The US pulls up Toyota
Federal government seeks <font class='UCASE'>us</font> $60 billion fine for faulty emission control systems
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Higher royalty payments offered as bait to MNCs
In an effort to improve the quality of technology coming into the country, the Indian government has decided to remove the low ceiling on royalty payments.
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China remains heavily polluted, despite regulations
Yet another white paper but little work on the ground
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Crushed by sugar
Farmers in Chhattisgarh blame the state for losses
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While Pakistan angers Arabs for its bustard...
IN Pakistan, environmentalists have gone to court to save the houbara bustard from being hunted by wealthy Arabs. The bustard case has not only angered the Gulf states, it has also provoked a surge
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Gas chamber
Industries spew poison unchecked in Chhattisgarh
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Gas chamber
Industries spew poison unchecked in Chhattisgarh
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In short
too demanding: The Uttar Pradesh government decided on December 14, 2004, to constitute an Irrigation Development and Flood Control Commission. The move is allegedly aimed at merely including
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Mangalore SEZ fate to be decided on Thursday
The state government has said the Centre has been satisfied with the outcome of the public hearing regarding the Mangalore special economic zone (MSEZ) and a final meeting on the crucial environmental management plan (EMP) of the project has been fixed for February 28. "If we get the approval after the Thursday's hearing, work can start on the project,' Karnataka Governor's advisor Krishna Kumar informed Deccan Herald. The meeting will be held by the technical committee of the Expert Committee for Infrastructure Development and Miscellaneous Project, set up by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. The farmers have been opposing the acquisition of land. They have urged the Government to reject the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) report on the project. According to the advisor, a total of 1,750 acre, out of the 2500 acre needed for the SEZ, has already been acquired. "The government has issued notification for 300 acre for acquisition. We are discussing the issue with the farmers,' he added. On the public hearing, Krishna Kumar said the Union ministry has prepared the report on the EIA of the project and circulated it to the gram panchayats. "The GPs wanted the copies in Kannada and we have translated and given these copies. The ministry has concluded that the public hearings were held as per law. The meetings were held in January and February. Now the technical committee will hear the EMP. If we get the approval after the meeting, we can start work on the project. We have come a long way in the last 2-3 months regarding this multi-product SEZ,' Kumar stated. Promoters The Rs 35,000 crore SEZ is being set up by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) as anchor co-promoter using a special purpose vehicle owned by its subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), which will hold a 46 per cent stake. The other equity-holders are the Karnataka Government, Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited. ONGC would hold 26 per cent of the equity in the incorporated company. The State government would hold 23 per cent and the balance 51 per cent would be jointly owned by KCCI and IL&FS. The New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) is understood to have shown interest to join the SEZ, subject to approval from the Ministry of Shipping, Road and Transport. If NMPT joins, the combined equity of KIADB and NMPT would be 23 per cent. The MRPL has envisaged projects such as an LNG terminal, C2-C3 separation units and aromatic and olefin complexes in the petrochemical component of the SEZ. The SEZ will also include a refinery, a power plant, a gas terminal and a pipeline.
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Stone laid for Hogenakkal water supply scheme
MAJOR PROJECTS: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi inaugurating the Hogenakkal Water Supply Scheme and Fluorosis Mitigation Programme in Dharmapuri on Tuesday. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has assured that the government will ensure establishment of industries in places other than Chennai and its suburbs. After laying the foundation stone for the Rs. 1,330-crore Hogenakkal Water Supply Scheme and Fluorosis Mitigation Programme and a slew of other development projects here on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with over 12 companies for setting up industrial units that would generate 20 lakh new jobs in Tamil Nadu in two years' time. Stating that a few parties were criticising the welfare schemes, Mr. Karunanidhi said the DMK government would continue to implement schemes for the development of the poor, middle class and the oppressed. The Centre had appreciated the schemes being implemented by the State. Appreciating Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin and officials for successfully negotiating with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for getting funds for the Hogenakkal scheme, he said the government had fulfilled a long-pending dream of the people of Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri. The Chief Minister promised that he would continue to carry out development schemes. Referring to the Pattali Makkal Katchi president G.K. Mani's observation that his party would support good schemes, Mr. Karunanidhi said he would not give opportunity for anyone to criticise his government since it was doing only good service to the people. Mr. Stalin promised rewards for officials if the scheme was completed before the deadline. New posts New posts would be created for expediting the implementation of the scheme, which would ensure supply of safe drinking water to about 30 lakh people in 6,755 habitations in three municipalities, 17 town panchayats and 19 panchayat unions in the fluoride-affected Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts. Ministers Durai Murugan, Veerapandi S. Arumugam, Arcot N. Veeraswami, K. Ponmudy, K.N. Nehru and I. Periyasamy, Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Secretary K. Deenabandu, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board Managing Director Swaran Singh, Collectors P. Amudha (Dharmapuri) and Santhosh Babu (Krishnagiri) spoke.
