Adding diversity to plate
The Government of India has proposed mandatory rice fortification to tackle the issue of malnutrition in the country. The process of fortification includes externally adding nutrients to a food item with
Right To Information (RTI)
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Mining over the limit
Bhubaneswar When Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Jena described Orissa’s mining scam as bigger than those of Goa and Karnataka put together, it might have been only a figure of speech. But indication of how big it could be has come now, with a penalty demand note of Rs 68,000-odd crore sent by the Orissa steel and mines department to the holders of 103 mining leases for excess mining between 2000 and 2010. The showcause and demand notices to companies such as Tata Steel, Essel Mining, Rungtas and Indrani Patnaik for extracting iron ore and manganese beyond the permissible limit set by the authorities came almost three years after the mining scam had broken out in the state. Incidentally, the order came when members of the Justice M B Shah Commission, now probing the scam, were touring the state for the third time in less than a year.
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Residents of Bhalaswa resettlement colony still struggling for clean drinking water
There seems to be no end to their quest for clean, drinking water, but residents of the resettlement colony in Bhalaswa are not ready to give up yet. On Thursday, after a joint inspection to identify the locations for provision of water tankers failed to reach an agreeable decision, the residents decided to continue their struggle for potable water. Residents of the resettlement colony have been complaining against unavailability of safe drinking water in their area. The Delhi Jal Board which supplies water to the city through a piped network sends tankers to Bhalaswa to meet the demand for water.
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Disaster in offing as 4,000 industrial units flout norms
Brazenly flouting environmental norms, hundreds of manufacturing units in Mumbai are operating illegally, without even the most basic “consent to operate” from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).
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A 777-day-old farmers’ protest against power plant
Farmers’ protest against the proposed 1,980-MW power plant in the trans-Yamuna Karchhna tehsil of Allahabad district entered its 777th day on Tuesday. While the district administration recently served a month’s ultimatum on the farmers to return the compensation they had received for land acquisition, the farmers told The Hindu that they would not be able to repay the amount, regardless of the ultimatum. Meanwhile, they say they will continue agitating at the proposed site, where they assemble daily under the banner of Punrvas Kisan Kalyan Sahayata Samiti. “On Tuesday, it is 777 days,” said Kisan Andolan president Raj Bahadur Patel.
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Dry wells, parched throats are illegal mining legacy...
PANJIM: As further indication of the environmental devastation caused by unregulated illegal mining in the State, at least 178 wells have been sucked dry in Bicholim, Shirgao and Pissurlem over the last few years, even as these areas have been receiving adequate rainfall, say experts and environmentalists. Villagers paid heavy costs as they had to abandon 22 wells in Bicholim, 76 in Shirgao and 80 in Pissurlem which were their traditional sources of water, as the water table beneath just slipped as illegal mines pumped thousands of litres of water out of mining pits, wasting the precious resource.
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925 rhino deaths in KNP in last 10 years
Jorhat : The one-horned rhino, identified as the symbol of Assam, is under the threat of poachers. About 15 rhinos have become victims to ruthless poachers in the last 9 months. In an RTI filed by an activist, the Forest department disclosed that a total of 79 rhinos had been killed by poachers in the last 10 years. The report revealed that the number of rhinos killed by poachers this year is set to break all previous records in the history of Kaziranga.
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Cancel mining lease of Ambuja Cement: PIL
A public interest litigation (PIL) seeking cancellation of lease and environmental clearance granted to Ambuja Cement Ltd for mining in Verval region of Junagadh district has been filed in the Gujarat Hgih court. The PIL also seeks stay on mining activities of the company while the case was pending with the court. The petitioner Paryavaran Bachav Samiti (PBS) has also alleged that the cement company had indulging in theft of minerals worth over Rs 5 crore from government owned land and sought penal actions against Ambjua Cement Ltd under the India Penal Code (IPC).
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Government mulls low cost houses for State’s poor
SHILLONG: Meghalaya is looking into the possibility of having low-cost designed houses meant for the poor people of the State. Informing this here today, Housing Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said, “Under this scheme, we are offering Rs 1 lakh low cost housing scheme which is at its final stage.” She said the department had sent the proposal to redesign the scheme to the line department and she also hoped that the scheme would be sanctioned soon.
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Judgement of the National Green Tribunal on Kaziranga National Park dated 07/09/2012 (Application No. 38/2011)
Judgement of the National Green Tribunal on Kaziranga National Park dated 07/09/2012 (Application No. 38/2011).
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‘Tiger tourism needs to become responsible’
RTI activist Ajay Dubey of Madhya Pradesh, who shot into prominence with his Supreme Court petition asking for better monitoring of tiger reserves, feels he was justified in having sought redressal from the highest court. “Madhya Pradesh had 700 tigers in 2000 but their numbers are down to 257,” said Mr Dubey who runs an environmental protection group, Prayatna. “Thirty-five tigers were lost in Panna alone from 2000. Undoubtedly, they died at the hands of poachers but my question is why was the ministry of environment so lax in implementing the Wildlife Protection Act 1972?” he asked.