Union Budget 2014-15 sets aside Rs. 2037 crore for Ganga's revival

Rs. 2,037 crore allocated for Ganga's revival in Union Budget 2014-15

Centre allocates Rs. 2,037 crore for the Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission called 'Namami Gange', in the Union Budget 2014-15. Rs. 100 crore has been set aside for the development of the ghats as well as for the interlinking of rivers. The budget has also provided Rs. 200 crore for the Statue of Unity in Gujarat and Rs. 500 crore for water reforms in Delhi. It proposes to set up National Centre for Himalayan Studies in Uttarakhand.

India defeated by Bangladesh in the dispute over territorial waters

The UN Tribunal has awarded four-fifths of the total disputed area (19,467 of the 25,602 sq km area) in the Bay of Bengal to Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh were under dispute over territorial waters for four long decades, however, both the countries have now welcomed the tribunal's judgement on determination of land boundary.  

Increasing Sardar Sarvor dam height comes to a standstill

Jabalpur High Court has issued a stay order to both Centre and State Governments on raising the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam by 17 metres. The order has come following the petition filed by Narmada Bachao Andolan that has cited the ongoing Jha Commission enquiry into the Rs.1,000 crore scam, which involves 2,500 fake registries in purchasing of land for rehabilitation of the project-affected people.

Telangana seeks cancellation of Krishna Water Tribunal

Telangana Government demands cancellation of the Brijesh Kumar tribunal on Krishna water sharing. It seeks to constitute a fresh tribunal making Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as parties. According to Telangana, the state has been rendered injustice in the irrigation sector and even the AP Reorganisation Act has limited the terms of references in relation to Telangana.

Follow clean coal norms: NGT to coal firms

The National Green Tribunal has directed Coal India Limited (CIL) and its subsidiaries to follow the Environment Ministry's order of not using coal having more than 34% ash content. The Ministry has mandated the use of clean coal technology in its order of January 2014 but CIL and its subsidiaries, enjoying their monopoly, continue to supply low quality coal to the power companies, claims Mahagenco.

This is a weekly roundup of policy matters from July 7-12, 2014. Also read last week's news roundup.