BHUBANESWAR: More than four years after Satkosia was designated a Tiger Reserve, the Odisha Government has finally brought Mahanadi Wildlife Division under the unified control of the Field Director, meeting a long-standing demand of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The Regional Conservator of Forests (RCCF), Angul, is the Field Director of Satkosia Tiger Reserve which comprises two wildlife sanctuaries such as Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary and Baisipally Sanctuary, both protected areas contiguous in nature.

Bhubaneswar: State-run NTPC on Saturday said that it would invest over Rs 24,000 crore to set up two power projects in Orissa in the 12th five-year plan with a view to augmenting generating capacity by about 4,500 MW in the state. Two super thermal power projects will be set up at Darlipali in Sundargarh district and Gajmara in Dhenkanal district at an approximate cost of Rs 24,000 crore, NTPC Regional Executive Director (East-II), Jayadeb Nanda told reporters here.

With some Central industries discharging their effluents into major rivers of the State, the Odisha Government has asked them to develop their wastewater treatment facilities.

This was stated by Forest and Environment Minister, Mr Debi Prasad Mishra, while replying a question in the Assembly.

“The State Pollution Control Board has already served show-cause notices to three Central industrial units as their waste treatment facilities are not adequate,” Mr Mishra said.

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Monday allowed construction of Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s (IOCL) water intake well on the Mahanadi river bed here with the condition of dredging the reservoir zone of the Jobra Barrage and its regular maintenance.

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has asked some of the Central public sector undertakings (PSUs) to develop waste water treatment facilities as they were discharging their effluents into major rivers. Forest and Environment Minister Debiprasad Mishra informed the Assembly while replying to a question on Tuesday. “The SPCB has already served showcause notices to three Central industrial units as their waste treatment facilities are not adequate,” Mishra said replying to Ashok Chandra Panda (BJD).

The Indian Supreme Court yesterday ordered the government to implement an ambitious project to link the major rivers of the region in a “time-bound manner”.

The court also appointed a high-powered committee to plan and put into action the Rs 5,00,000 crore scheme.

The river-linking project was first devised in 1980 and has been under discussion ever since, reports BBC.

Bangladesh has been opposing the plan since 2002 as the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee formed a taskforce to get the project going against the backdrop of the acute drought that year.

Odisha may be at the receiving end if the ambitious river interlinking project is implemented in letter and spirit. It may spell disaster for the already stressed Mahanadi and consequentially for the State of Odisha if it is linked to other rivers like Godavari down south and its water is diverted. Not only this, as a result of the project taken as a whole, the ecological balance of the rivers will be affected and the rivers will lose their ecological identity, according to Water Initiative Odisha convener Ranjan Kumar Panda.

The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to set up a committee to plan implementation of the project to interlink rivers, which was a brainchild of the NDA government under then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Noting that further delay would only make the project, meant to fight drought, even more expensive, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia asked the centre and state governments concerned to participate in the planning. “We direct the Union of India to forthwith constitute a committee for interlinking of rivers,” the bench said.

The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to implement the ambitious interlinking of rivers project in a time-bound manner and appointed a high-powered committee for its planning and implementation.

Observing that the project has already been delayed resulting in an increase in its cost, a three-judge Bench headed by the Chief Justice, Mr S.H. Kapadia, said the Centre and the State Governments concerned should participate for its “effective” implementation “in a timebound manner“.