Central empowered committee (CEC) submits preliminary report on illegal mining in Goa - Roundup of news (December 3 – December 9, 2012)

Central empowered committee (CEC) submits preliminary report on illegal mining in Goa

Central empowered committee (CEC) recommends a macro level environment impact assessment (EIA) before resumption of mining in Goa. It also stresses on the preparation of reclamation and rehabilitation (R&R) plans before mining operations are allowed to be resumed. However political parties in the state reiterated their demand for the resumption of mining at the earliest and restrained from finding fault with the report. The illegal mining issue in the state has exposed the soft underbelly of the mining industry and the nexus between the mine owners, politicians, bureaucrats and the law-enforcing agencies, say activists. The stakeholders of the troubled mining industry in Goa hold protests report, which has ruled against the resumption of suspended mining activities in Goa till the illegalities were fixed. The interim report on illegal mining in Goa has found various illegalities in its detailed report submitted to the Supreme Court.

Release of water from Karnataka

Karnataka releases 10,000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu from , water-level in Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS), plummets sharply. Water-level may hit the ‘dead storage’ by mid January, say officials.This release water from reservoirs across the Cauvery in the State to Tamil Nadu,  triggers protests in Mandya, Karnataka.

Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project not a mega project

Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project (LSHEP) to be completed by 2017. It is not a mega project as it will store  ten per cent of the total annual rainfall in the dam  and rest 90 per cent of the rainfall will run down the river, says National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) director.The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) joins the anti-dam chorus and calls for review of the sanctions given to the hydropower projects.

 Protests against proposed garbage disposal plant in Karnataka

Residents of Ramanagaram district, Karnataka,  launch protests against the proposed garbage disposal plant in their village. They threaten to set garbage trucks on fire if they tried to dump Bangalore’s waste in their village.

Sikkim ‘s entire agriculture  set to go organic by 2015

The entire state plans to take to organic cultivation by 2015, and  has already banned the use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides from 2003 itself. 40 per cent of the State’s farmland is already under certified organic cultivation.