The Central government has released a sum of Rs. 501 crore under the Integrated Watershed Management Scheme (IWMP) as part of the drought-mitigation measures in the afflicted zones of Maharashtra.

In a letter to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said that in keeping with the gravity of the drought being faced by the State owing to deficient rains till July, the Empowered Group of Ministers had approved to waive off the deduction of unspent balance from the first instalment of central assistance for 2012-13 under the IWMP.

The project will disseminate weather-related inputs to farmers to improve land productivity and boost crop output

About 50,000 farmers in ten districts of Maharashtra are expected to benefit from a pilot project, which will disseminate weather-related inputs using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve land productivity and boost crop output. It is being launched jointly by the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) and India Meteorological Department (IMD), and is to be financed under the Farmers' Technology Transfer Fund (FTTF).

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd’s planned $4 billion refinery at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra would depend on lifting of environmental moratorium on projects in that region, Parliament was informed today.

Improvements panel passes proposal first made in 2010

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Improvements Committee on Thursday passed a contentious proposal to reserve the management of 50 per cent of the civic body’s parking spaces in the city for women self-help groups. According to the proposal, first put forward in 2010, another 25 per cent will be reserved for Mumbai’s educated and unemployed and the remaining 25 per cent will be open to contractors from the general public.

State governmnent has received Centre's approval for giving cash subsidy in lieu of kerosene quota through public distribution network, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anil Deshmukh has said.

The Direct Transfer of Cash Subsidy (DTCS) scheme proposes to transfer the subsidy component of kerosene price to the beneficiary's account enabling him to buy it in open market.

Even as just six per cent of the city’s area is reserved for open spaces as per the development plan, a recent study shows that over 60 per cent of these spaces are in reality not open and accessible to the common man.

As per a study funded by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), there are a total of 3,246 existing and proposed open spaces in the city as marked in the development plan of 1991. However, only 1,247 of these spaces are accessible to the public.

Despite expansion of private and public healthcare services in the city, the number of maternal deaths seem to be on the rise.

As per data collated by the civic body’s public health department, the number of maternal deaths have jumped 13 per cent to 239 in 2011 from 211 in 2010. The maternal mortality rate, which reflects the number of maternal deaths per 1,000 women has gone up to 1.4 in 2011 from 1.1 in 2010. This number was much lower at 0.8 in 2009.

After a year of partial respite from rising air pollution during last year, the city has seen a sharp rise in the level of air pollutants this year.

Extensive public and private construction and other related activities have led to a a rise in the level air pollution, according to the Environment Status Report (2011-12) of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The report also shows that levels of toxic pollutants like sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) and ammonia (NH3) have increased drastically in all six BMC monitoring sites.

New Delhi In a major reprieve for developers in Maharashtra, a division bench of the Supreme Court passed an interim order on Tuesday allowing them to pay value added tax (VAT) till October 31, adding the amount would be refunded if the developers win the case.

The Supreme Court passed the interim order while hearing a special leave petition filed by the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry and Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (MCHI-Credai) and Credai-Pune against the levying of 5% VAT by the Maharashtra sales tax department.

Even as the city’s development authority hopes to complete the already delayed Wadala-Jacob Circle Monorail corridor by the end of next year, it is yet to secure space to set up the supporting infrastructure, such as sub-stations, staircases and fire-fighting rooms.

The plots identified by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to set up this infrastructure belong to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).