No person in the country shall produce or sell packaged drinking water without the Bureau of Indian Standards certification mark, declares the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The assertion is made following the suo moto matter taken up by the National Green Tribunal in relation to the quality of water supplied by local bodies like Chennai Metrowater. The FSSAI took over the issue from the National Green Tribunal, as it is the competent authority for ensuring the availability of safe food for human consumption.
Maharashtra Groundwater Bill of 2009, to plan and regulate the use of sub-surface water, gets President's nod. The top priorities under the bill is to constitute a regulatory authority, notify overexploited areas and develop watershed development plans. This is the first time that the Maharashtra government is taking an intiative to regulate grounwater resources in the state. However, environmentalists forsee serious hindrances in the implementation of the bill.
Tribal farmers of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra convert to Bewar and Penda forms of shifting cultivation, to cope with the increasingly erratic rainfall patterns and resulting crop losses. These conventional agricultural practices are resilient to environmental stress and assure year-round yield. However, the government agencies consider these farming practices illegal and is bent on rooting them out without any proper scientific evidence of their demerits.
The National Green Tribunal has issued notice to the Alaknanda Hydropower Company Limited (AHPCL), alleged to have caused damage during the June floods in Uttarakhand. The Srinagar Bandh Aapda Sangharsh Samiti accuses the hydel firm of filling Srinagar and the Alaknanda river bed with muck, silt and debris from the dam construction site and also blamed the dam authorities for not opening the flood gates during the June 16 and 17 floods, causing additional damage in the town. The Samiti has demanded compensation for the affected residents.
Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) issues closure orders to Essar Energy's Mahan-I 600 MW coal-fired power plant in Singrauli district. The MPPCB is unsatisfied with the company's response on the large quantities of fly ash being discharged from the plant to the Garha stream and surrounding areas. The company will be allowed to restart operations only after building a permanent ash dyke, installing a continuous ambient air monitoring station, a sewage treatment plant and a tree plantation.
This is a weekly roundup of policy matters from January 26- February 1, 2014. Also read last week's news update.