Maharashtra may exempt certain plastic items from ban

Maharashtra mulls exemption on 'certain' plastic items following crackdown on plastic

After the fifth day of a strict crackdown on plastic, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to not levy fines on certain banned plastic items as they are under consideration for exemption by the state government. These include items such as garbage bin liners, food containers and Ganpati decoration items. The BMC has seized 253 kg of banned plastic items and a fine of Rs 2.8 lakh has been levied from offenders until now.

A third port to come up along Kakinada coast

Decks have been cleared for the construction of a third port along the Kakinada coast. The proposed port will serve as a gateway to the east coast of India as it is located at one of the strategic nodes of the Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor and will have an initial handling capacity of 16 million tonnes. Kona village, spread over 11 hamlets, and two major panchayats with a population of 2.96 lakh will be affected by the port.

Tamil Nadu Assembly rejects Dam Safety Bill

The Tamil Nadu Assembly has unanimously rejected the Dam Safety Bill raising concerns that some clauses of the Bill interfere with the state’s rights on control and maintenance of dams located in neighbouring states. Tamil Nadu is concerned that the draft Bill would affect the state’s prospects in controlling the Mullaperiyar, Parambikulam, Thoonakkadavu and Peruvaripallam dams under the guise of facilitating dam safety.

New law in the pipeline to protect ecologically fragile Munnar

Kerala government is seriously considering enacting a special legislation to take care of construction activities in the ecologically fragile Munnar region. The government order is based on the high court ruling that aims to ensure that no construction takes place in Munnar without the NOC of the revenue department and permission of the panchayat.

Chennai earmarks Rs 100 crore for undertaking flood control measures

Due to regular flooding in Chennai, the state government has set aside Rs 100 crore for flood control measures. Areas in the Greater Chennai Corporation and neighbouring suburb get inundated regularly due to flooding of Adyar, Araniyar, Kosasthalaiyar, Cooum and Kovalam riverbeds. The amount will be used for the creation of channels to the nearby water bodies and renovation of channels, besides other works in the area.
 

This is a roundup of important policy matters published between June 26 and July 2, 2018. Also, read the news this week.