Union power minister Veerappa Moily assured the Maharashtra government he would consider their plea on adequate allocation of gas for the Dabhol and Uran power projects.

As far as Dabhol project is concerned, he assured that he would seek Prime Minister’s intervention so that the gas supply would be supplied on the lines of fertiliser sector. State chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had said the dip in allocation from the D6 block of the Krishna-Godavari basin had led to the 1,960-Mw Dabhol project operating at only a third of total capacity, as also the state-run generation company’s 850 Mw Uran project.

Mumbai In a move that could give a further fillip to the economic reforms kickstarted by the Centre last week, the government has now told commercial banks to fund partially completed residential projects, as well as projects in small towns on a priority basis.

At a meeting between the secretary for financial services, DK Mittal, Indian Bankers Association (IBA) and developers’ apex body Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai) in Mumbai, Mittal asked commercial banks to focus on funding under construction projects that are delayed due to want of funds, said Credai president Lalit Kumar Jain.

New Delhi The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the coal scam finally started questioning the accused named in its first information reports (FIRs) on Monday.

The CBI, which had booked five private firms for misrepresenting facts to get coal blocks allocated, grilled Arvind Jayaswal, a director of Nagpur-based AMR Iron and steel and brother mining baron Manoj Jayaswal, for over six hours at its Delhi headquarters on Monday.

The BMC Tree Authority refused to consider any request from the MMRDA seeking permission to cut trees till it submits a detailed report of how many trees have been transplanted. According to BMC officials, the MMRDA has cut close to 900 trees till now as a part of the Metro project but has failed to show how many were transplanted.

Corporator and member of the committee Ameet Satam said despite informing MMRDA to furnish the details at three meetings, it has failed to act. As per rules, any person, organisation or government agency seeking to cut trees for infrastructure expansion has to either transplant the uprooted trees or plant twice the number of trees cut.

Even as several instances of poaching were reported recently, forest officials on Thursday announced that 65 tigers are inhabiting the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR).

The authorities have arrived at the figure after a tiger monitoring exercise was conducted in the reserve between April 1 and May 31, during which the movements of felines were monitored with the help 94 camera traps.
According to Veerendra Tiwari, TATR’s chief conservator of forests and field director, there were at least 65 tigers in the area, excluding 20 cubs, which is an encouraging sign.

NEW DELHI: The inter-ministerial group (IMG) on coal blocks allocation has recommended de-allocation of four mines allotted to private firms and encashment of bank guarantee of three others on the

It is not just the Mithi river that is susceptible to degradation due to encroachment and dumping. There are at least two more rivers and six natural drains in the city that are highly vulnerable and in need of immediate attention, as per a recent study funded by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

These are the Oshiwara river, Poisar river, Vikhroli nullah, Mogra nullah, Tilak Nagar nullah, Piramal Nagar nullah, Irla nullah and Safed Pul nullah and are part of the five rivers and 19 natural drains in the city. According to the study, the Dahisar river also needs attention but is not as critical as the others.

After a two-year delay, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has sanctioned the widening of the Mankhurd-Ghatkopar link road, and the construction of the city’s first Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS).

Tenders are being floated for the Rs 207.09 crore project; Rs 173.18 crore has been allotted for the BRTS and road-widening. BRTSes — in which buses get exclusive lanes — are either planned or already functional in several cities including Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Pune. A controversial and widely criticised BRTS project in Delhi is currently in limbo after being operational for some years.

Continuous fall in output triggers request as Ratnagiri plant output threatened

Falling gas production from Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 fields has led the Maharashtra government to ask the Centre to take over the wells and declare those as national assets. The state has resorted to this move as it fears that a continuing decline in gas production would severely affect power generation at Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt Ltd (RGPPL)’s plant, formerly Dabhol power project, which depends on the D6 wells for gas.

About 50,000 farmers in 10 districts of Maharashtra are expected to benefit from a pilot project which will disseminate weather-related inputs using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) t