Govt to focus on reducing water, power use by half in 20 years
Reducing water and power use by half and promoting renewable energy and public transport are “key elements” of the government’s urban development strategy for the next 20 years, according to a report released today. Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister M Venkaiah Naidu released the India Habitat III-National Report on World Habitat Day today, ahead of the UN Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador later this month where a global new urban agenda for the next 20 years is going to be adopted. India’s strategy for urban development intends to give a big push to use growing urbanisation for rapid economic development while at the same time committing itself to address issues of sustainable development and climate change, Naidu said. “The challenge is about ensuring sustainable development while taking advantage of economic growth that results from rapid urbanisation in the country. For long, urbanisation has been looked at from the limited perspective of providing basic services… We need to go for a big push to harness fully the potential of urbanisation,” he said. Stating that cities need to be made efficient, productive, inclusive, safe and sustainable, he said the agenda for the next two decades proposed in the national report will be ensuring economic growth and productivity, improving quality of life, addressing issues of inclusivity, sustainability and climate change. The minister said the outcomes of new urban agenda based on sustainable urban planning would include reducing water and electricity use by 50 per cent from that of normal use, enabling over 60 per cent of urban travel by public transport, generating half of power from renewable sources, and promoting walking and cycling for last mile connectivity. Promoting natural drainage patterns, reducing waste generation of all kind and promoting greenery are some of the government agenda for sustainable urban development, he said. On India ratifying the Paris Agreement on Climate Change yesterday, Naidu said, “It is an eloquent testimony of India’s commitment to sustainable development.” Referring to the theme of this year’s Word Habitat Day of ‘Housing at Centre’, Naidu said that under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) launched in June last year, construction of over 10 lakh houses for urban poor has been approved which is close to the number of houses approved during the nine years of JNNURM during the previous regime. Differently-abled children who have won in painting competitions organised on the theme of World Habitat Day were felicitated by Naidu and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) Rao Inderjit Singh. HUPA Secretary Nandita Chatterjee also spoke on the occasion. Ben Roethlisberger Womens Jersey
BSES to give temporary power connections in a day
Power discom BSES today launched a ‘tatkal’ scheme to provide temporary electricity connections within a day to community events such as pujas and marriages during the festive season. A BSES functionary said the ‘tatkal’ scheme aims at smoothly catering to the usually heavy demand witnessed every festive season. “Under the scheme, a consumer will be able to get a temporary connection the same day of applying and completing the commercial formalities. All a consumer has to do is contact BSES call centre numbers 39999707 (BRPL) and 39999808 (BYPL),” the company said. Usually, it takes around three-five days to get a temporary connection, it said. Tatakal applications are also available online at www.bsesdelhi.com or at the customer care centre at the company’s division office. Announcing the scheme, a BSES spokesperson said, “Our entire machinery is geared up to meet the rush.” Cory Littleton Womens Jersey
Monsoon shortage might effect power generation in Kerala
A drastic shortage in monsoon rainfall and subsequent fall in inflow to dams, the lowest in the last 10 years, is likely to affect power generation in Kerala, state government said today. “There has been a drastic drop in rainfall this monsoon compared to previous years, due to which only 58 per cent of water inflow than expected has been received in dams for power generation. This is the lowest inflow to dams in the last 10 years,” Power Minister Kadakampally Surendran said here. As this would effect power generation, the state has already taken steps to purchase 150 MW to overcome the anticipated shortage, he said, replying to the debate for grants for power department in the assembly. The minister said the government’s objective in the power sector was to have all houses electrified by March 2017. A Rs 10,000 crore project TransGrid-2 will be implemented to modernise transmission lines using the latest technology. Funds for the purpose would be made available from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board, he