27.10.21

The Manohar Lal Khattar Government in Haryana has decided to charge a scrutiny fee of upto Rs 2 lakh for projects seeking environment clearances in the State.

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From now onwards, the minimum scrutiny fee to be charged by the will be Rs 50,000 while the maximum amount will be Rs 2 lakh, depending upon the total cost of the project, according to a notification issued by the Haryana Government.

In the past, states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra had also imposed processing fees for environmental clearances of projects.

It is decided by the State Government to impose scrutiny fees for projects seeking clearance of the State Environment-impact-assessment”>Environment Impact Assessment Authority. For the projects costing more than Rs 100 crore, the scrutiny fee will be Rs 2 lakh while for projects costing Rs 25- Rs100 crore, the processing fee will be Rs 1.5 lakh, stated the notification issued by SN Roy, Additional Chief Secretary, Haryana Environment and Climate-change”>Climate Change Department.

Similarly, for projects with a cost of Rs 5- Rs 25 crore, the environment clearance fee would be Rs 1 lakh while for projects costing upto Rs 5 crore, it will be Rs 50,000.

For mining projects involving Minerals“>Major Minerals like iron, bauxite chromites, lime stone, coal etc. on area more than five hectares, the scrutiny fee to be charged by the government will be Rs 2 lakh while the fee would be Rs 1 lakh for such mining projects on the area upto five hectares.

The processing fee for environment clearance would be Rs 1.5 lakh for mining projects involving minor minerals like quatz, stone and graphite etc. on the area more than five hectares while fee would be Rs 75000 for projects involving minor minerals on area upto five hectares.

Notably, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) in the states are constituted by the Union Government to grant environmental clearances for various projects at state level.

The SEAC scrutinises and refers project proposals to the SEIAA for its appraisal. The SEIAA decides on the issue of environment clearance based on the recommendations of the Expert Appraisal Committee.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Saturday approved a proposal of power utility PSPCL for terminating the power purchase agreement (PPA) with private sector electricity generator GVK due to high cost.

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The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (Pspcl) has issued a termination notice to the company, an official statement said.

The development assumes significance as several Punjab Congress leaders, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, have been pressing for scrapping faulty PPAs signed during the previous SAD-BJP regime to provide electricity to people at cheaper rates.

A default notice has been served by the PSPCL to GVK on Saturday for cancellation of the PPA due to high power cost and falling lowest in the merit order, procurement of energy from GVK that had been restricted only within the range of 25 per cent to 30 per cent during most of the times of a year resulting in higher tariff of about Rs 7.52 per unit for the last year, the statement said.

Channi said this step has been taken to safeguard the interests of consumers by way of reducing the burden of costly power.

High density apple plantations key to raising productivity, say scientists

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High density apple plantations will be a key tool for enhancing productivity and socio-economic status of the tribal peasantry of Kinnaur district, owing to its high gains.

The scientists informed that out of various cultivars being evaluated at an elevation of around 2,740 meters above the sea level, Super Chief, Red Velox and Jeromine showed promise in terms of productivity and quality.

The research outcomes of High-Density Plantation of Apple are being demonstrated at four locations namely Sungra (Nichar), Telangi (Kalpa), Chitkul (Sangla) and Nako (Pooh).

Dehradun gets countrys first Gorkhali community radio station

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Emphasising that community radios are important for nation-building, preservation of language, culture and heritage,Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh(retd) on Wednesday inaugurated the countrys firstGorkhali community radio stationat Gorkhali Sudhar Sabha in Garhi Cantt area ofDehradun.

Those behind the initiative say the idea is to preserve and promote the culture of theGorkha community.

Programmes will largely focus on spirituality, Women and Health welfare, career counselling and promotion of Nepalese writers works, those behind the initiative said.

1,347 electrocution deaths in UP in 2020

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A total of1,347 people died of electrocution in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in 2020 an Average of over 7 deaths in 48 hours after coming in contact with naked live wires, according to the latest data released on October 28 by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The number of such deaths increased by over 136% in the last six years, if data provided by the state directorate for electrical safety is also taken into account.

According to the state directorate for electrical safety data, accessed by TOI, a total of 570 people had died of electrocution in 2012-13. The number of such deaths increased to 611 in 2013-14, 629 in 2014-15 and 1,116 in 2018-19.

Of the 1,347 deaths in UP in 2020 (as per the NCRB data), there were 1,179 males and 168 females, and 50 people suffered burn injuries in 1,338 incidents of electrocution in the state in 2020.

