Final report on new environmental norms for construction sector soon
Facing criticism for proposing changes in environmental norms for the construction sector, which critics have alleged will benefit the construction industry at the cost of environmental checks, the Union environment ministry has formed a committee to consider the objections before finalising the changes. The four-member committee formed on 27 September has been given two months’ time to give its report. The committee has had four meetings so far and would soon submit its final report. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) published a draft notification (29 April 2016) proposing integrating environmental conditions with building permissions granted by local authorities under state-specific land laws. The draft meant that after such integration, construction projects would not require compulsory clearances under the Environment Protection Act. As per the current norms, building and construction projects with built-up area over 20,000 sq. metres and above require green clearances. However, in the proposed system, three categories of buildings—5,000-20,000 sq. metres, 20,000-50,000 sq. metres and 50,000-150,000 sq. metres—are being created where standard conditions are slightly stricter for larger buildings than smaller ones. Subsequently, the proposal came under heavy criticism from environmentalists who alleged that it will result in bypassing of environmental checks like environment impact assessment of construction projects may be given a miss. “The committee formed on 27 September is a result of criticism that the ministry faced in the past few months only,” said a senior official of the MoEFCC, who did not wish to be identified. The committee includes S.K. Srivastava, additional director in MoEFCC, Chandra Bhushan of NGO Centre for Science and Environment, Mili Majumdar of Green Business Certification Institute Pvt. Ltd and Tanmay Tathagat, director at consulting firm Environmental Design Solution. The 27 September order states that the 29 April draft notification “needs to be finalised after analysing and incorporating the comments received from the public, if need be after offering the opportunity of hearing”. “The committee would consider the objections /suggestions of stakeholders,” said the 27 September MoEFCC order, which was reviewed by Mint. A member of the four-member committee, who did not wish to be identified, said they are not aware whether the order regarding the committee’s formation was made public or not. “We have analysed the comments and suggestions that MoEFCC had received. Our report is nearly finalised and we would submit it to the ministry soon,” the member said. Another committee member, who also did not wish to be identified, said, “The 29 April draft notification had received hundreds of comments and suggestions. There were several loopholes in that notification. We have had four meetings of the committee and have analysed all the comments. The committee would now soon give its final report.” The proposed changes by MoEFCC is significant as India is set to witness rapid urbanisation up to 2030 and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has pledged housing for all by 2022. Gabe Holmes Womens Jersey
Haryana to close five toll points
The Haryana Government has decided to close five toll points and install three new toll points in the State. The Haryana Cabinet on Wednesday met under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Chandigarh to approve the proposal of the Public Works (Building and Roads) Department to close five toll points after the expiry of their present agreements and install three new one near inter-State borders. The five toll points which are to be closed include the Gurugram-Pataudi road toll point. Its toll agreement would close on December 12, 2017. Similarly, the Gurugram-Farrukh Nagar-Jhajjar road toll point would also be closed after completion of its agreement on August 27, 2017. The third toll point is on Neval Gheer Garhi Birbal road. Its date of completion is November 30, 2016. The other two toll points to be closed are Pehowa-Ladwa-Saharanpur Haridwar road, Section 3rd gate of Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra to Pehowa and that of Karnal Rambha Indri Ladwa road. The agreements for both points would close later this year. The three new toll points which would be installed after completion of repair work are on Palwal-Jewar-Aligarh road, Ateli to Kheri road in Mahendragarh district and Narnaul-Koriawas-Rambass road in Mahendragarh district. PTI adds Direct-To-Home (DTH) services and cable service providers will now come under tax net with the Haryana Cabinet giving approval in this regard on Wednesday. The State Cabinet on Wednesday approved the amendments to the provisions of the Punjab Entertainment Duty Act, 1955, to make provision for implementation of electronic governance under the Act and the Rules framed thereunder, said an official spokesman. The scope of definition of ‘entertainment’ has been expanded to include entertainments provided by the Direct-to-Home (DTH) services and cable service providers. After this amendment, the State Government will be able to levy tax on cable service providers and on