SHILLONG: The biggest challenge of this era is to meet the growing energy requirements. The increasing extraction and continued usage of carbon based fuels, the energy resources are fast depleting.

The issues were addressed by Dr Chaitanyamoy Ganguly in a guest lecture titled ‘Prospects and challenges of Nuclear Power and related cycle’ organized by the Department of Physics, St Edmund’s College here on Friday.

JOWAI: Cleanliness in the entire Jowai town is now in a very bad state since the Jowai Municipal Board has stopped collection and disposal of waste material besides cleaning the Iawmusiang market area.

Garbage collected in various parts of Iawmusiang area have begun to emit foul smell sparking fears of severe health hazard among the residents. The Jowai Municipal Board which is responsible for collection and disposal of garbage from different localities of Jowai town has stopped the same citing acute financial crisis.

SHILLONG: Out of 365 villages which have been awarded with the Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP) 2011 Award, it is suprising that none of the villages from Jaintia Hills received the award.

As per the total sanitation campaign report, which showcases the performance of the Khasi Hills, Jaintia and Ri-Bhoi, it was mentioned that one of the no villages from Jaintia Hills qualified to get the NGP Award for 2011.

SHILLONG: The fear of witnessing further environmental hazard made a young and educated lady to voice her opinion against the powerful traditional leaders of Umlong village, East Jaintia Hills district during a public hearing to decide the fate of another proposed cement plant in the limestone rich belt.

This public hearing was organised by the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) in order to get the public opinion on the setting up of a new cement plant in Umlong village by Nilanchaal Cement Pvt. Ltd., Noida.

SHILLONG: The unscientific ‘rat hole mining’ that received the Cabinet approval in the form of the Meghalaya Minerals and Mining Policy 2012 on October 5 this year received an endorsement on Monday

SHILLONG: The State Government is contemplating to implement the Mines and Mineral Policy, 2012 by next year.

“We would like to give sufficient time to miners to familiarise themselves with the various provisions of the policy. We are contemplating to put the policy in operation in a year’s time from now,” Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of Mining and Geology Bindo Mathew Lanong told reporters after holding an interactive session with stakeholders including miners, exporters and environmentalists here on Monday.

SHILLONG: In a bid to avoid the direct discharge sewerage and solid waste into the river, the Government is likely to initiate the solid waste management (SWM) project by March next year.

A presentation on the entire project was presented by Mott Macdonald, a noted consultancy firm, during a meeting held here in the State Secretariat on Wednesday in the presence of Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh and other officials.

Shillong: Directions has been given to the forest officials to have a proper interaction with the traditional institutions to make them understand of the real intention of the government in having the Elephant Reserve in parts of West Khasi Hills covering vast areas joining Balpakram.

According to Tynsong, the government intended to introduce the Elephant Reserve from Wahblei in West Khasi Hills district to East and South Garo Hills districts for protection of wild elephant inhabited in these areas. However, the proposal has been strongly objected by more than 100 of traditional institutions of West Khasi Hills district including the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC)

SHILLONG: In a curious move, the Ri-Bhoi district administration in 2010 valued the trees planted and nurtured by the Government at Rs 5.42 crore aimed at handing over the amount to the village illegally.

The argument of the district administration was that the trees were nurtured by the village.However, an audit observation in this regard said that “in view of fact that the trees on Mawpalai was raised by the Government, the payment of Rs 5,42,95,374 against the trees as valued by DC, Ri-Bhoi is thus irregular.”

The ongoing eco-restoration programme at Sohra, under which eleven lakh saplings were planted, faces a constant threat from forest fires that are common in the hills of the State.

The saplings were planted in order to preserve the ecology of the Sohra plateau and the six-year-old project sanctioned by the Centre in 2010-11 under special plan assistance at a total cost of Rs 87.16 crore aims at addressing issues like enhancement of soil moisture, identification of critical areas for immediate restoration of degraded soil and tackling water crisis during drier months.