At 938, It’s At All-Time Low In Gujarat: Survey

Ahmedabad: If there is an address for vultures in Gujarat, then it is Kutch. This district neighbouring Indo-Pak border has the highest number of Gyps vultures including White-Rumped vultures and Long-Billed vultures in the state. The vulture census taken up in May revealed that the vulture count in the state has fallen to below 1,000 - an all time low in Gujarat.

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday gave sanction to scheme of amalgamation of Hazira Gas Private Limited with Hazira LNG Private Limited, both joint venture companies between Shell Gas BV and Total Gas Electricite Holdings, France.

The scheme of amalgamation was sanctioned by Justice Abhilasha Kumari, who observed, "upon considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the material on record, and taking into account the contentions raised by the respective parties in their affidavits and counter affidavits as well as the submissions made at the Bar,

A new report by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has commended the Jyotigram Yojana, launched by the Gujarat Government in 2003, that provides 24-hour power supply to villages in

London: A new report by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has commended the Jyotigram Yojana launched by the Gujarat government in 2003 that provides 24-hour power supply to villages in the state.

The report, titled ‘Feeding a Thirsty World: Challenges and Opportunities for a Water and Food Secure Future’, has been published as the institute’s input for the ongoing 2012 World Water Week in Stockholm from August 26 to 31. The report mentions achievements of the Jyotigram Yojana launched by the Narendra Modi government in September 2003 while warning about water scarcity and its impact on food production and for the estimated global population of 9 billion by 2050.

Ahmedabad: Gujarat foresters are dealing with a new threat to the Gir wildlife sanctuary. Scarcity of fodder on the periphery of the sanctuary is forcing politicians to pressure the forest department to permit Maldharis to bring their cattle inside the sanctuary for grazing.

Forest officials said that MLAs from the ruling party were trying to ensure that the Maldhari community around the sanctuary was allowed into Gir, Girnar, and Mitiyala sanctuaries. Sources said the pressure was constant.

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court on Monday sought complete details from the state governm ent on availability of facilities in Primary Health Centres (PHC), doctors, trained nursing staff and infrastructure across the state.

The bench of Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala has asked the government to furnish details within 15 days. This was in connection with a nine-year old PIL filed by Dr Leela Trivedi seeking direction to the state government to take measures so that maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the state can be brought down. The PIL sought recruitment of doctors and trained nurses besides enhancement in the infrastructural facility in PHCs for delivery.

With Mundra incurring losses and resolution of higher costs not likely soon, stock could feel pressure

The Tata Power stock has underperformed broader markets in the current quarter, a trend likely to sustain, going ahead, due to concerns over its Mundra power project and stock valuations. Against a two per cent rise in the Sensex, Tata Power’s stock is down almost six per cent in the quarter so far. The 4,000 Mw Mundra ultra mega power project (UMPP) (set up under Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (CGPL) reported a net loss of Rs 165 crore in the June 2012 quarter, which was ahead of analysts’ estimates.

AHMEDABAD: Even as 14 of Gujarat's 26 districts reel from a deficient monsoon, the babudom in Gandhinagar is consuming the most drinking water per capita in the country. The capital consumes 310 litres per capita per day (LPCD). Most of this water comes from the Narmada network. You'd be mistaken to assume that the bureaucrats are on hydrotherapy, it's their gardens that are to blame.

To stop this criminal waste of a precious resource, the roads and building department is setting up a water treatment plant with a capacity of 10 million litres of sewage water per day, just to supply to gardens in Gandhinagar. The plant is currently under construction, behind Infocity campus.

SSNNL-Sponsored Survey Flies In The Face Of State Govt’s Claims Of Drought

Gandhinagar: A just-published study, sponsored by Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), suggests that even the existing incomplete canal network should have considerably eased the current scarcity conditions, claimed to be prevailing in large parts of Gujarat. The study acquires significance, as it comes almost about the same time when the Gujarat government regarded “lack of rains” as the chief criterion to declare 91 out of 225 talukas as “scarcity hit”. Based on the same, the state has demanded Rs 18,000 crore from the Centre as drought relief.

New Delhi: Countering Gujarat’s opposition to lion translocation project, the Madhya Pradesh government told the Supreme Court that a second habitat for Asiatic Lions in Kuno — cleared by National Board of Wildlife — was mandatory to avoid Tanzania’s disastrous experience in Serengeti where an epidemic outbreak almost wiped out the entire lion population.

Madhya Pradesh met with disdain Gujarat’s apprehension about safety of lions. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government did not deny the past lapses allowing poachers to wipe out the entire tiger population in Panna, but said the new model of wildlife protection had got it laurels from many quarters and its efforts were being replicated by other states.