DTH services, he said. The amendments approved by the Cabinet will be placed before the State Legislature for approval, he said. Besides, the Haryana Cabinet also approved amendments to the provisions of the Haryana Tax on Luxuries Rules, 2008, in order to facilitate the proprietors registered under the Haryana Tax on Luxuries Act, 2007, to implement electronic governance in the fields of registration amendment, cancellation of registration certificate, returns and payment of tax, said the spokesman. The Council of Ministers also approved rationalisation of entertainment duty. Rate of duty on cinematograph exhibitions will remain at 30 per cent and rate of duty on all other entertainments including amusement parks, fun parks, cultural activities etc. has been fixed at 15 per cent, he said. Adrian Gonzalez Jersey
PM Narendra Modi to review expansion plan for NH-24
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to take stock of the expansion work of NH-24 on Wednesday in his monthly Pragati meeting. The project has been moving at snail’s pace 10 months after Modi laid the foundation stone for this project due to several hurdles including encroachments and two bridges over the Yamuna which await the green tribunal’s nod. Till now one package of the project stretch–Delhi border to Dasna–has not been awarded and NHAI is waiting for environment clearance for expanding this section as well. Government had hoped to show some visible progress by the time Uttar Pradesh goes for polls. In the past, the UPA government too had failed to widen the highway in 10 years of its rule. Sources said the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has referred the case of building two parallel bridges along the existing ones on Yamuna to its expert committee. “The case is scheduled to come up for hearing on November 15. We are hopeful of a favourable order as we are taking enough measures to protect the flow of river,“ said an NHAI official. A 2014 NGT order restricts any construction on Yamuna floodplains without its approval. The official added the work for widening of Delhi border to Dasna section would be awarded within a week. NHAI has received four bids after re-floating tenders. During the review meeting, highway ministry is likely to submit the need to expedite environment clearance and getting nearly 34 hectares from Delhi Development Authority , which NHAI can hand over to Delhi forest department for compensatory afforestation. “We also expect removal of encroachments and rehabilitation of 500-odd slums in Delhi will be expedited for which we are ready to pay the compensation,“ said an NHAI official. In the case of Dasna to Hapur section, which has already been awarded, NHAI is waiting for forest clearance from Uttar Pradesh government.There is no other hindrance to carry out expansion work of this portion. To beat the traffic nightmare on one of the most congested highways, NHAI has rolled out a project to widen NH-24 by expanding the Nizamuddin to Dasna stretch to 14 lanes and Dasna to Hapur to six lanes. Montravius Adams Womens Jersey
MoEF comes out with norms for infra projects in forests
Recognizing the threats of linear infrastructure project such as roads and railway lines to wildlife, the union environment, forest and climate change ministry (MoEF&CC) has come out with detailed policy guidelines on putting inadequate safeguards while clearing these projects to facilitate wildlife movement and prevent their deaths. The guidelines come in the wake of severe criticism of the MoEF&CC for clearing infrastructure projects through wildlife habitats without due safeguards and the ministry is also hoping that standard wildlife safeguards for such projects will ensure speedy clearances. Infact, just a month ago it cleared a road widening project through the Kanha-Achanakmar tiger corridor in Chhattisgarh despite calls from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to reject it. Each year, several endangered wildlife species such as tigers, leopards, elephants and a range of other wildlife get killed as they try to cross highways and railway tracks that bisect wildlife habitats. Besides roads and railway, power transmission lines and canals also kill wildlife as they get electrocuted or drown. The draft policy guideline, ‘eco-friendly measures to mitigate impacts of linear infrastructure on wildlife’ has been prepared by the WII and the ministry has now sought public suggestions and objections on it. For the first time, standard recommendations and engineering solutions have been issued through the report, applicable to specific wildlife and habitats. For instance, it has said that for projects that pass through tiger landscapes, both underpasses and overpasses are potential engineering solutions for reducing the impact of these projects. “A minimum span of 30m with a height of 5m and width of 5-8m would work for most species in tiger landscapes,” the report has said. In the case of elephants, the report has recommended that elevating a road project on pillars is the best solution. If it is an underpass, it should have a height of at least 8m and width of 12m for smooth movement of the biggest land animal, the report added. Monkeys and squirrels can use canopy bridges that are built