<p>Order of the Supreme Court in the matter of Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwar Devasthanam Vs State of Tamil Nadu & Others dated 18/03/2024.</p> <p>The matter related to 3009.84 acres of land situated
Coastal areas are potential zones of marine resources for a country like India which has a long stretch of coast line. Coastal ecosystem has vast and rich biodiversity consisting of the wetlands along the coastal region, the fish resources available in the sea, coral reefs etc.
In the long shadow of the now defunct Kolar Gold Fields, a small revolution is slowly sweeping the desolate countryside: a revolution to take world class science education to village schools and open
It's for court to decide on alternative alignment for dredging The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Thursday cleared the government's affidavit to be filed in the Supreme Court on the controversial Sethusamudram project. The government has sought vacation of the stay on the implementation of the Sethusamudram project, Congress sources said. According to the sources, the government has presented the available scientific, technical and factual details on the project. It has maintained that no issue of faith was being touched upon in implementing the project. Buying time While leaving it to the court to take a view on the issue, the government has also left it open for the court to decide on an alternative alignment for dredging, for which first feasible studies would have to be conducted. In other words, this would enable the United Progressive Alliance government to buy time till after the general elections. On Wednesday, the Congress had officially declared that efforts were on to find a "balance' between "development' and "emotional sensitivities' with regard to the project.
The government has toed the line of Union culture minister Ambika Soni of leaving a decision on the Sethusamudram Project to the Supreme Court. The question at stake was whether the Ram Sethu was man-made or a natural formation. The government was in no position to take any position, since it had not conducted independent archaeological studies to arrive at any definitive conclusion. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday, finalised the affidavit to be filed by the government in the Supreme Court on the Sethusamudram Project. The CCPA was attended by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union culture min ister Ambika Soni, Union law minister H.R. Bhardwaj and Union shipping ,minister T.R. Baalu. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier set up a GoM headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, where the government response was formulated. The Union Cabinet secretary was then asked to draft the govern ment affidavit, with inputs from the Union culture secretary, Union shipping secretary and Union law secretary. The Supreme Court on January 31 had granted another four weeks of extension to the Centre to file affidavit by the first week of March. An affidavit on the issue filed by the government in September last that sparked a furore as it raised questions over existence of Lord Ram. Union culture minis ter Ambika Soni had ordered deletion of the controversial portions of the draft affidavit, before embarking on a visit of Japan. But the instructions were not carried out and the offensive portions ordered to be deleted were retained, triggering a controversy. Ms Ambka Soni ordered withdrawing of the affidavit and suspended two officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for gross negligence of duty.
Staff members of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) are carrying out research on Bt brinjal to study its impact on the soil, Agriculture Minister Veerapandi S Arumugham said on Thursday. Research is being conducted at seven agricultural universities in India on the basis of instructions from the Centre, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and TNAU. The State Government is not directly involved in the project, he added. Terming the recent protest by some environmentalists and
The Congress on Wednesday said the government was making efforts to find a "balanced' solution to the Sethusamudram project, though ultimately it would be the Supreme Court that would take a view on it. Sources in the party hinted at getting further studies done on finding an alternative
The Sethusamu dram ship canal project could become operational by November this year depending on clearance by the Supreme Court, minister of shipping, road transport and highways T.R. Baalu told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He said the government had constituted a committee of eminent persons on October 5, 2007 with the terms of reference to invite suggestions and objections if any from all concerned persons in the project. The minister said the committee had submitted its report to the government on November 29, 2007. The Sethusamudram project was approved by the government in May 2005. However, pursuant to orders passed by the Supreme Court on September 14, 2007, dredging work at Adam's Bridge area had been suspended. The committee was formed pursuant to the submissions made before the Supreme Court by the government counsel on September 14, 2007, in respect of certain transferred cases and writ petitions relating to the project.
Mixing of cheap coconut oil with costly edible oils is rampant in south Adulteration is posing a serious threat to the edible oil trade in south India. Mixing of refined coconut oil, made from poor quality copra, with other oils is on the rise. As coconut oil is the cheapest edible oil available in the market, mixing it with other oils is turning into a profitable business here. The practice is rampant in the case of palm oil as its availability is low due to high global prices and import restrictions. A few years back, when coconut oil had crossed Rs 65 a kg, it was mixed with refined palm kernel oil, which was cheaper then. But now, when the retail prices of palm oil have crossed Rs 68-70 a kg, while coconut oil remains stable at Rs 60, the trend has reversed. According to copra dealers, the palm oil refiners, especially in Tamil Nadu, have large stocks of low quality copra, which is available at Rs 3,400-3,500 a quintal. "The refined oil made from this is ideal for mixing with other costly oils,' they said. All edible oil prices except for coconut oil are ruling above Rs 70 a kg. Ground nut oil and sunflower oil have a retail price of Rs 95 a kg while gingelly oil is costing Rs 100. Meanwhile, coconut oil prices are also on the rise. Today in Kochi, prices were hovering around Rs 5,650 a quintal, up by Rs 50.
In full swing: Work on to drain out water from Nuthanchery tank in Madambakkam near Tambaram on Tuesday. A section of residents in Nuthanchery village, Madambakkam town panchayat near Tambaram have objected to the draining out of water from a tank in their locality, fearing it would affect the water table of domestic and farm wells nearby. However, officials said they were draining out only a portion of water from the Nuthanchery tank to carry out improvement works under the Community Based Environment Development Scheme of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority. The Nuthanchery residents told reporters on Tuesday morning that the ancient tank was brought under the CMDA-assisted scheme more than two years ago. The tank was desilted and the mud that was scooped out was used to strengthen its bunds. Even then residents had to confront certain hostile sections who attempted to sell the scooped-out mud. Officials of the Directorate of Town Panchayats allayed residents' fears, stating that water to a depth of only two feet from the surface would be drained out. Water to a depth of more than 15 feet was stored in the tank. The plan was to strengthen the tank's bunds and sidewalls and only a marginal quantity of water was being drained out, they said. For rejuvenating the Nuthanchery Tank, CMDA's contribution was Rs. 5.8 lakh, while residents and Madambakkam town panchayat gave about Rs. 1.2 lakh. They made it clear that water table in the village would not be affected and that even after the improvement works, there would be sufficient water. The objection was only from a section of people. Under a similar scheme, a tank in Pathuvanchery was revived and there were no problems, the officials added.
Singed by the political firestorm over its last affidavit on Ram Sethu in which it questioned Ram's existence, the UPA Government plans to pass the buck to the Supreme Court and take a dramatically different tack, as per its draft affidavit scheduled to be submitted to the Supreme Court early next month. The affidavit of the Archaeological Survey of India and the Culture Ministry
