The Ministry of Water Resources and the agricultural ministry have signed an MoU for the speedy implementation of the Namami Gange programme. As per the terms of the MoU, the latter will develop organic farming in the villages along the Ganga river and will also create awareness about balanced use of chemicals, fertilisers and pesticides. The MoU will remain in effect for a period of three years and will be monitored by a steering committee that will meet on a periodic basis.
The National Green Tribunal has sought responses from various authorities, both at the central and state level, by October 19 over the water taxi project by the Inland Waterways Authority (IWAI) of India. The latter intends to construct environment-friendly water taxi project on Yamuna, under the National Waterways Act 2016, for shipping and navigation of water transport facility from Wazirabad to Fatehpur Jat in Saharanpur, UP. A petition has been filed against the project while IWAI states that it has conducted pre-feasibility study through a reputed consultant.
With an aim to achieve the goal of Har Khet Ko Pani, the Harayana government has okayed a project worth Rs 143 crore, for the re-construction of Jawahar Lal Nehru (JLN) canal. In order to remove the obstacles in Western Jamuna Canal (WJC) main line, the state authorities have already initiated re-construction of five disbanded old bridges, out of which three have been completed while the remaining two will be completed by December. Along with this, another project worth Rs 300 crore has been approved for the rehabilitation of 565 watercourses that will help in improving the irrigation potential of the state.
The National Green Tribunal has issued notices to the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government over rampant dumping of waste and encroachments on Arthala Lake located close to Hindon river in Ghaziabad. The order came following a petition filed by an NGO, SPEnBIO, alleging that an illegal construction of an underpass and erection of pillars have been taken up in the lake catchment. The tribunal has sought responses from both the Centre and the UP government by October 25.
This is a roundup of important policy matters from September 11 - 17, 2016. Also read last week's news roundup.
Lead image source: AmyNorth via Wikipedia