The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), which has received applications for opening 44 new sand quarries on the Cauvery-Coleroon river basin, is clueless about how to proceed further, in the absence of Central guidelines on such project proposals.

As a sequel to the August 3 order of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, the PWD had to secure approval of the SEIAA for setting up 44 sand quarries and running 21 existing quarries. Twenty-seven sand quarries over five years old were closed down.

The Vallur thermal power project, a joint venture project of the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and the NTPC, should have supplied at least 375 megawatt of electricity to Tamil Nadu nearly two years ago – October 2010. The State should have got another 375 MW from the project in April 2011 and 375 MW more in October 2011.

This was the schedule of the project made public three years ago. In two weeks, it is going to be five years since the formal inauguration of work on the project.

More than 5-year-old quarries banned in some districts

It may take a few months for authorities to open new sand quarries on the Cauvery-Coleroon river basin in the wake of the recent order of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. One of the decisions taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday was that sites for new quarries should be identified and approval from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) secured.

The State government should adopt a need-based approach on the allocation of funds for tribal areas instead of population-based, according to Rameshwar Oraon, Chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST).

After discussions with senior officials of the government, the NCST chief told The Hindu that the tribal areas in the State were “very backward”. As they required greater funds, the allocation on the basis of population would not be adequate as the tribal people accounted for only one per cent of the State population.

It is the highest in 2011-12 among southern States

Tamil Nadu, during the just concluded financial year of 2011-2012, recorded 9.39 per cent economic growth rate, the highest among southern States. Last year, Karnataka posted 6.44 per cent growth rate; Andhra Pradesh – 6.81 per cent and Kerala - 7.8 per cent. The all-India average was 6.5 per cent, according to provisional figures available with the Central authorities.

TANGEDCO suffered revenue shortfall of over Rs. 11,000 crore

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has expressed concern over the methodology of computation of electricity consumption by the agricultural sector, which enjoys free power supply. Working out that the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) suffered a revenue shortfall of Rs. 11,020.42 crore over the supply to the agricultural sector, the CAG, whose report on government undertakings for the year ending March 31, 2011

Tamil Nadu's scorecard for the decade is well ahead of the national average

Tamil Nadu, acknowledged widely as one of the progressive States, has lived up to this image through its enhanced performance, over the last 10 years, in most of development parameters except sanitation.

Tiruneveli and Tuticorin districts to benefit; cost estimated at Rs.369 crore

Work on the first phase of the Tamiraparani-Karumeniyar-Nambiyar river interlinking project is likely to be completed by the year-end. Nearly three-fourth of the work, covering two stages of the project, has been carried out. In three years of execution, Rs.160 crore out of the sanctioned Rs.213 crore was spent, said sources.

Jayalalithaa reverses DMK regime’s decision on the 1,600-megawatt project

Reversing the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government's decision on the 1,600-megawatt (MW) Udangudi super critical thermal power project, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday announced that her government would implement it as a State sector project, ensuring the availability of the entire power generated to the State.

The authorities are planning to invoke emergency clause of the Land Acquisition Act for acquiring land for the proposed drinking water reservoir in Thervai Kandigai of the Tiruvallur district.

The reservoir is meant for the drinking water supply to Chennai with a capacity to hold water up to one thousand million cubic feet (TMC). A total of about 1,250 acres of land is required, of which 560 acres belong to the government. The private land will be around 700 acres.