State officials are apprehensive of targeted coverage and allocations
The National Food Security Bill, which is again in news these days, may be generating much excitement in most parts of the country, but not in Tamil Nadu. The reason: a more comprehensive model in the form of universal public distribution system is in place.
Southern districts will take the lion’s share of new solar power plants to be set up under the State’s Solar Energy Policy. Of the plants approved for 209 megawatt (MW), the south will have 155 MW, of which Ramanathapuram district alone accounts for 97 MW, Tuticorin 33, Sivaganga 17 and Virudhunagar 8.
Rs. 15 for domestic consumers, Villupuram and Kanyakumari districts to be covered initially
In an effort to promote energy efficiency, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco), now at the centre of the public ire for unprecedented load shedding, will soon approach domestic consumers and hut dwellers to supply compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) in exchange forconventional incandescent bulbs (in Tamil, gundu bulbs).
The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) will have to install fresh meters for domestic consumers who opt for rooftop solar power units. Giving this direction, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC), in its order a few days ago, stated that these meters would replace the existing ones used by such consumers. Their cost would be recovered from the consumers.
At a time when the debate is on at the national level as to how to make agriculture an attractive proposition, Tamil Nadu has to offer at least two examples of young farmers who have realised that agriculture too can be rewarding.
Not only they are eager to chart a different path by going in for crops other than paddy but also ready to adopt less-practised and even costlier methods such as micro irrigation. Needless to say, they make efforts to acquire new knowledge in farming, even though they come from traditional agricultural background.
As many as 90 bids have been received by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) for a quantum of 500 megawatt (MW).
This is in response to the Tangedco’s tender for the purchase of solar power to the tune of 1,000 MW. On Friday, technical bids were opened by the Tangedco officials in charge of the tender. After scrutiny, price documents of eligible bidders will be taken up for consideration. The entire exercise of selecting developers is likely to be completed in a month, a source says.
Seeks remainder of what was originally demanded earlier this month
With the imminent closure of the Mettur dam for irrigation looming large, the State government has decided to move the Supreme Court, seeking around 20 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft). The quantum is the remainder of what (30 tmc ft) was originally demanded by Tamil Nadu before the court early this month. Subsequently, the Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC) directed Karnataka to release 12 tmc ft. Since the beginning of this month, the State realised about seven tmc ft of the Cauvery water.
Once the Union government publishes the award in gazette this month-end
The stage will be set for the constitution of a mechanism to implement the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal as soon as the Union government publishes the award in its gazette this month-end. The establishment of the implementation mechanism becomes crucial if the award, delivered by the Tribunal in February 2007, were to come into force from next water year, beginning June 2013.
State will have to wait for unit to stabilise to get full quota
Will the commissioning of the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) lead to less load shedding in Tamil Nadu? There may not be much change in the situation in the immediate future, according to a section of experts. However, a former Member (Generation) [MG] of the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board says there will be some impact on the grid once generation from the first unit stabilises.
Even as the State received the lowest quantum of Cauvery flows during the southwest monsoon (June-September) in the last two decades, Union Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijai Singh is to visit Chennai and Bangalore on Thursday (October 4) to meet officials of the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments for discussions on the Cauvery issue.
His discussions in Chennai and Bangalore would form part of his preparations for the Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC)’s meeting in New Delhi on October 8 to review the position.