on railway tracks while pipe culverts are ideal for smaller mammals, reptiles and amphibians, the WII report said. The guidelines also highlight that infrastructure projects are a barrier for wildlife that restrict and prevent their movement. They disturb wildlife habitats and affect natural processes, which in turn may have long-term implications for wildlife such as genetic drift. According to the ministry report, National Highway-7 stretch between Maharashtra and Nagpur, that passes through Kanha-Pench wildlife corridor sees an average traffic volume of 452 vehicles/hour, comprising of all kinds of vehicles. As per the report, a death zone, where 375-600 cars pass per hour, only about 25% of the animals will be able to cross. In sections of the highway where more than 600 cars pass per hour, animals are largely repelled from crossing, preventing them from moving to newer habitats. The report has recommended that on sharp bends and high-speed networks where applying brakes is not possible, railway tracks should be be barricaded while giving access to elephants at other locations. Dna had reported earlier this month that more than 400 railway trains (passenger and goods) pass through the country’s sensitive wildlife habitats. Austin Blythe Jersey
NHAI to shake dust off three stalled road projects in State by floating fresh tenders
After taking over three stalled road projects in the State, including the Chennai-Tada Tollway road from private developers for various reasons, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) hopes to revive them by inviting fresh tenders for these works soon. According to National Highways Authority of India sources, work began on six laning the Chennai-Tada stretch (43.4 km), awarded to Larsen and Toubro Limited, in April 2009. The project was scheduled for completion by 2011. But due to land acquisition problems, the project remained incomplete and deemed a non-performing asset by the company last year. Thirty per cent work on widening NH-5 is pending due to delay in acquiring lands within Chennai metropolitan area. Similarly, work on the 93 km Poonamallee-Walajahpet (Essel Infrastructure limited), six-lane project, commenced in 2013 but stalled with less than 20 per cent work finished, primarily due to payment default issues. Officials of NHAI told Express that the take over of both the projects, which fall under phase V of National Highways Development Project of NHAI, was completed by May. As far as the 32 km Chennai Bypass toll road (MEP infrastructure developers) is concerned, National Highways Authority of India officials say although work has been completed entirely, disputes arose between the concessionaire and National Highways Authority of India on issues such as toll evasion and fee rule notification. “We have taken over the maintenance work of the Bypass road, but we will invite fresh tenders for it along with the other two projects, by early next year. The Poonamallee-Walajahpet road, with only less work done, will be treated as a new project,” the official said. Junior Seau Jersey
Government paving road for Rs 60,000 crore push to infrastructure sector
An influential section of the government is pushing for an additional Rs 50,000-60,000 crore burst of spending to give infrastructure a big mid-year push through the second supplementary demand for grants. Roads, railways and rural electrification will be among the main beneficiaries. This is being discussed at the top levels of the government, a senior official told ET. The money will be needed as a number of departments will be close to exhausting their funds and require more money to meet targets. A final call on the amount will be taken in line with additional resources that the government is able to garner. Genuine requirements based on the utilisation record of ministries will also be taken into account. The government is also keen on completing the promised Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and All India Institutes of Medical Science (AIIMS). The finance ministry, which needs to stick to the fiscal deficit target of 3.5% of GDP, will be closely involved in taking a final call on the issue. It has begun to look at various options to make room for additional spending. “Genuine fund requirements would be met. Actual utilisation and unspent balances released to various agencies would be taken into account before allocating any additional funds,” a finance ministry official told ET. “Ministries that are sitting on funds and have not been able to spend would have to forego to those that have been able to spend.” Policymakers are of the view that the spending push will help boost growth and also aid timely completion of key government programmes. The finance ministry had on September 26 invited proposals to be considered for the second supplementary demand for grants that will be presented to Parliament in the winter session that’s to start November 16. The funds constraint has resulted in just a marginal increase in the capital spending allocation in the current fiscal to Rs2.47 lakh crore from Rs2.38 lakh crore last year. The government has an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the current year on account of the seventh pay commission award. But it’s