said. Besides, it was also planned to set up 400 KV sub-stations and 24 220 KV sub-stations in next five years. Government’s objective was to make Kerala self-sufficient in power in the next five years, he said, adding that the Centre’s new power policy meant that the state cannot expect more electricity from the Central power grid. As a first step, work of the now defunct power generation projects would be revived, he said adding nearly 300 MW additional power would be generated in the coming years. On conventional power generation, he said steps would be taken to complete a 50 MW project in the first phase in one year, which is being taken up as part of the 200 MW solar power park at Kasargod. Tender process for purchase of additional 200 MW solar power also was in the final stages, he added. Trevor Linden Authentic Jersey
Coal shortage over, UP overcomes power crisis
The UP government on Monday claimed of having overcome the power crisis orginated out of coal shortage at its 2,420 Mw Anpara power plant. The UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (UPRVUN) said that but for one unit of 500 Mw, all other six units have started working. Managaing director, UPRVUNL, AP Mishra said only unit number 7 of 500 Mw is shut down, while the rest have been fired up and synchronized with the grid. He said that the seventh unit too will start by Tuesday evening. The shortage of coal at the state owned power plant had partially derailed the power supply to the state. While the demand has been to the tune of around 15000 Mw, the state was in the position to wheel in around 12000 Mw leaving a gap of around 3000 Mw. The shortage had forced the state government to resort to rostering, not only in the rural but also urban areas. Marshall Faulk Authentic Jersey
Jharkhand becomes first state to launch DBT in Kerosene
Jharkhand has become the first state in the country to launch the ambitious Direct Benefit Transfer in Kerosene (DBTK) scheme, the petroleum ministry said in a statement today. The scheme aims at eliminating subsidized Kerosene from the supply chain for better targeting of beneficiaries, eliminate pilferage and black-marketing and cut down adulteration of the cheap cooking and lighting fuel with diesel. Jharkhand has initiated roll-out of the scheme in four identified districts — Chatra, Hazaribagh, Khunti and Jantara – beginning 1 October. “Under the DBTK Scheme, Public Distribution System (PDS) kerosene is being sold at non-subsidised price and subsidy, as admissible, is being transferred to consumers directly into their bank accounts,” the ministry said. The statement also clarified the government’s initiative is aimed at rationalising subsidy based on the approach to cut subsidy leakages but not subsidy. The DBTK scheme, which works on the lines of a similar programme for LPG subsidy, was initially to be rolled out across 40 districts in nine states from 1 April 2016. However, lack of bank accounts and their seeding with Aadhaar numbers coupled with problems in creating biometric database of beneficiaries had pushed back the launch of the ambitious plan to introduce DBTK. Under the scheme, consumers pay the non-subsidized price of kerosene at the time of purchase. Subsequently, the amount of subsidy is directly transferred to the bank account of the beneficiary. In order to avoid any inconvenience to the beneficiaries during the initial purchase through payment of un-subsided price, an initial amount of subsidy is credited to all eligible beneficiaries. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan had earlier said the centre is hopeful of covering at least 33 districts in nine states in 2016-17 calling it “A substantial leap forward in the reform process”. In a bid to incentivize states to implement DBTK, the states are given cash incentive of 75 per cent of subsidy saving during the first two years, 50 per cent in the third year and 25 per cent in the fourth year. The scheme is being launched initially in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Phillip Lindsay Womens Jersey
Saudi cabinet says eager for oil market stability
Saudi Arabia welcomed on Monday an agreement reached in Algiers last week on restraining oil output, and said it hoped for further cooperation between oil producers inside and outside OPEC to help the interests of producers and consumers. “The council of ministers stressed the kingdom’s keen desire for the stability of the international oil market in the interest of producers and consumers, the energy industry and the world economy,” state news agency SPA quoted a statement by the cabinet as saying. The cabinet also said Saudi Arabia was “ready to participate in any collective action” to achieve this goal. Lee Smith Jersey
Naxal-hit areas may get 2,726 towers in the next two years
