Lucknow In order to strengthen the power generation in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government is in talks with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for funding of its forthcoming 2x660 MW Obra C power plant in Sonebhadra. A JICA team was in Lucknow on Wednesday for preliminary survey of the project and spoke with senior officials in this regard, according to a state government official.

Lucknow Uttar Pradesh’s bleeding power sector can breathe a sigh of relief from the never-ending saga of resource crunch, pressure from financial institutions and day-to-day exercise of managing funds for virtually everything, thanks to the Centre’s approval in principle for a R15,000-crore financial restructuring plan spanned over a period of 10 years by a consortium of 21 banks, which would provide the loan amount over the next three years.

Lucknow The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday cleared a proposal to split the state into four, 11 years after the hill state of Uttarakhand was carved out of it. At a press conference, chief minister Mayawati cited rising expectations of people in remote areas as well as better administration and development to justify the proposal.

The four new states will be Poorvanchal (East UP), Paschhimanchal (West UP), Bundelkhand and Awadh (central UP). “Smaller states will not only meet local aspirations of people of various regions but will also give wings to development,” Mayawati said.

Lucknow In a fresh war of words between the Centre and Uttar Pradesh, state chief minister Mayawati has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accusing his Cabinet colleague Jairam Ramesh of scoring political points by alleging misuse of Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds received by the state.

This memorandum categorically states that the Bill is only driven by a desire to make land acquisition for industrialisation, while completely ignoring the larger picture of food security. “Though the Bill puts some checks on the acquisition of multi-cropped and irrigated land by saying that under no circumstances should multi-cropped and irrigated land be acquired, it fails to address the larger challenge of extensive diversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes and the consequent impact on the nation’s food security,” it states.

Climate Change ends up focusing on the energy sector and with India poised to grow exponentially in the coming decades, the need of the hour is not to abstain from using energy but to use it efficiently, so as to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Lucknow Stung by farmers’ agitations and repeated adverse court rulings on land acquisition, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to restructure its development projects by replacing land with viability gap funding (VGF) as the new bidding parameter. That would mean the revenue model for these projects shifts from being land-based to cash-based.

Lucknow Indian Railways has agreed to fall in line with the Uttar Pradesh government

Lucknow In a move that would cleared an investment of R10,000 crore in the ailing power sector and give a push to PPP model, the Uttar Pradesh government is likely to sign an agreements with Isolux Corsan and Cobra MEIL Consortium for the setting up of a new transmission network in the state.

It may be mentioned that the Mayawati government has initiated ambitious plans of capacity addition of

Lucknow A day after the Uttar Pradesh government announced a new land acquisition policy that puts the onus on private developers and keeps the state out, the government announced further modifications to clear ambiguities.

The state has decided that in case there is a land acquisition programme by the government