Category: News

7 years later, govt refuses to recover Goa’s looted wealth

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s justification for calling the Shah Committee report flawed was that the survey was done using hand held GPS devices and that these devices have an error margin of 300-500 meters. Parrikar claims that the government has used latest technology, and based on this the actual area is not 578 hectares as reported by Shah Commission but a mere 10 hectares.
Interestingly, such discrepancies did not arise in other States which were under investigation by the Shah Commission. Also, the company that did the survey is Turbosketch from Fatorda. This company had also provided similar technical assistance while preparing the Regional Plan 2021, land use plans and has been involved in many other government contracts. Read more

Courtesy: Herald

Environment undermined as coal comes more and more from opencast mines

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

Tradies contracting lung disease from deadly practice

Sick tradies are taking their fight to the government, urging a crackdown on deadly practices in the stonemasonry industry.

Gary Moratti, 49, has worked with stone for 35 years – mostly artificial since it was introduced to Australia 15 years ago.

He said the artificial stone was brought in “without telling anybody how dangerous it really is”.

Mr Moratti was diagnosed with silicosis in 2017. Symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain and skin lesions. Read more

Courtesy: Yahoo

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes seeks better compensation for tribals

“The Commission is of the view that the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 should be applicable to tribal communities being displaced from tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries. The NCST holds the view that the tribals are not being adequately compensated at the moment. So it arrived at this decision on Friday, that the LARR Act should be applicable to tribals in the reserve belts,” said the official. The LARR Act has provisions for compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement of communities when their land is taken away. Read more

Courtesy: The New Indian Express

’60 cr people face high to extreme water crisis in India’

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

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