Groundwater level has increased by 0.6 metres
Rs. 20 crore has been allocated for supplying water across the State, says TWAD Board managing director The groundwater level has increased from 18.10 metres below ground level (pre-monsoon) to 17.5
Rs. 20 crore has been allocated for supplying water across the State, says TWAD Board managing director The groundwater level has increased from 18.10 metres below ground level (pre-monsoon) to 17.5
Members say it will help ganja cultivators, encourage poaching The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court on August 7 rejected a proposal cleared by the Tamil Nadu Government for laying a road connecting Karumbarai in Theni Forest Division with the grizzled giant squirrel sanctuary near Watrap in Virudhunagar district. According to Ministry of Environment and Forests sources, the CEC, after inspecting the areas in Theni and the sanctuary on June 13, held public hearing on four occasions. The last one was on August 7, at which it announced the rejection of the proposal.
Fishing rights granted in favour of a cooperative society of fishermen or Scheduled Caste people on a preferential basis cannot be cancelled just because the local body, in which the water body was situated, was willing to pay more money than the society, the Madras High Court has said. Dismissing a writ petition filed by Thimmapuram village panchayat in Krishnagiri district, Justice S. Manikumar said: It is not for the interest of the panchayat administration or its coffers that fishing rights are granted. It cannot also be said that fishing rights are the property of the panchayat.”
Civic and local body authorities have intensified the drive to eradicate plastic menace in the district since the beginning of the month by launching awareness campaigns and concrete field action to check use of plastic carry bags especially in eateries, restaurants and petty shops. People have welcomed the anti-plastic drive though they say it might take some more time to get accustomed to the emerging situation, in particular when visiting the hotels.
Social audit of PDS throws up complaints from consumers The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has been extended to agricultural activities in the lands of small and marginal farmers, and farmers belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Castes as per a G.O. issued by the State government, according to Ajay Yadav, Collector of Vellore district.
A total of 12 illegal dyeing units were evicted in a drive carried out by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) at Iyangadu and Thattankuttai near Komarapalayam on Tuesday.
For the first time in the State, under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), work is on to interlink 49 lakes in the district to reduce persistent water shortage and remove the imbalance in water availability. Traditional water bodies in 16 village panchayats in the district have different sources of water including from hills, rivers and streams that are spread across a wide area and cater only to requirements of a particular area. Hence, the district administration decided to divert water from surplus areas to water scarce zones through interlink water channels.
More than 5-year-old quarries banned in some districts It may take a few months for authorities to open new sand quarries on the Cauvery-Coleroon river basin in the wake of the recent order of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. One of the decisions taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday was that sites for new quarries should be identified and approval from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) secured.
Stench, mosquitoes, insects and snakes part of civic nightmare A choked drainage canal running through scores of residential areas is all that is needed to make life difficult for residents. It is one such drainage that has brought trouble for residents of Pachal panchayat as the dirty water stands still due to lack of desilting and cleaning for several years. Stench, mosquitoes, insects and snakes have been part and parcel of life for residents of a number of areas in Pachal panchayat, located near Tirupattur.
Action taken for alleged failure in monitoring statistics with regard to cholera deaths The State government on Monday suspended the Chennai Corporation’s city health officer P. Kuganantham, for an alleged failure in monitoring vital statistical information. The suspension was the outcome of a preliminary inquiry by the civic body’s joint commissioner (health) into the issue of news reports that said 29 cases of cholera deaths had been reported in the city since January this year.
Minister reviews situation with senior officials The ban on entry of tourists into the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) will in no way affect the normal life of the local population living in and around Valparai and there is no need for any apprehension, Minister for Forests K.T. Pachamal said recently. A delegation of people from Valparai representing various organisations led by Valparai MLA M. Arumugam along with Agriculture Minister S. Damodaran met the Forest Minister at Chennai representing the inconveniences that they have been put to because of the ban on tourism.