An independent fact-finding team led by Sikkim Chief Justice S.N. Bhargava (Retd) has accused Tata Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP), located in the ecologically-fragile area of Kutch, of destroying livelihoods of the local communities living in that area.

Releasing a report titled “The Real Cost of Power”, the team warned that “large stretches of mangroves, dry-land forests and bio-diversity creeks have been destroyed for the construction of the project’s inlet and outfall channels”.

AHMEDABAD: Three public buildings in the city will use solar power to meet their daily energy needs by the end of the year.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation will have its south zone office in Maninagar, Memco sports complex and west zone office in Usmanpura using rooftop solar power. The purpose is to show Amdavadis that with high electricity prices, solar systems ensure handsome savings in the long run. The pay off period - time to recover investment in the power unit — can be less than two years, claim AMC officials.

Gujarat High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Union government on a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging notification giving Pune bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) jurisdiction for cases from the state of Gujarat.

A division bench of acting chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala also issued notice to the NGT and has scheduled next hearing after a fortnight.

AHMEDABAD: In a unique initiative the agriculture department will distribute special Tricho-cards' for free amongst farmers in the state. A special pest control laboratory in sector-15 in Gandhinagar will be the nodal agency in the effort.

With practically no biological side-effects, tricho-cards are an efficient way of controlling pests in fields and minimizes or even eliminates the use of artificial pesticides. Maize, rice, sugarcane, millets are some of the crops that can be saved because of the tricho-cards.

After the state government restricted fresh issuance and renewal of lease for mining in the state, bauxite miners in Porbandar area of Gujarat are facing tough times.

According to industry sources, over Rs 1,000 crore worth of investments of bauxite miners are believed to have been blocked due to the government's restriction. Porbandar District Chamber of Commerce and Industries officials maintained that about 8.3 million tonnes of bauxite stock is waiting for a dispatch permission from the authorities for past three years.

AHMEDABAD: The recent price rise may be pinching your pockets, but for the price conscious Amdavadi here is some good news. The city has been rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) as 19th in the world, in terms of economic strength.

Apart from this, the only other Indian city ranked in the same sub-category is Bangalore at 16th. Of the 20 cities listed by EIU under the category of economic strength, 15 cities belong to Asia, while Ahmedabad and Bangalore are the only two Indian cities.

AHMEDABAD: It is not just riches that land-owners around the city have wheeled in after Tata Nano came to Sanand in 2008 to turn the surrounding area into India's car belt. This once idyllic place is seeing much strife between family members battling over land - the most precious commodity in the region. This has also drawn fraudsters, waiting to pounce on the gullible.

The special investigation team (SIT) formed in December 2010 by the Ahmedabad police in collaboration with district collectorate has received 1,017 applications related to property disputes

AHMEDABAD: It's quite surprising that despite an existing ban on construction of residential colonies within 500 metres of the hazardous landfill sites, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has built houses for economically weaker sections in Vastral area, well within the banned limit. The ban was imposed by the central pollution control board.

Locals here, including those living in private colonies have been complaining of stench that is emanating from the landfill site. "During monsoon, the strench gets worse . Its impossible to sit at home. We are worried as the landfill site may even effect out ground water," says Dhaval Parmar, a resident here.

An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale jolted many parts of Gujarat in the wee hours today but there were no reports of damage to property or loss of life.

Per Capita Daily Consumption In State Is 65.9 Grams Against National Average Of 47.9

Gandhinagar: An authoritative report, prepared by the National Sample Survey (NSS), has revealed that per capita consumption of fat among Gujaratis has been significantly increasing over the years. However, one witnesses a reverse trend in protein intake. Carried out between June 2009 and July 2010, and published this year all over the country, the report says that per capita per day fat intake in rural Gujarat was 47.3 gram in 1993-94, which reached 56.9g in 2009-10.