Delay in land acquisition is proving to be a stumbling block in expediting road projects as 16 schemes worth about Rs 15,000 crore are stalled due to it.
“Sixteen major highway projects in four states entailing about Rs 15,000 crore investment are stalled due to inordinate delays in land acquisition,” a road transport and highways ministry official told PTI.

Clocking a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 11.48 per cent in 2004-05 and 2010-11, Karnataka has emerged as the leading coastal State with the highest growth in fish production, according to a research and analysis released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Goa, on the other hand has registered a negative growth rate of fish production as the fish production has slipped from 9.9 lakh tonnes in 2004-05 to 94,000 tonnes now because of over-exploitation of fishery resources, highlights the ASSOCHAM analysis.

PANJIM: Desperate efforts are on to plug the entry of sewerage into Panjim’s water supply line which is already suspected of being contaminated within an area of one kilometre in the heart of the city.

The affected area is between Sky Lark apartments and Ding Dong Bar on 18th June Road. The PWD has been working round-the-clock to locate the exact point of contamination but has not yet located the same.

Even though the Indian Railways has taken over the catering service it has not been able to implement its policy on the desired lines and the problem of drinking water continues to be acute and a matter of concern in stations and moving trains.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by T.R. Baalu in its report, which was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, expressed concern that during inspection, the committee found that normal tap water was being used for drinking at most stations.

Simultaneous enumeration in Karnataka, Kerala, T.N., A.P., Maharashtra and Goa

More than 100 volunteers will fan out across the Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks for the synchronised elephant census from Tuesday. The census will take place simultaneously in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa, where the elephant habitat is contiguous. This will help avoid duplication of count.

The Delhi High Court has upheld the Central Information Commission (CIC) order to make the report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) public by publishing it on Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) website. The court on May 17 dismissed an MoEF petition seeking not to disclose the report, saying it could affect economic and scientific interest of the states concerned — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The report, prepared by a panel chaired by ecology expert Madhav Gadgil, had been submitted to the MoEF in August 2011. Last year, RTI applicant G Krishnan had filed an application with the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the MoEF to obtain a summary of the report,

NEW DELHI: Goa’s Congress MP Shantaram Naik recently expressed concern over the mining activities in Sindhudurg district of the neighbouring Maharashtra polluting rivers in his state, particularly Tiracol and Colvale that originate in Maharashtra.

Raising the issue through a special mention in the Rajya Sabha, he wanted the Centre to alert the appropriate authorities in Maharashtra to curb this menace by taking action under the Environment Protection Act, Water Pollution Act and the laws dealing with mining.

Capturing of animals is also illegal especially if the animal is a species figures in the schedules of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and people who indulge in such publicity could also face action and arrests from the forest officials.

Araujo’s observations come even as the Wildlife Institute of India declared that leopards (which also are animals that are “rescued”) is occupying an even greater area of Goa’s forests.

Says State has no elephant population

PANJIM: As the Union Government is bracing up for three-day synchronized National Elephant Census in six States including Goa, the Forest Department has said that ‘State has no elephant population and the jumbos who come down here usually migrate from the neighbouring States.’ According to a directive issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the six-State Census would begin from May 22 and will be later conducted throughout the country, the MoEF notification reads.

Leases to be cancelled if firms fail to adhere to revised norms

PANJIM: The high level mining monitoring committee appointed by the State will start its visit to all 90-odd mines, ahead of the monsoons to ensure that the mining sites are not disaster prone. The mining leases will be cancelled if companies fail to adhere to the revised safety norms, which make it mandatory for mining firms to get the surface rights of the area around their mines, which is likely to be affected with mining activity.