Aimed at improving water use efficiency, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited has come up with a new scheme, “Paani Bacho, Paise Kamao”. Under this, farmers will be compensated for decreased use of tubewells to draw water. This assumes significance as groundwater is being overexploited in 110 out of the 149 blocks in Punjab. Six pilot feeders in Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts have been selected under the first phase where metres will be installed at tubewells of those who adopt this.
The National Thermal Power Corporation Limited has signed an MoU with the Noida authority to use treated sewage water from the municipal body’s sewage treatment plant located within 50-km radius from the Dadri power station. This is in line with the Ministry of Power’s tariff policy amendment aimed at optimising water use. The amendment mandates the use of treated water from municipal bodies’ STPs located within the said radius.
Stating that hydropower projects result in overburdening rivers, a stay on the construction of all such power plants in the state has been ordered by the Uttarakhand high court. The HC has prohibited the disposal of waste within 500 metres of rivers as it impedes the river flow. District magistrates have been directed to identify sites for debris disposal within eight weeks. The state government had earlier requested for a reduction in the range from 500 metres to 200 metres.
Major projects have been taken up by the Brahmaputra Board to protect Majuli, the largest riverine island on the Brahmaputra, from floods and erosion. Drainage development schemes taken up in the area have neared completion while the Ministry of Water Resources and Central Water Commission have taken up initiatives to improve flood forecasting.
The Telangana government has issued guidelines to all corporations and municipal bodies in the state to ban plastic. Urban local bodies are expected to function as role models for other government offices in the state to follow in terms of implementing the ban on plastics. All urban local body offices have been directed to discontinue the usage of single-use plastic items henceforth and go in for environment-friendly materials instead.
This is a roundup of important policy matters published between June 12 and 18, 2018. Also, read the news this week.