The capacity of the Ramgarh gas-based thermal power plant, situated 60 km away from Jaisalmer, is being expanded with the installation of two new units of the total volume of 160 megawatt in the project's third stage. The plant's present capacity is 110.5 MW.

According to Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam chairman and managing director P. N. Singhal here on Thursday, one of the units with the capacity of 110 MW will be gas-based, while the other (50 MW) will be steam-based. Work on their establishment is in progress, he said.

JAIPUR: Hundreds of the villagers living in the periphery of Sarika tiger reserve on Tuesday blocked the gates to the forest and gheraoed the employees in protest against relocation of the villages nearby the reserve.

"If the state government will not solve our problems varying from the land related disputes and our relocation, we will intensify the agitation," said Bhupat Balayan, a local farmer leader.

Jaisalmer Tehsil Registers Highest Improvement In Child Sex Ratio

Jaipur: The provisional population figures up to the tehsil-level released by the directorate of census operations, Rajasthan, on Wednesday showed an overall decrease in the child population in the 0 to 6 years age group and a clear divide on the social issue between rural and urban areas.

The World Bank has approved a funding of $109 million (Rs.545 crore) for a new agricultural competitiveness project in Rajasthan set to improve farm productivity through sustainable and efficient use of water resources.

The project, for which Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot made an announcement in the previous year's Budget, was sanctioned at a World Bank board meeting in Washington on Tuesday.

The World Bank has approved a $109-million grant for Rajasthan to promote water-efficient agriculture through sustainable and efficient use of resources in the desert state.

Wilting under pressure from the Centre and after constant raps by the Supreme Court, the state government has now put a step forward in stopping illegal mining. A special 1000-member team, to be christened Mining Protection Force, will be set up to curb illegal mining in the state.

The state has long been battling illegal mining right from Alwar to Jaisalmer but in vain. While the police had recently detained over 100 people in Bharatpur engaged in illegal extraction of stones, in Jaisalmer mining near the airport has become a threat to its existence.

Rajasthan govt issue fraud certificates to Cong MP for solar projects

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government, for the first time, is experimenting with scientific ways for maintaining land records in the state.

Under the national land records modernization programme, the settlement department has initiated a landmapping project with the use of Electronic Total Station (ETS) technique and is planning to later use satellite images and aerial pictures.

The state budget that is to be announced on March 26 is likely to be a populist one with the state government planning to expand the ambit of its social welfare schemes and announcing some new ones. However, given the challenges faced by the state, chief minister Ashok Gelhot will have to tread cautiously and present a balanced budget for the overall growth of the state.

JAIPUR/ALWAR: In one of the biggest crackdowns on illegal mining in state's Mewat region in the recent past, police on Thursday arrested over 100 people from unlawful gravel mines in Pahari police station area in Bharatpur district and seized equipment worth crores of rupees. Besides, few persons were also detained.