Devolution of more powers to panchayats in the management of national rural drinking water mission and the issues of arsenic and shortage of drinking water will figure prominently at the two-day national conference of state ministers of rural drinking water supply and sanitation beginning in New Delhi tomorrow.

A District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) has been constituted in Gurgaon to formulate, manage and monitor drinking water and sanitation projects.

The mission, headed by the Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner, will also scrutinise and approve drinking water and sanitation projects submitted by the gram panchayats and forward them to State-level committees if required.

KOCHI: The District Collector has ordered the setting up of an empowered committee to recommend long-term programmes for the conservation of the Periyar river. The committee will consist of engineers, green activists and members from the panchayat.

“A number of studies on the river have been undertaken, however, none of them focused on the projects that can be taken up for its conservation. This committee will specifically focus on the projects that can be implemented in the area. The committee will also draw upon the earlier studies on the river,” said District Collector P I Sheik Pareeth.

Fresh water for ensuring unhindered operation of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) will not be drawn from the Pechipaarai dam or the Tamirabharani, the outgoing Site Director, M. Kasinath Balaji, has said.

“Since we've installed two desalination plants to meet the drinking water requirements of Anu Vijay township (where KKNPP personnel reside) and also the KKNPP site, we will never draw water from the Pechipaarai dam in Kanyakumari district or the Tamirabharani, lifeline of southern districts, at any point of time in future.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has sanctioned a sum of Rs. 650 crore for the implementation of a comprehensive water supply scheme for Villupuram. Once this is completed, two municipalities, four town panchayats and five panchayat unions in Villupuram district will get sumptuous water supply, Commercial Taxes Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam has said.

Speaking at an official function held on the premises of the Government Girls' Higher Secondary School here recently, he said water would be tapped from the Kollidam for the new scheme

New Delhi, 18 MAY: Finding faults with the MGNREGA scheme, a Parliamentary Panel has said that there was confusion over its definition of the term 'households' which was being twisted to suit male heads of families which should be corrected. In its report, the Committee on empowerment of Women in Rural areas said that due to this confusion the scheme was not reaching its targeted beneficiaries.

The government appears in no mood to pay heed to a Parliamentary panel’s key recommendation that the state should stay away from acquiring land for private businesses. Asserting that the government must have a role in land acquisition as private companies help fulfill public interest, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today categorically said “the priority of the government was to facilitate, revive and restore economic growth and not depress investor sentiments”.

The district administration will hold awareness classes on the detoxification of huge quantities of endosulfan pesticide kept in godowns of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala.

The classes would be conducted by experts in Pullur-Periye, Kayyur-Cheemeni and Panathady panchayats on May 22 and May 24, official sources here said. The experts would strive to clear all apprehensions of the public regarding the detoxification programme, which was a long standing demand of the people of the affected localities, they said.

The company has so far got 500 acres while the govt claims to have acquired 2,000 acres
South Korean steel major Posco and Odisha government have agreed to set up an 8 million tonne per annum (mtpa) steel plant near Paradeep in Odisha in two phases, downsizing it from the earlier plan of 12 mtpa. The company is also willing to settle for less land – 2,700 acres instead of 4,004 acres – to set up its plant.