The Forest Department has tied up with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for using remote sensing technology to monitor the forest wealth and water resources and land use planning.

The NRSC will provide technical guidance and training to the manpower deployed at the Green India Mission Lab here to take full advantage of Bhuvan, a geo-information portal of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). A Himachal portal will be launched soon under the Bhuvan platform through which all required information regarding the state could be accessed.

Keen to take advantage of the decision of the United Progressive Alliance regime to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the housing sector, the state government plans to set up satellite towns

This financial year has begun on a promising note for the authorities of the Nathpa Jhakri hydroelectric project with generation surpassing the target for April.

There had been a sharp decline in production during 2012-13. The project owned and operated by the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) has generated 449 million units in April against a target of 410 million units. It was after a gap of more than a year that the project exceeded the monthly target thanks to favourable weather conditions which brought abundant snow in the mid-hills during winter leading to an early upsurge in the Sutlej.

Unfavourable conditions severely affected hydro power generation in the state during 2012-13 with the country’s largest Nathpa Jhakri project producing 833 million units (MU) less compared to the last financial year. It was for the first time since 2006-07 that the project missed the generation target set by the Union Ministry of Power in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the year.

A delayed monsoon coupled with a prolonged and relatively harsh winter resulted in low discharge in the Sutlej for most part of the year leading to a steep decline in generation.

New NHAI guidelines delay work on road projects

New National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) guidelines making forest clearance and acquisition of minimum quantum of land mandatory before inviting bids is delaying road projects to be executed in the public-private partnership mode. As per the guidelines, a project will be cleared for tendering only after the authorities concerned complete the process of acquisition under Section 3(A) of the National Highways Act and acquire at least 60 per cent of the land under Section 3(D) of the Act.

1000-MW Karcham Wangtu unit still awaits repairs

The closure of the 1,000-MW Karcham Wangtu hydroelectricity project due to profuse water leakage from the surge shaft and the water-conducting system has again raised concerns about the safety of hydroelectricity projects being constructed in the private sector.

It has also underlined the need for putting in place an effective mechanism for the proper monitoring of projects during the course of construction. The project was closed for urgent repairs last month after the Directorate of Energy issued a notice to the Jaypee Company to rectify the defect as continuous leakage would not only aggravate the problem, but could cause damage in the areas downhill as well.

The increasing demand of the herbal industry for ‘naag chhatri’, a perennial medicinal plant found in the temperate zone of the Himalayas, is leading to its indiscriminate and excessive exploitatio