The NCRB data further says that in all the 28 states and eight union territories, 13,466 people died in 2020 due to electrocution, 147 more than the deaths in 2019. This means that on an average, over 36 people died every day after coming in contact with a live wire. Madhya Pradesh (MP) tops the list with 2,412 (2,333 in 2019) electrocution deaths followed by Maharasthra with 1,499 (1,599 in 2019) for the corresponding period. After UP, Rajasthan is fourth in the list with 1,269 electrocution deaths (1,221 in 2019).

State Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato, Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alamgir Alam inaugurated the two-day first Jharkhand Students Parliament-2021 organized in Jharkhand Legislative Assembly on Saturday by lighting the lamp. In the first Jharkhand Students Parliament-2021, 24 students selected from the universities of different districts of the State are participating.

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Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto in his address said that CM Hemant Soren is one of the youngest Chief Ministers of the country. Being a young CM, Soren is always serious about how the potential is developed among the youth of the State. Taking this link forward, the first Jharkhand Students Parliament-2021 is being organized in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly today. The students participating in the first Jharkhand Student Parliament-2021 will work to bring complete information about the legislative, executive and judiciary system to every section of the Society. The main objective of this program is how to reach the benefits of parliamentary system to the last line of the society. It is also necessary for the common people to have complete knowledge of parliamentary subjects and functions, only then the dream of a developed society can be realized, he said.

The CM said that the direction of the State and the country is given by the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies of different states, run by the Central Government. For the all-round development of different sections of the society, laws are made from here and through this law the wheel of development moves forward. He said that people have their own views on many matters, that is why both the ruling party and the opposition remain active in the Legislative Assembly. Both the parties work together to give a new direction to the State.

Four sewage treatment plants in Patna to be made functional by March 22

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The foursewage treatment Plants(STPs) at Beur, Karmalichak, Saidpur, and Pahadi inPatnawill be made functional by the end of the 2021-2022 financial year. Sewer networks are being laid to connect all the households to the STPs so that untreated water does not get discharged into the Ganga directly.

The foundation for the plants, which have a capacity to treat 200 million litres of wastewater per day, was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mokama in Patna district in October 2017.

According to sources, the wastewater will be treated through sequencing batch reactor system and used for Irrigation after chlorination.

Two other STPs at Digha and Kankerbagh are in the initial stage of construction. While the one at Digha will have a 228km-long sewer Network, the Kankerbagh STP will have a 150km-long sewer network.

Inter-state dispute between MP-Chhattisgarh on ownership of Jwaleshwar Mahadev temple

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An inter-state dispute is apparently brewing betweenChhattisgarhandMadhya Pradeshover theJwaleshwar Mahadevtemple, located on the border.

Chhattisgarh claims that it takes care of and Police forces required during temple festivals and thetemple committeealso constitutes natives of the state, the neighbouring statesAmarkantak Nagar Parishadhas stamped its number on the temple wall.

The dispute erupted when Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in the year 2000 and both the states claimed that the Jwaleshwar Mahadev temple was on their land.

Commemorating the 75 glorious years of Indias Independence i.e.Amrit Mahotsav as well as birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research, Indore today conducted a Cleanliness Awareness Programme for School Children at Shriram Convent School, Musakhedi, village.

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Shyam Kishor Verma shared his poems on Cleanliness and Health especially composed for the occasion. The programme was conducted in presence of Rakesh Chandra Shakya, Seema Chauhan of the institute along with Shri Pramod Raghuwanshi, the Director of Shriram Convvent School as well as Principal Arti Raghuwanshi.

Drop of 3.3 lakh in rural telecom subscribers in Gujarat

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With people discontinuing mobile connections and service issues due to the Covid-19 pandemic,rural Gujaratsaw a reduction of some 3.3 lakh telecom subscribers in the April to June quarter this year. The latest performance indicator report of the (TRAI), suggests that rural telecom subscribers inGujaratfell from 2.788 crore to 2.755 crore from the January-March quarter to the April-June quarter.

Telecom operators said many connections expired and could not be renewed due to Covid-19 restrictions imposed due to the second wave of Covid-19 cases in April and May.

The trend, according to TRAI, was similar across the country. Rural telephone subscribers decreased from 53.74 crore at the end of March 2021 to 53.64 crore at the end of June 2021. Rural tele-density also decreased from 60.27% to 60.10% in this period, states the performance indicator report.