The Narendra Modi-led NDA government is expected to grant assent to a home ministry demand put out earlier this month and greenlight a telecom department rollout of another 2,726 solar-powered mobile towers in the Naxal-hit areas. The Department of Telecom (DoT) and the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) are however closely working on a formal request sent by MHA for an urgent deployment of towers in left-wing extremism (LWE) hit areas in next two years, an industry person told ET. BSNL, with homegrown vendors Vihaan Networks Limited (VNL) and Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited (HFCL), has recently concluded the first phase of the world’s largest solar-powered GSM network with a total of 2,199 mobile tower sites. “We are expecting BSNL to float tender for the second phase of the LWE network project rollout within the next six to eight months time,” VNL chairman Rajiv Mehrotra told ET. Gurgaon-based VNL is a principal partner which has installed 1,315 sites, while HFCL deployed 521 solar-powered mobile towers in the Naxal-hit states that include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. The capital expenditure of each site is estimated to be Rs 70 lakh and is equipped with disaster management system, Mehrotra said. Out of the total telecom tower base, 1,315 would be maintained by VNL and 521 by HFCL for a five-year term which could be extended after a review, while the pre-existing 363 towers were kept out from the ambit of two companies. The entire initiative is fully-Indian and localized in sync with government’s vision of ‘Make in India’ and renewable energy focus, and despite harsh conditions and continuous threat to our staff, we were finally able to deploy the required cell sites in Naxalite areas, Mehrotra said. A top VNL executive said the initiative has generated as many as 6,000 tribal jobs including 200 at senior levels. Conceived by the MHA to combat insurgency in the left-wing extremism affected areas, DoT’s Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund is bearing the Rs 3,567.58 crore project cost. The project was initially approved by the Cabinet in June 2013. Dmitry Kulikov Womens Jersey
INDO-CHINA AND INDO-NEPAL BORDER ROAD STATUS REVIEWED
To review the progress of ongoing projects located in the vicinity of Indo-Nepal and Indo-China borders, secretary Border Management and Home Sushil Kumar convened a review meeting on Saturday where the chief secretary was present. Secretary Home has instructed to BRO, ITBP and CPWD officials to expedite the execution of the ongoing projects in coordination with the district administrations. Chief secretary asked the DMs to ensure that the works are completed at the earliest. The meeting threw the fact to the fore that the construction of 12 kilometer stretch between Kakrali gate and Thuligaad is facing technical snags. The officials concerned were asked to correct things soon. It was stated during the meeting that the forest clearance would be given for Tanakpur-Jolgivi road by October 10. It was decided at the meeting that 12 kilometer stretch out of the 135 kilometer road will be widened by December this year. Besides, 43 kilometer road between Tanakpur and Rupaligaad has been approved and construction of the remaining 75 kilometer road is being delayed due to proposed Pancheshwar dam. Things would be completed by 2018. Ghatiabagad-Lipulekh road would be constructed by March 2017. For the construction of New Sobla-Sela-Tedhang road on Indo- Nepal border, 10.269 hectare land falling in 10 villages at Dharchula of Pithoragarh district is yet to be acquired. CS asked the DM concerned to complete the acquisition in the next 10 days. It has been told that construction of Niti-Gailung, Sonam-PDA, PDA-Sumla and PDA-Maindy roads in the vicinity of the Indo-China border is running fast and things would be completed by October 2017. Besides, BRO’s Naga-Jadang, Chhastoli-Chatra, Sumna-Timkhim and Munsyari-Badiyaar bagad road are under construction. The BRO secretary was asked to convene regular monitoring and fix monthly targets. The meeting was attended among others by joint secretary Union Government Pradeep Gupt, DGP MA Ganapathy, principal secretary Home Umakant Panwar, secretary home Vinod Sharma, secretary BADP R Meenakshi Sundaram, secretaries PWD DS Garbyal and Arvind Singh Hyanki, IG SSB Shyam Singh, IG ITBP HA Goria and ADGP Intelligence Ashok Kumar. Fozzy Whittaker Authentic Jersey
Decks cleared for Rs 800-cr pilot Metrino project: Gadkari
