“Innocent persons are drinking and bathing in the Ganga out of reverence and respect. They don’t know that it may be dangerous to their health. If cigarette packets can contain a warning saying it is ‘injurious to health’, why not the people be informed of the adverse effects (of river water)?” a bench headed by NGT chairperson A.K. Goel said. Read more
Courtesy: The Telegraph
The government’s decision to set up a task-force headed by the Cabinet Secretary to see how import-substitution can be increased has, not surprisingly, been criticised by former NITI Aayog deputy chairman Arvind Panagariya. Since a liberal trade regime results in cheaper imports and more competitive exports, he argues, any move that seeks to make imports costlier—as an import-substitution regime usually does—should be avoided. Indeed, as he points out, India’s import-substitution phase after Independence resulted in high import tariffs which, in turn, led to Indian industry becoming high-cost and uncompetitive. In such a situation, unlike in the case of other countries, India could never look at exports as a viable growth strategy. Panagariya argues that, instead of looking at an import-substitution strategy, India would do better to have a viable export-led strategy, and concentrate on removing whatever bottlenecks there are—labour laws, high-cost infrastructure, etc—to ensure this happens. Read more
Courtesy: Financial Express
Environment undermined as coal comes more and more from opencast mines
Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan toiling in the dark caverns of a deep coal mine in the 1979 hit Kala Patthar has more or less come to represent life in the Indian coal industry.
The image now needs a makeover, as underground (UG) mining, once the mainstay and a relatively environment-friendly option, has become rare in India.
In FY18, the nation’s two commercial miners — Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Co Ltd (SCCL) — produced 629 million tonne of fuel. Of this, barely 39 mt, or 6 per cent, came from underground sources, down from 16 per cent in FY05 and nearly 9 per cent in FY14. Among the top coal-producing nations, only Indonesia has a lower UG share. Considering 25 per cent of India’s coal assets are deep-seated, UG should ideally contribute a quarter of production. Read more
Courtesy: Business Line
Sixty crore people in India face high to extreme water crisis and its demand is projected to be twice the availability supply by 2030, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
Answering a question in the Lok Sabha on a study conducted by the NITI Aayog on water crisis in the country, Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi said there was an imminent need to deepen understanding of water resources and their usage. Read more
Courtesy: The Economic Times
Ballari: Each Gram Panchayat in the iron ore mining belt of Ballari-Sandur-Hosapete is likely to get Rs 2 crore grant per annum to undo the damages of mining till next ten years. Ballari deputy commissioner Mr Ram Prasath Manohar, while addressing a public consultation, has stated that funds will be allocated to panchayats from the corpus of Karnataka Mining Environment Restoration Corporation (KMERC), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by the state government to carry out the restoration process.
Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court had recommended a Rs 30,000 crore mega project to undo the damage done to the environment of Ballari, Chitradurga and Tumkur district by reckless mining operations. The green bench of the Supreme Court later directed the state government to set up a company to formulate and implement projects under the Comprehensive Environment Plan for Mining Impact Zone (CEPMIZ) With such huge money involved, elected representatives in the mining region are making a beeline to submit major action plans worth hundreds of crore. Read more
Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle
