Forest Clearance to Hilly States

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From: Press Information Bureau Ministry of I&B <pib.kolkata@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 3:51 PM
Subject: Releases...........pt3

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Environment and Forests

Forest Clearance to Hilly States

New Delhi: August 4, 2010.

 

 

41 proposals, as on 30.07.2010, relating to construction of Roads, Hydel projects, Transmission lines, Schools, Mining, etc., involving diversion of forest land in 9 Hilly States including Himachal Pradesh are at different stages of processing in the Government of India.  Out of these, only 3 proposals pertain to Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).  Majority of these 41 proposals have been received in the year 2010 and are at different stages of processing. The State-wise details are given in annexure.

The project proponents, through the respective State/UT Governments, after the receipt of approval from the Central Government for use of forest land for non-forest purposes, are required to comply with certain conditions stipulated to mitigate adverse impact of such diversions of forest land. These stipulations include payment towards Compensatory Afforestation, Net Present Value, Catchment Area Treatment Plan, etc., to the Adhoc-CAMPA. The project proponents are given 5 years to comply with the conditions stipulated in the approval accorded by the Central Government.

The Central Government, after the receipt of the compliance report, grants prior approval for transfer of forest land for non-forest purposes.

 

"FOREST CLEARANCE TO HILLY STATES" DUE FOR REPLY ON 04.08.2010.

Sr. No.	State / UT	No. of cases Pending with- GOI
1	Arunachal Pradesh	2
2	Himachal Pradesh	14
3	Manipur	1
4	Meghalaya	0
5	Mizoram	0
6	Nagaland	0
7	Sikkim	0
8	Uttarakhand	24
9	West Bengal	0
TOTAL		41

This information was given by the  Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Shri Jairam Ramesh  in a written reply to a question by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur and Shri Virender Kashyap  in Lok  Sabha today.   

 

kp/dk/kol/15:37 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Environment and Forests

Survey about Most Polluted Cities in Country

New Delhi: August 4, 2010.

 

 

The Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Boards are monitoring the ambient air quality across the country under the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme.  Under this programme, ambient air quality is being monitored at 424 stations covering 175 cities in respect of Sulphur Dioxide (SO₂), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂), Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Particulate Matter of (size less than 10 micro metre (PM₁₀). 

The air quality data for the year 2009 indicates that the levels of SO₂ have remained within the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in all the cities.  However, the levels of NO₂ were exceeding the norms in Howrah, Asansol, Kolkata, Delhi, Jamshedpur, Raipur, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Jharia.  During the same period, 91 cities/ towns were found to be exceeding the standards in respect of PM₁₀.  The details may be referred at Annexure-I.

As regards the rank of the list of the polluted cities of the World, there is no standard methodology to rank the most polluted cities of the World. However, various organizations have come out with their ranking of most polluted cities of the World based on different parameters.

The existing levels of pollution in 35 metro cities are provided at Annexure-II.

Annexure-I

Cities in decreasing order of NO₂ levels in 2009

(Annual average concentrations in micrograms per cubic meter)

Sl. No.	Cities Name	Annual Average in µg/m3
1	Howrah	81
2	Asansol	62
3	Kolkata	56
4	Delhi	49
5	Jamshedpur	49
6	Raipur	46
7	Mumbai	42
8	Navi Mumbai	42
9	Jharia	41

 

Cities in decreasing order of PM₁₀ levels in 2009

(Annual average concentrations in micrograms per cubic meter)

Sl. No.	Cities Name	Annual Average in µg/m3
1	Jharia	261
2	Ludhiana	254
3	Khanna	249
4	Delhi	243
5	Ghaziabad	236
6	Kanpur	211
7	Gobindgarh	206
8	Lucknow	197
9	Amritsar	190
10	Gwalior	187
11	Firozabad	187
12	Kolkata	187
13	Agra	185
14	Indore	183
15	Ranchi	182
16	Jamshedpur	172
17	Sindri	166
18	Jodhpur	164
19	Asansol	163
20	Allahabad	160
21	Alwar	153
22	Jaipur	151
23	Nahan	141
24	Jalandhar	140
25	Jabalpur	136
26	Anpara	134
27	Jhansi	127
28	Bangalore	122
29	Paonta Sahib	118
30	Korba	117
31	Bhopal	115
32	Angul	115
33	Howrah	114
34	Dewas	113
35	Bhilai Nagar	112
36	Navi Mumbai	111
37	Mumbai	109
38	Thoothukudi	108
39	Hubli-Dharwad	107
40	Ramagundam	106
41	Jamnagar	106
42	Rourkela	106
43	Rajkot	105
44	Nagda	105
45	Talcher	104
46	Golaghat	103
47	Naya Nangal	101
48	Nagpur	99
49	Nalgonda	98
50	Visakhapatnam	97
51	Ahmedabad	95
52	Surat	91
53	Kota	91
54	Amravati	90
55	Chandrapur	90
56	Sibsagar	89
57	Anklesvar	89
58	Nashik	89
59	Patencheru	87
60	Berhampur	87
61	Vadodara	86
62	Aurangabad (MS)	86
63	Ujjain	86
64	Udaipur	85
65	Tezpur	83
66	Parwanoo	83
67	Cuttack	83
68	Kolhapur	82
69	Pune	82
70	Salem	82
71	Chandigarh	81
72	Hydrabad	80
73	Vijaywada	80
74	Bongaigaon	80
75	Kurnool	79
76	Vapi	78
77	Damtal	77
78	Shillong	77
79	Panaji	75
80	Bhubaneshwar	75
81	Gulbarga	74
82	Coimbatore	74
83	Vasco	73
84	Silvassa	71
85	Solapur	71
86	Chennai	70
87	Mormugao	67
88	Trivandrum	65
89	Shimla	64
90	Baddi	63
91	Nalagarh	63

                Note: Data of Agra is of sensitive areas. Data as reported in monthly summary sheet\Environmental Data Bank available as on date. National Ambient Air Quality Standard Nov. 2009 for Residential, Industrial & other areas (Annual average) for SO₂ = 50 µg/m³, NO₂ = 40 µg/m³ and RSPM = 60 µg/m³      

This information was given by the  Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Shri Jairam Ramesh  in a written reply to a question by Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Shri Madan Lal Sharma and  Shri Jai Prakash Agarwal in Lok  Sabha today.   

 

kp/dk/kol/15:38 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Environment and Forests

SCS and STS in Indian Forest Service

New Delhi: August 4, 2010.

 

 

TheMinistry of Environment & Forests is the cadre Controlling Authority of the Forestry Personnel of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) only. The number of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes employees appointed working in Indian Forests Service (IFS) ,State-wise is attached as Annexure-I.

                State wise list of employees working in Forest Departments, other than IFS, is not maintained centrally.

This information was given by the  Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Shri Jairam Ramesh  in a written reply to a question by Shri Maheshwar Hazari in Lok  Sabha today.   

 

Annexure-I

INDIAN FOREST SERVICE

Cadre wise all IFS Officers CATEGORY SUMMARY Report

CADRE NAME	SC	ST	OBC	OTHERS	Total
AGMUT	6	22	19	94	141
ANDHRA PRADESH	20	4	5	112	141
ASSAM & MEGHALAYA	7	26	7	69	109
BIHAR	8	0	4	34	46
CHHATISGARH	14	11	11	88	124
GUJARAT	10	8	8	83	109
HARYANA	8	4	4	43	59
HIMACHAL PRADESH	10	5	3	86	104
JAMMU & KASHMIR	6	5	9	72	92
JHARAKHAND	15	8	8	99	130
KARNATAKA	31	9	9	111	160
KERALA	10	2	9	68	89
MADHYA PRADESH	31	21	6	221	279
MAHARASHTRA	23	8	8	139	178
MANIPUR & TRIPURA	5	16	8	60	89
NAGALAND	1	18	3	12	34
ORISSA	19	6	6	87	118
PUNJAB	11	1	4	36	52
RAJASTHAN	15	10	9	70	104
SIKKIM	3	3	3	17	26
TAMIL NADU	25	3	39	68	135
UTTAR PRADESH	22	5	10	123	160
UTTRAKHAND	7	7	5	57	76
WEST BENGAL	15	6	8	80	109
Total	322	208	205	1,929	2,664
Percentage in comparison to total number of posts	12.08%	7.8%	7.7%	-	-

 

kp/dk/kol/15:39 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Environment and Forests                     

Acquisition of Land in the Buffer Zone of Silent Valley National Park

New Delhi: August 4, 2010.

 

The State Government of Kerala has reported that a Scheme "Acquisition of ecologically fragile areas and private enclosures for re-building the contiguity of forests for the long term conservation of wildlife, for financial assistance from Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) was sent on 3rd January, 2008.  The Scheme envisaged an outlay, at 2007-08 costs, of Rs.76.55 crores.