The ambitious pod taxi project is all set to move into the fast lane, with the government deciding to execute it under NHAI and four global firms qualifying in initial bids. The project — also known as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) or Metrino — is one of its kind globally. “We are going to implement the Rs. 800-crore pilot project under NHAI. I had a meeting with Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu and it was finally decided that we can execute it under the NHAI Act. Previously, it was being explored whether to do it under the Tramways Act or the NHAI Act,” Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told PTI. The minister said four initial tenders have been received and the government will soon invite financial bids for the Metrino project that will let passengers travel in driverless pods suspended on a ropeway in the national capital region. The pilot project will be for about Rs. 800 crore for a 12.3-km stretch from the Delhi-Haryana border on NH 8 (near Ambience Mall) to Badshahpur via Rajiv Chowk, IFFCO and Sohna Road. “Four global companies — one from London which has done work in this regard at the Heathrow airport, one from the UAE, one from the US and one from Poland have qualified in the initial technical bids. Once the road transport and highways ministry approves it, we will float financial bids,” an official told PTI. The official said there will be 13 stations on the 12.3-km stretch and five people would be able to travel in one pod. “Initially, we are planning 1,100 pods and the system will be such that if one has to travel from station 1 to 12th, on a specific command that particular pod would reach the 12th station without any halt,” the official explained. The Rs. 4,000-crore public transport project provides for travel in driver-less pods suspended on a ropeway in the NCR. Jarred Tinordi Authentic Jersey
Industry bears cost of keeping power tariffs low for households; here’s why regulators want to stop that
Several state electricity regulators have sought an overhaul of the current subsidy regime in the power sector where industrial consumers bear the cost of keeping tariffs low for households and the farm sector. Regulators point out that in any market, bulk consumers get higher discounts than others and what’s being followed in the power sector is a distorted system that needs to be corrected. They also want the state governments and discoms to inform them of the subsidy levels they need to maintain for chosen consumers in time for the tariff revisions. “The government needs to introduce direct benefit transfer for underprivileged consumers rather than cross-subsidising their tariff,” Desh Deepak Verma, chairman of Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC), said. He added that discoms often find it futile to install meters for consumers where the tariff is fixed irrespective of consumptions. This creates an opaque system where point of theft or pilferage and its quantum is never known, he said. power Existing and former state power regulators who FE spoke to also picked holes in the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), which is being implemented at the behest of the Centre to improve discoms’ financial health. Admitting that the scheme was better than the ones in 2012 and in early 2000s, the regulators reckon that it would end up rescuing banks rather than solve problems faced by discoms. In November last year, the Union government unveiled the UDAY scheme to revive discoms’ financial health by reducing debt and mandating strict efficiency improvements milestones. Under the scheme, the states are supposed to progressively take over three-quarters of the debt and issue bonds against it. This is intended to bring down the interest cost of the discoms by 3-4 percentage points. So far, 16 states have signed up for the scheme. “The scheme is aimed mostly at ensuring that banks that have lent to discoms get their money back, but doesn’t address the root cause of discoms’ continued dismal performance,” Verma said. His sentiments were echoed by West Bengal electricity regulatory commission chairman Rabindra Nath Sen and former chairman of CERC Pramod Deo. “Although West Bengal is not a signatory to UDAY, the scheme is only marginally better than previous such schemes where discoms were subjected to financial restructuring, but didn’t yield desired results,” Sen said. He added that introducing competition into the working of discoms was the only reform that can ensure operational efficiency. “West Bengal’s distribution companies are in a relatively better shape because of the presence of private operators and competition even among state-owned ones,” Sen said. UPERC’s Verma also lamented the lack of competition among discoms. He said while complete privatisation wasn’t an ideal solution politically, even franchisee model of power distribution has had limited success because of discoms’ interference out of fear of losing their turf. “Electricity Act, 2003, mandates unbundling of state-owned power companies to bring about accountability to different arms of the sector and also to introduce competition. However, many states have worked to defeat the purpose by creating an umbrella organisation like UP Power Corp, in case of Uttar Pradesh, which takes all the decision of various discoms,” Verma added. Sean Kuraly Womens Jersey