DDA plan of 25-km riverbed under scanner
The dream project mooted by the Delhi Development Authority to develop the 25 kilometre-long riverbed of river Yamuna stretching from Wazirabad to Okhla in the city on the lines of river Thames in London has come under scanner of the Supreme Court. A bench comprising of Justice H.K. Sema and …
BHEL bags equipment contract for 192 MW hydro project in H.P.
Himachal Pradesh State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has won an order to supply equipment for LNJ Bhilwara Group-promoted 192-MW Allain Duhangan hydroelectric project in Himachal Pradesh. The equipment major will take 30 months to commission the project. It will be involved in designing, manufacturing and commissioning of Pelton hydro …
Govt to ease approval norms for hydel power plants
The Government is planning to ease norms for hydroelectric projects that require techno-economic clearance from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to expedite approvals for hydel projects. "At present, all hydro projects above Rs 2,500 crore need techno-economic clearance from the CEA. We will shortly notify the new ceilings below which …
No skyscrapers near heritage bldgs: HC
Highrises will no longer be allowed to mar the Mumbai city's heritage skyline. The Bombay high court directed the BMC not to flout development control rules, while sanctioning multi-storeyed buildings to replace old heritage structures or, in heritage precincts. The rule governing heritage precincts stipulates that buildings included in listed …
Lodhi Gardens in for a new deal
The most "powerful" green in the city -- Lodhi Gardens -- just got some much needed funds. With the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) signing a memorandum of understanding with the steel major SAIL for conservation of monuments within the garden on Tuesday, the best kept grassy patch in Lutyens' …
ASI to outsource monuments conservation
Faced with shortage of manpower to handle conservation work in the 24 circles of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Union culture ministry has decided to outsource the conservation of protected monuments of national importance. Interestingly, one of the reasons cited by the ministry for the shortage of manpower …
35 protected monuments vanish
As many as 35 "Centrallyprotected monuments' of national importance are "non-traceable across India', according to the Union culture ministry. Shockingly, the maximum number of historical monuments have disappeared from the nation's capital.Twelve "Centrally-protected monuments and sites in Delhi' alone are nontraceable, plus eight more in Uttar Pradesh, three in Uttaranchal …
Kerala court refuses to stay ban on colas
The Kerala high court refused to stay the Kerala government's decision to ban the products of the soft drink giants Pepsi and Coke. On August 18, both the companies had, in separate petitions, challenged the ban imposed by the state government on aerated drinks. Denying the stay, the court, however, …
Action on cola firms after lab reports: Pranab
Defence minister Pranab Mukherjee poured cold water on the recent initiative by a section of state Congress leaders to forge an electoral understanding with the Trinamul Congress for the coming byelections in three Lok Sabha and one Assembly seats in West Bengal. Byelections will be held for Katwa, Purulia and …
Baghpat excavation shows Vedic connections
The excavation of 116 skeletons by Archaeological Survey of India at Sonaul village in Baghpat district of UP in the last one year is being touted as a major archaeological find.
Rolling stones pose a bigger bang to Taj
The stones and heavy boulders on the riverfront near Taj Mahal are posing an environmental threat to the "greatest monument of love". The stones that lay for the controversial Taj Heritage Corridor Project right behind the Taj on the riverfront, have not been removed by the Archaeological Survey of India …
Demolition of heritage building stayed
The Madras High Court has stayed the demolition or change of character of the Bharath Insurance Building, a scheduled Grade-A heritage building, at the Anna Salai-General Patters Road junction in Chennai. The First Bench comprising Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice K.Chandru granted the interim injunction, on a public interest …
Cola controversy gets murkier
The pesticola imbroglio may snowball into a larger controversy engulfing the entire branded beverage market. Documents available with ET shows that a FMCG giants like HLL, Nestle and alcoholic beverage major United Breweries had participated in a meeting of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Committee on finalising the standards …
Relief for endosulfan victims likely
Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran will visit Kasaragod on August 10 to discuss projects for relief and rehabilitation of the victims of pesticide endosulfan in the district. The Chief Minister is likely to announce Rs.50,000 each as solatium to the families of victims who had …
Norms ready but not in force
The Bureau of Indian Standards has come out with a draft standard which has been under discussion for the last three years but has still not been applied. The draft standard covers all carbonated drinks and not necessarily only those manufactured by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. It defines carbonated drinks as, …
No tilt in Taj minarets,ASI tells SC
Apprehensions about the Taj Mahal's four minarets tilting are unfounded, the Supreme Court was on Friday informed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on the basis of preliminary findings of experts from the Survey of India. Almost a year ago, the Supreme Court had asked ASI, in charge of …
Cokes Plachimada unit imbroglio may linger
The recent high court verdict allowing Coke to apply for a licence despite Pollution Control Board's (PCB) closure order and directing the panchayat to grant licence is likely to deepen the crisis of reopening the company's Plachimada factory. Perumatty panchayat and the PCB are considering legal recourse, may move the …
Ballad of slipping stones
The towering walls which have been guarding the imposing Jaisalmer Fort and its 90-plus bastions holding the meandering alleyways together for over 850 years now stand on shaky ground. While the increasing water use within the Jaisalmer Fort over the last few decades is being cited as the probable cause, …
The old little folks of Jajjal
Contaminated ground water and excessive use of pesticides could be the reason behind the premature greying of a Bathinda village in Punjab. Dr Ashutosh Halder, professor at the department of reproductive biology, AIIMS, who was leading the team of experts in the villages during an awareness campaign launched by an …
SC issues notice to Coca-Cola
The Supreme Court issued notice to Coca-Cola on a Kerala Government plea challenging two high court orders that allowed the company's Plachimada bottling unit to draw five lakh litres of ground water a day. The SC tagged the plea along with the main petition seeking stay order of the HC …