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Sindh farmers want wheat procurement target raised
The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) on Sunday asked the government to increase wheat procurement target from 25 per cent to 40 per cent. The chamber's senior vice-president Dr Shahnawaz Shah said at a meeting at the Agriculture Complex that the government should pay growers an additional Rs40 for each 40 kilogrammes of wheat from its own funds to help them offset the high cost of fertilisers and pesticides. The meeting observed that the poor growers would suffer huge losses as the cost of production was much higher than the government's procurement rate of Rs510 per maund and demanded that the procurement offices should be established at union council level and the mode of payment to growers should be simplified. The growers called upon the newly-elected members of the national and provincial assemblies to take up the issue of sugarcane at the first session of assemblies and adopt resolutions against the excesses of sugar mill owners. They demanded that assemblies should ensure that the growers were paid the official rate of Rs63 per 40 kg and pointed out that the cane's production in the province had dropped by 20 per cent due to sugar mill owners' highhandedness and reduced price. Anwar Bachani, Mir Imdad Talpur, Mohammad Khan Sarejo and Nawaz Ali Samejo were among the participants of the meeting. HCCI: The president of the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Haji Mohammad Yaqoob on Sunday criticised raids on glass bangle factories by the officials of labour department and said it had seriously hurt the business. He said after meeting a delegation of the office-bearers of Glass Bangle Association that if bangle manufacturing units were closed due to harassment, thousands of workers including a large number of would lose their jobs. He said that the additional director and joint director of labour usually raided factories sometime before morning prayers, which was adversely affecting the production process. Under the relevant labour laws, the officials were supposed to visit the factories only once a year and they were creating harassment by conducting raids on a daily basis, he said. In a separate statement to press, the HCCI president demanded that the government should take back raise in the prices of petrol, diesel and electricity. Increase in power tariff would deal a serious blow to agricultural and industrial production and raise in oil prices would further ratchet up transport fare and prices of other essential items, he said. The cost of industrial production would shoot up considerably due to increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and electricity, which in turn would lead to hyperinflation, he observed. He said that the country was in the grip of energy crisis and urged the government to formulate short term and long term policies to tackle the problem.
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Justice remains mirage for Bhopal gas victims
Nearly eight years after the Bhopal gas disaster, the legal battle over a settlement continues. But for the efforts of public interest agencies and public spirited advocates, the victims and the legal system would have been mired in a horrendous plight
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Bush sells wheat
INDIA had the last laugh when US President George Bush announced at an election campaign meeting US $1 billion in subsidies to boost US wheat exports. India,
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Great expectations
INDIA is lobbying hard and activists are stepping up pressure as the World Bank prepares to take a decision in October on a suggestion to "suspend" but not terminate aid for the Sardar Sarovar
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Surprising statistic
In the guise of making washing easy, detergents are directing a chemical fusillade at the environment in the absence of regulation, discovers <font class='UCASE'>suresh babu s v</font>
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Clean up plan seems futile
A massive project holds out no guarantee that it can make river water potable
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Renewing energy options
A recent CII meet invited focus on renewable sources of energy to perk up India s demand supply scenario
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INDIA
Around 1,300 industrial units in Delhi have been given closure orders by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee for their failure to meet environmental standards. These industries had not completed
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A Sunrise industry
Natural dye business survives on exporters and the local carpet industry
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Cooking the goose...
Chidambaram has given a thrust to industrial development. But by failing to balance this development with environmental concerns, he has cooked the goose of millions