Aim is to ensure that funds do not lapse

The State has decided to set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to operate and manage the buses procured with 80 per cent financial assistance from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Centre urged to reject ‘anti-farmer’ recommendations

The State Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government to reject the “anti-farmer” recommendations of the Kasturirangan Committee, besides totally exempting thickly populated centres and agriculture land while identifying Ecologically Sensitive Areas, taking into consideration the apprehension of the people.

The septage treatment plant in Ernakulam will be completed in six months and it will be followed by the one in Alappuzha and Palakkad.

Modern garbage treatment plants with the latest technology will be set up in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, Minister for Urban Affairs Manjalamkuzhi Ali told the Assembly on Wednesday.

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the proceedings initiated by the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in connection with the implementation of an airport project at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district.

The NGT had restrained KGS Aranmula Airport Limited from executing the project on an appeal filed by the Aranmula Heritage Village Action Council.

Industries and Information Technology Minister P.K.

They dedicate all Saturdays for vegetable cultivation

Environmentalist C.P. Roy travels to Valiyakandam in Idukki every Saturday from Kottayam with the excitement of a budding farmer. He is part of a group of 21 families who came together to produce organic vegetables for their own consumption. They also sell the vegetables at a higher market price. “There is good demand for organic vegetables,” says C.P. Roy.

Monitoring committee scheduled to meet next week

Sand mining in the Moovattupuzha and the Periyar rivers, banned by the district administration this week, will resume only after the State-level environmental monitoring committee studies the results of the sand auditing of these rivers.

To seek relaxation in sand-mining and granite mining norms

The State plans to petition the Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court seeking relaxations in the “stringent stipulations” against extracting materials such as sand and rock from rivers and hills as such regulations will lead to the collapse of the construction sector, throwing tens of thousands out of employment, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told the Assembly on Tuesday.

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday asked the State Pollution Control Board (PCB) to state whether any study had been conducted by it on the proposed Aranmula airport project.

Centre, State, and airport firm told to file replies before January 31.