29.10.22

Meghalaya scraps gaming Act, no casino to come up

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Amid stiff opposition from religious and pressure groups, NGOs, Dorbar Shnongs (village councils), oppositionTrinamool Congressand several sections of the Society to the proposal to set up casinos in the state, the government on Thursday announced that it would altogether scrap the controversialMeghalayaRegulation of Gaming Act, 2021.

The decision of the National Peoples Party (NPP)-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government in this regard was announced by cabinet minister James PangsangKongkal Sangma.

With the aim of boosting tourism, revenue generation and EMPLOYMENT for the people of our state, the department of introduced the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021, under my guidance. This Act would legalise and regulate gaming in Meghalaya. Till that extent, introducing casinos meant for tourists only was considered as well.

Assam removes AFSPA from 1 more district

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TheAssamgovernment has withdrawn the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from one more district, West Karbi Anglong, but retained it in eight other districts bordering Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and one sub-division bordering Manipur for six more months from October 1.

The had withdrawn the Act from 23 districts and one sub-division five months back from April 1.

The eight districts where AFSPA will continue to be in force are Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao and one sub-division, Lakhipur, of Cachar district of the state.

AFSPA was removed from some areas of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh and now under Amit Shah, more recently, the act was completely removed from 23 districts of Assam, and from areas under 15 Police stations each in Manipur and Nagaland.

CM calls for a disaster-resilient Odisha

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Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said disaster and pandemic management is being introduced in the educational curricula for students from Standard-IV to graduation level with a view to preparing Disaster Management Yodhas in every village and household.

Odishas geographic location made it prone to natural disasters. Nearly 10,000 people died in the Super Cyclone in 1999. Then, the State did not have safe shelters. During these years, 815 multi-purpose cyclone and flood shelters have been constructed whiled 55 new shelters are under construction out of the Chief Ministers Relief Fund, Patnaik said.

For better impact-based forecasting, the Government would set up a Telemetric Rain Gauge in every gram panchayat, Automatic Weather Stations at block headquarters and sensors in river systems. These steps would help get precise real time information for more effective management of disasters.

Tamil Nadu to explore chances of developing housing projects with Singapore

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Naduis exploring the possibility of developing flagship housing projects in collaboration withSingaporefirms, minister for finance and human resource managementPalanivel Thiaga Rajanhas said.

Participating in a panel discussion Partnering with Tamil Nadu for Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, organized as part of NTU Singapore – CII Singapore – India Dialogue, on Tuesday, he said there is a cultural and natural connect between Singapore and Tamil Nadu to collaborate in a few areas.
Several firms from the city-state including GIC and Ascendas, now CapitaLand, have invested in real estate assets and REITS in TN in the past.

Kerala: 74% of water samples tested at labs unfit for consumption

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According to sources, of the 46 samples of KWA water tested, only 24 samples were fit for consumption, which means 48% of KWA water samples were contaminated with bacterial presence.

Among the samples tested, 80% of the samples were taken from wells and the remaining were KWA water, packaged drinking water, pond and lake water. These samples were given for testing by the public.

Of the contamination, 70.52% were due to the presence of coliform bacteria and 28.74% samples were due to E Coli.

With the rise in the number of tests in these labs, the KWA has also earned a good revenue. From just Rs 6,63,650 in 2020, the revenue increased to Rs 13,92,630 in 2022 (so far). In 2021, the revenue was Rs 9,27,219.

NGT fines Karnataka Rs 2,900 crore for lapses in waste management

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The NGT principal bench in New Delhi has been, for eight years, supervising compliance with earlier directions issued by The Supreme Court regarding the handling of solid waste and sewage management. In its order on Thursday, the tribunal noted that the steps taken by the Karnataka government in handling solid and liquid waste have been “inadequate”, which caused heavy damage to the Environment and public Health.

Assessing the extent of damage and estimating compensation on the ‘Polluter Pays’ principle for restoration of the environment, NGT initially estimated compensation payable at Rs 3,400 crore. But NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel ordered a deduction of Rs 500 crore levied on Monday for damage to the Chandapura Lake in Electronics City, Bengaluru.

TSRTC Logistics eyes Rs 1 crore per day

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To increase income from the Division of the state-runTelanganaState Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), the corporation had tied up with other logistics firms and government departments including the Indian Railways and the Postal Department to expand its reach to all parts of the country and offer seamless Services to citizens.

Currently, the corporation delivers anywhere between 15,000 to 18,000 parcels and makes about Rs.25 lakh per day through logistics services. It is planning to increase number of parcels being transported and the income generated to about Rs.1 crore per day.

Andhra Pradesh industrial zones to get desalination plants

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The has planned to set up at least four desalination Plants, with the first one inSrikakulamdistrict. The project is estimated to cost around 400 crore.

The desalination of ocean water is also expected to provide massive quantities of water required by the industries at affordable prices besides preventing them from tapping groundwater. In fact, making industries switch to the water source from desalination plant will also help districts facing water shortage.

Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (APIIC) has been directed to take up the project inPPPmode. The state government is setting up the first plant in the industrial zone of Ranasthalam mandal of Srikakulam district.

Goa: Zoo authority gives thumbs up for Bondla masterplan

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The masterplan for theBondla WildlifeSanctuary, submitted by the Goa forest department to thecentral Zoo Authority(CZA), has been approved in principle.

According to the masterplan the new orientation of cages for the zoo are to be done and upgradation plans at the wildlife sanctuary will also be taken up.

In addition, the department is also interested in bringing a pair of hippopotamus and wild boar to the zoo.

Cybercrimes shoot up by 112% in Mumbai in five years

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Cybercrimes in the city surged 112% in five years -from 1,361 cases in 2017 to 2,883 in 2021-according to a report released by non-profit Praja Foundation recently.

Cheating cases, whether through loan apps, matrimonial frauds or job scams, topped the list of cybercrimes last year with 1,154 FIRs being lodged. Online frauds involving debit/credit cards were next on the list-1,075 FIRs filed.

According to the data, detection rate of cybercrimes was low at 16% in 2021. Experts pointed out that the number of FIRs being registered were very less compared to actual complaints.