confident of generating any additional funds that may be required thanks to the just-concluded black money disclosure scheme, dividend payments from the Reserve Bank of India and asset sales despite revenue from the recent spectrum auction falling short of target. “There will be no cuts,” said the official cited above. “The government is quite comfortable with the additional RBI dividend, tax expected on black money disclosures and is confident that the divestment target would be met.” Highway target The highway, power and railway ministries are looking for more funds to maintain the momentum on road building, rural electrification and railway capital spending. The government is also looking at funds to implement its biodegradable toilet project in addition to setting up the promised IITs, AIIMS, and IIMs. The Nitin Gadkari-led department of road transport and highways spent half of its Rs 55,000-crore allocation by August and needs more money to meet its target of 15,000 km of highways. The railways has got government support worth Rs 45,000 crore, of which 32% was utilised by August. The government is keen that the national transporter completes initiatives such as bio-toilets that are announced every year but left incomplete. The power ministry wants to electrify all villages by May 2017, a year ahead of target, which means it will need more funds. It wants to give soft loans to states to ensure that every household gets a power connection. The rural development ministry will need more funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, having run through its Rs 45,000-crore allocation as it cleared past dues and speeded up payments. Another Rs 10,000 crore is needed for the rest of the year. Malik Jefferson Authentic Jersey
CCEA okays Rs 1,955-cr Bihar-Jharkhand link road project
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a new link between Sahibganj bypass in Jharkhand to Manihari bypass in Bihar, including a four-lane bridge on river Ganga, stated a release. The cost is estimated to be Rs 1,954.77 crore, including the cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. Total length of the road to be developed is approximately 22 km. This work will be done under the National Highways (Others) on hybrid annuity mode. The concession period of the project is 19 years, including a construction period of four years. The new link road will be approximately 16-km long. This stretch also includes a four-lane bridge on Ganga river. The project will help in expediting the improvement of infrastructure in Bihar and Jharkhand and also in reducing the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying in the area in these States. The development of this stretch will also help in uplifting the socio-economic condition of this region in the State. It would also increase the employment potential for local labourers for project activities. It has been estimated that a total number of 4,076 mandays are required for the construction of one kilometre of highway. As such, employment potential of 89,000 (approx.) mandays will be generated locally during the construction period of this stretch, it added. Seth Roberts Womens Jersey
Lack of reforms created huge NPAs in infra, power sectors: Arun Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday blamed the successive governments’ inability to bring in reforms in the infrastructure and power sectors for the rising non-performing assets in the core segments. He said there are a number of sectors which have been impacted by the global slowdown, but some of these were hit more because of the absence of reforms. “There are at least two sectors – infrastructure and power- where we can’t blame external factors. Our own inability to bring in reforms adequately in these sectors, I think, caused the difficulty (in banks books),” Jaitley told the BRICS Economic Forum in Aguada. Elaborating further, the Union Minister said that in the infrastructure sector the key problem is the inability to adequately and quickly settle the disputes. “We allowed them to pester for an indefinitely long period and now we have taken a number of steps, including amending laws, setting up faster courts, among others. I do hope we are able to get out of it,” the minister said. While accepting that absence of reforms in state discom led to a stress in the power sector, Jaitley said, “I think the only silver lining is that the causes of the stress (in power sector) have been analysed quickly and correctly, and now we are addressing those problems.” He said bringing reforms in the country has become more easier now than it was some years back. “I think there is a lot of maturity, which has come into the country’s political system and this is noticed from the fact that reforming in India today is no longer as challenging as it used to be say 10 or 20 years ago,” he said. It can be noted that most of the over Rs 8.5 trillion of dud loans of banks, a large chunk are their exposure to infra and power sectors. He noted that even at the state level, there is an interest to bring in reforms to attract investment and to improve economic activities. Jaitley, however, said some of the challenges the country is facing today are due to high population and resource mobilisation. On