Releases of funds to State CAMPA from Ad-hoc CAMPA was permitted by the Supreme Court of India by their Order dated 10th July, 2009, in terms of which allocation of 10% of the funds in the respective principal account was permitted.  The funds in the CAMPA Kerala account as on 30 06 2009 were of the order of Rs.17,50,90,762.58  out of which Rs.1,75,09,000.00  was allocated to the State CAMPA on 12.03.2010.  The State Government is required, inter-alia to formulate detailed Annual Plan of Operation, and include the subject proposal therein for funding out of the CAMPA.

This information was given by the  Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Shri Jairam Ramesh  in a written reply to a question by  Shri M. B. Rajesh  in Lok  Sabha today.  

 

kp/dk/kol/15:39 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Environment and Forests                     

Consolidating Work Of Bannerghatta National Park

New Delhi: August 4, 2010.

 

A proposal on consolidation work of Bannerghatta National Park was received in the Ministry in 2004. This Consolidation work of Bannerghatta National Park will have  financial implication of Rs. 1862 lakhs  which is under consideration. However, the State Government of Karnataka was requested to resubmit a revised detailed proposal along with map for consideration by the Committee on Rationalization of Boundaries of National Parks and Sanctuaries. The revised proposal from the Government of Karnataka is awaited.

 

This information was given by the  Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Shri Jairam Ramesh  in a written reply to a question by Shri G.M. Siddeshwara  in Lok  Sabha today.  

 

kp/dk/kol/15:40 hrs.

 

 

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Environment and Forests                     

Regulatory Mechanism For Conservation Of Wetlands

New Delhi: August 4, 2010.

 

The Government is planning to set up a legally enforceable regulatory mechanism for the conservation of wetland as envisaged in National Environment Policy, 2006. Recognizing the value of wetlands and taking cognizance of the facts that their does not yet exist a formal system of wetland regulation, National Environmental Policy, 2006 sought to set up a legally enforceable mechanism for wetlands to prevent their degradation and enhance their conservation. In pursuance of the policy resolution, a multi-disciplinary expert group was constituted and a draft regulatory framework on Wetland Conservation has been put on the website (moef.nic.in) for wider consultations.

This information was given by the  Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Shri Jairam Ramesh  in a written reply to a question by  Prof. (Dr.) Ranjan Prasad Yadav   in Lok  Sabha today.  

 

kp/dk/kol/15:40 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers                      

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Pays Dividend 0f Rs. 56.13 Crore to Government

New Delhi: August 4, 2010.

 

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (RCF), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, today paid a dividend of Rs.56.13 Crore for the year 2009-10 to the Government. The dividend cheque was handed over by Shri J. Kohareswaran, CMD, RCF to the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri M.K. Alagiri. The Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Srikant Kumar Jena and Secretary, Department of Fertilizers, Shri S. Krishnan were also present.

During the year 2009-10, RCF has made highest ever profit of Rs.234.87 Crore as compared to previous year's net profit of Rs.211.58 Crore, thus registering an 11% increase. RCF achieved a turn over of Rs.5697.18 Crore. In physical terms, the Company has sold 40.82 LMT fertilizers and also achieved highest ever sales of indigenous urea, imported DAP and sales of water soluble Sujala during the year.

RCF has once again been rated 'Excellent' on the basis of performance as per parameters in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the Government.

The Company has also installed five MGD sewage water treatment, taking sewage from Mumbai Municipal Corporation and converting it to usable process water for plants after treatment.

 

dnm/pkm/sb/dk/kol/15:40 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Road Transport & Highways                                

Toll Collection on National Highways

New Delhi: August 4, 2010.

 

The Amount of toll collected on National Highways has increased to Rs. 225102.677 lakhs in 2009-10. This is 14.18% higher than the toll collected in 2008-09 (Rs.197146.454 lakhs), and 35.51% higher than what was collected in 2007-08 (Rs.166111.0509 lakhs).

Rajasthan collected the highest amount of toll of Rs.35213.56 lakhs, followed by Andhra Pradesh Rs.34065.29 lakhs and Maharashtra Rs.27380.01 lakhs. There are 213 toll plazas operating on National Highways in the country.

This information was provided by Shri R.P.N Singh, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways in the Rajya Sabha today.

 

rs: pm/dk/kol/15:40 hrs.

 

--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/