

A portal for the purpose will be launched where drivers and handymen will have to apply to avail the cash aid, the CM said.

Due to a ban on inter-district movement of public transport in the last three months, nearly 60,000 people associated with transport buses have been affected.

Odisha to Sponsor Indian Hockey Team

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The Odisha government will sponsor the Indian Hockey team for 10 extra years after the modern sponsorship ends in 2023, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced.

The Odisha government will sponsor the Indian Hockey team for 10 extra years after the modern sponsorship ends in 2023, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced.

Highlights:

The government started sponsoring the countrywide hockey teams in 2018. The teams have scripted records with their extraordinary overall performance at the Tokyo Olympics, the chief minister said, handing over a award of Rs 10 lakh to every player.

However, the genuine amount of sponsorship offers are but to be revealed. In 2018, Odisha had signed a Rs a hundred crore deal with Hockey India for sponsoring the mens and womens teams for 5 years after Sahara India withdrew after getting entangled in felony issues.

Tamil Nadu: 11th century Chola era stone oil press found in Perambalur village

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A group of archaeological enthusiasts has identified a Chola era stone oil press (Kal Sekku) in Vengalam village in Perambalur district. Based on the pattern of the script engraved on the press, epigraphists estimated that the object may belong to the 11th century. The stone oil press is still being used by the villagers to grind flour while celebrating festivals in a temple nearby.

The readable script says the stone press was installed in pandhal ambalam (community centre). Except for the top surface eroded due the weather, the rest of the stone structure is intact. Vengalam village could have served as a mercantile town during Chola kingdom. There were other archaeological evidence that a merchant guild functioned in the village.

Usually, the stone oil press installed centuries ago mentions the purpose of press but such a mention was not found in this one. Senjeri and Chandramanai Velur in the Perambalur district have such similar stone oil press but their period was classified as the 18th century.

Kerala: Master plan for development of Malampuzha

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Malampuzha MLA A Prbhakaran has said that a new master plan for the overall development of Malampuzha Garden and Tourism Centre is under preparation. The initiative aims to make the centre a major tourism destination in the state.

After visiting the centre, he held discussions with the officials of Malampuzha Irrigation project and the tourism department.

The MLA said that in the first phase of the development project, an amount of Rs 10 crore would be spend.

Karnataka: Key caste census report gathers dust

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There are calls for a caste census (socioeconomic survey) at the national level, with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar discussing the issue with PM Narendra Modi. Karnataka conducted such an exercise six years ago with the aim of ensuring that reservation benefits for castes were proportionate to their size. It cost Rs 168 crore, but the report is gathering dust as the findings have not been made public yet.

The commission and the , it seems, are not eager to get things in motion. The commission has maintained silence over the issue, whereas the government claims that the report is still with the commission and its role will come into play only after the document is submitted.

Revenue tribunals add to Telangana farmers woes

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A day after the High Court slapped notices on Rangareddy and Nizamabad district collectors over special revenue Tribunals, thousands of farmers and landowners are now on the horns of a dilemma whether they would get a chance to present their arguments before the special tribunals or do they have to approach civil courts to resolve land disputes.

Even as the fate of 17 lakh acres of land that are in dispute hangs in balance, the high courts recent order that the tribunals cannot dispose of 16,000 revenue cases without first conducting hearings has put the State Government in a spot of bother. The government set up the revenue tribunals for quick disposal of land disputes.

No flow of funds from Telangana & Andhra Pradesh, Krishna River Management Board struggles

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The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) set up to resolve water issues between and Andhra Pradesh has been fighting its own battle with both the states. With Telangana and AP not releasing funds even after repeated requests, for the past three years the KRMB has been facing funds crunch even for day-to-day operations.

The board was forced to borrow Rs Rs 1 crore from the Centre in the form of a grant to keep functioning. It is now proposing to refund the amount if both states release their share of funds. Not just this, the board is also facing shortage of personnel, including engineers.

For the 2021-2022, the board approved Rs Rs 18 crore budget. At the same time, it was decided to create reserve fund of Rs Rs 10 crore. But the amount has not been received. The board has just Rs Rs 2.46 crore in the bank amount to meet its expenditure.

Goa severely lacks in quality data on water availability

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Goa is not a water stressed state, however, all of the estimated water in the state is not available for human consumption. The state severely lacks reliable and quality data on water availability and discharge of its rivers. Rigorous studies are therefore needed to assess the actual availability of water in Goa from various sources and accordingly a water atlas for the state needs to be prepared, states the draft state water policy 2021 prepared for Goa by the Resources“>Water Resources department (WRD).

Per capita annual availability (in Goa) is 1,807CuM. If the amount of renewable water in a country is less than 1,700 CuM per person per year that country is said to be experiencing water Stress. By this yardstick, water availability in Goa seems to be well above water stress. However, all estimated water is not available for human consumption, the 2021 document reads.

RTDAS (Real Time Data Acquisition System) and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems have been installed in some places for acquisition of hydro-met data. It has been recommended by the policy that these systems should be extended to all the water bodies across the state.

Mhada plans to revamp its headquarters, estimated cost Rs 1,230 crore

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The Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (Mhada) has proposed pulling down its headquarters and building a swank new complex comprising four towers.

Officials said the proposal is still on the drawing board and is estimated at Rs 1,230 crore. Mhada has proposed commercially exploiting its two acre plot abutting the Western Express Highway at Bandra.

The proposal is to use one of the towers as its headquarters and rent/sell remaining three generating funds for the reconstruction. The authority is planning to float an Expression of Interest for the project. Administrative approval is awaited.