the protectionist policies of the developed world, he said if this debate gets replicated in the developing economies or in the emerging markets, it probably would have extremely serious consequences. He said when the domestic economy was opened up, there were concerns that the country might be hit by protectionist policies of the developed nations, but those fears do not exist now. “As of now our economy has matured and we have got out of that (protectionist) debate. I can safely assume that today, in an economy like India, not even ripples of that debate are being felt, which you are otherwise witnessing in the developed countries itself,” he said. On the proposed BRICS Rating agency, Jaitley said the objective of setting up such an agency is to have a professional and independent entity and not to control it by a group of countries. O. J. Howard Jersey
Kochi:Steps taken to expedite National Highway widening: Pinarayi Vijayan
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday that the state government has taken steps to expedite the widening of the national highway between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram into four lanes. Inaugurating the Palarivattom flyover on Wednesday, Vijayan said that efforts are on to sort out the issues related to land acquisition for widening of national highways. The chief minister said that respective district collectors have been given instructions to hold discussions with landowners to resolve the land acquisition crisis. The government will be preparing a better compensation and rehabilitation package for the land owners to minimise their hardships. He said that the government stands for environment-friendly construction that is suitable for the state’s climate and geography. The government plans to start a system which make use of factors like recycling of waste materials during construction and environment-friendly raw materials. Various methods like optimum of utilization of power will be introduced to check cost escalation, he said. PWD minister G Sudhakaran said that the detailed project reports for the flyovers at Vyttila and Kundanoor would be prepared soon and construction works would begin once the central government gave approval to National Highways Authority of India to undertake the work. Once these two flyovers are completed, there would be four flyovers along the stretch between Kundanoor and Edappally to address traffic snarls, he said. The minister said that all roads, constructed or repaired in future, will have well-covered drains. Pavements for pedestrians and cycle tracks would also be part of the new plan, he said. The government has decided to construct two highways – high range and coastal – between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 crore. Mayor Soumini Jain requested the government to take urgent steps to complete the work on Pullepady-Thammanam Road. She also wanted the state government to revise the PWD manual so as to facilitate smooth completion of road works. The chief minister also took a ride on the newly-commissioned flyover. Guy Lapointe Authentic Jersey
Government approves Rs 1,955-crore road link project
A highway project worth Rs 1,955 crore for construction of a road link between Sahibganj in Jharkhand to Manihari in Bihar, including a bridge on the Ganges, received Cabinet clearance today. “The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a new link between Sahibganj bypass in Jharkhand to Manihari bypass in Bihar, including a four-lane bridge on river Ganga,” an official statement said. The cost is estimated to be Rs 1,954.77 crore, including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The total length of the road to be developed is approximately 22 kms. The job will be executed in hybrid annuity Mode, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said, adding that the concession period is 19 years, including a construction period of four years. The new link road will be approximately 16 km long, starting (from Sahibganj Pass in Jharkhand) to another six-km stretch near Narenpur (junction of NH-133B and NH-131A on Manihari bypass in Bihar). This stretch also includes a four-lane bridge on the Ganga. The project, the government said, will help expedite improvement of infrastructure in Bihar and Jharkhand and also reduce the time and cost of travel in these states. The development of this stretch is also expected to help uplift socio-economic conditions of people of this region in the state. It would also increase employment potential for local labourers for project activities. “It has been estimated that a total number of 4,076 mandays are required for construction of one kilometre of highway. As such, employment potential of 89,000 (approximately) mandays will be generated locally during the construction period of this stretch,” it said. The new project highway is a new formation of the missing link at NH-131A to NH-133B connecting Sahibganj in Jharkhand and Manihari in Bihar. At present, there is a missing link between Jharkhand to Bihar as there is no bridge on the Ganga at this point. The vehicular traffic uses Vikramshila Setu at Bhagalpur on Farakka barrage, which means covering a long distance for destinations in North Bihar. Jack Conklin Jersey