BANGALORE: In an early morning sweep on Wednesday, the CBI raided former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa's residence in Dollar's colony, an upmarket area in Bangalore, and in Shimoga, in connection with his involvement in illegal mining and business transactions.

The Central team touring the State to assess the drought situation has concluded that the drought in Chitradurga district is severe.

A member of the team, D Rajashekar, Deputy Advisor, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, New Delhi, told mediapersons in Chitradurga on Tuesday that the water table had depleted and borewells have dried up. The team will recommend to the Centre in its report to roll out development schemes to alleviate the sufferings of the drought-affected, he said. He commended the officials for the drought-relief works taken up in the district.

A microfinance provider in Karnataka has been selected alongside seven other organisations from Peru, Indonesia, Cambodia and Afghanistan as a finalist for the Ashden Awards, the world’s leading green energy prize.

The finalists will compete for over £120,000 pound prize, with the winners to be announced at a prestigious ceremony in London on May 30. Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project in Karnataka is a prime example of the vital role a well-run microfinance organisation can play in meeting the poor’s energy needs.

A three-day National Elephant Census will begin on May 22 in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa, simultaneously.

The synchronised census, taken up once in five years, will be conducted throughout the country, following a directive issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Unlike the Elephant Reserve Census, where enumeration is restricted to counting of pachyderms in reserve forests, the synchronised census will be conducted in forest, non-forest, reserve and non-reserve forest areas (landscape-wise), said Ajay Mishra, Chief Conservator of Forests, Project Elephant, Karnataka.

JSW Steel, the country’s third-biggest steelmaker, reported a 10 per cent fall in quarterly net profit, beating expectations, and said it expected to operate its main plant at 80 per cent capacity in 2012-13, as iron ore supplies take time to stabilise.

Production at JSW Steel’s 10-million-tonne per year Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka has been affected since August after the Supreme Court put an interim ban on mining in the state, citing illegalities in some mines. While ore supplies have been partially restored through auctions, the Supreme Court last week ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe JSW Steel’s alleged involvement in illegal iron ore mining in the state.

Technicians dismantle e-waste from discarded electronic devices such as computer peripherals at Earth Sense Recycle unit in Andhra Pradesh.

Renewable Energy Ministry Eyes OilMin’s Model For Awarding Blocks
New Delhi: The government has initiated the process of putting in place a policy to auction, or award, offshore wind farms in a way that could be similar to the auction of oil and gas blocks. The ministry of new and renewable energy has constituted an inter-ministerial panel of secretaries, which also includes heads of pertinent organizations such as Coast Guards, to frame policy guidelines, approve and oversee execution projects and identify private or public sector partners.

India's Supreme Court Friday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe JSW Steel Ltd.'s role in procuring iron-ore from illegal mines in the southern state of Karnataka.

A panel formed by the court had earlier sought the probe while submitting its investigation report on illegal mines in three mineral-rich districts of Karnataka.

The apex court has also asked the federal agency to probe the role of Karnataka's former chief minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, in allowing illegal mining.

Special bench headed by Chief Justice asks for report by Aug 3, asks AP govt to co-operate in investigations

In a setback to former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, the Supreme Court today directed a CBI probe against him for allegedly granting undue favours to firms involved in illegal mining in lieu of donations to a charitable trust run by his kin. A Special Forest bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia directed the probe agency to carry out the probe uninfluenced by the stature of the person and political clout and corporates involved in the case and file its report by August 3.

P.M.Natarajan, Working Group member, Planning Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu, and a noted geologist, has welcomed the proposed Rs.1,560 crore-project to refurbish old tail-end sluices and construct new ones in the Cauvery delta which would facilitate groundwater recharge and arrest sea water intrusion. The proposal was announced by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the Assembly on May 7. “It is a good water management approach to improve entire irrigation command including tail end,” he told The Hindu here on Wednesday.