<p>Order of the National Green Tribunal (Central Zone Bench, Bhopal) regarding illegal sand mining being done at the Balod Pod sand mine located in Balod district, Chhattisgarh.</p> <p>A report was called
An inter-ministerial committee will meet on March 7 to deliberate on allocation of 17 coal blocks to public sector undertakings (PSUs). The blocks have estimated reserves of 8.45 billion tonnes. The panel will deliberate on the feedback received from the State governments after scrutinising the applications from PSUs. The Coal Ministry has said that the inter-ministerial technical committee, under the chairmanship of Advisor (Technical), will meet to consider inputs received from the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL) and State governments and administrative Ministries concerned.
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has lined up an investment of . 10,284 crore to double capacity of its captive iron ore mines to 45 million tonne. The plan is in tune with work to increase hot
Jammu and Kashmir is seeking allocation of a coal block from the Union Ministry of Coal under government dispensation route for setting up of a Pit-Head Thermal Power Plant of 1000 MW capacity to meet the energy needs of the state. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, on whose directions the State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC), has initiated action on the initiative, today received a detailed brief on the proposed project at the 68th meeting of the Board of Directors of the JKSPDC, which he chaired here.
As many as 10 coal blocks were allotted in the state of Chhattisgarh in last five years but none could start the production. Of the 10 coal blocks that were allotted by the ministry of coal since 2008
The coal ministry has received around 316 applications, including 235 from power sector and 38 from mining companies, with regard to 17 coal blocks to be allotted to public sector firms. ‘‘We have received 316 applications with regard to 17 coal mines to be allocated to government companies/undertakings,’’ a government official said. ‘‘Of the total applications the coal ministry received, 235 are from power companies and 38 from mining firms. The remaining applications are either incomplete or have been withdrawn,’’ the official added.
In the wake of the CBI raid implicating an officer of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in arranging green clearances for certain mining projects in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, the ministry has for now put on hold all projects associated with the implicated consultant. Sources said a limestone mining project of Chariot Steel & Power located at village Raiboga in Sundergarh district has already been put on hold. The CBI had on January 16 recovered Rs 1.04 crore from a MoEF deputy director. He was arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 7 lakh to arrange environmental clearance for an Orissa-based power and steel company.
The move may have impact on mining ops across the country The Centre is set to cancel bauxite mining leases given to the a Middle Eastbased company in Andhra Pradesh’s tribal-dominated Vishakhapatnam district for violating Forest Rights Act and provisions of Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act. The move may have impact on mining operations across the country.
Caution Centre against trying to rush the new measure through Parliament Even as the Centre hopes to introduce and pass the National Food Security Bill in the coming Budget session of Parliament, several States have expressed reservations on the Bill. At a consultation meeting of State Food Ministers here to evolve a consensus on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee to which the government Bill was referred on Wednesday, many States differed on crucial provisions, particularly the ones relating to identification of beneficiaries, sustained availability of grains, proposed cut in individual entitlement and additional expenses to be borne by them.
While the UPA government is seeking to push its ambitious food guarantee law in the forthcoming Budget Session of Parliament, many state governments on Wednesday objected to several provisions in the proposed Bill with Tamil Nadu seeking an outright exemption citing lack of clarity in the Bill. A meeting of state food ministers was convened on Wednesday by the Centre to discuss the National Food Security Bill. Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, in fact, wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh highlighting his reservation on issues related to quantum of foodgrain being guaranteed and ceiling on beneficiaries being imposed on states among other issues.
Differences came to the fore ahead of the government giving a final shape to the National Food Security Bill, as a number of states opposed key provisions of the legislative proposal. The state governments made their differences clear broadly on two issues — quantity of foodgrains and number of beneficiaries. Consistent with its stand the Tamil Nadu government made it clear during a meeting of the food ministers of states in the national capital that the state would like to be exempted from the ambit of the Food Bill. Tamil Nadu maintains that the state has a better scheme, which is universal unlike the Food Bill, which would compulsory exclude 33 per cent of the population from its ambit.
