We Indians have got so used to seeing garbage spilling over from municipal dustbins at street corners and often even strewn around in open public spaces, that we accept this phenomenon as inevitable. We look the other way with what seems like futile hope that some day, someone will find a solution to our problem and rid us of this major health hazard of urban living in India.

The integrated solid waste management project in Kanpur offers hope. Located on the western bank of the Ganga, Kanpur is an important industrial city of Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in India. With a population of 36 lakh (3.6 million) and a total area of 260 sq kilometres,

Uttar Pradesh, which has about 4,000 mines of coal, silica, bauxite and granite – mostly in Bundelkhand region, has mandated e-tendering for future allotment of mining leases in the state.

This step is aimed at preventing hitherto rampant illegal mining and ushering transparency in allotment of mining leases. Under the system, lease holder will have to get environment clearance for mining within 6 months if the land area is more than 5 hectares (ha), whereas, in case of lease for mining of area of less than 5 hectares, environment clearance will not be required.

Digital health-mapping service to be extended to all districts. If everything goes well, Uttar Pradesh can soon boast a state-wide digital health-mapping facility.

Apprehensive that the now-infamous first-come, first-served policy for allocation of natural resources comes with risks, states are now wiser and embracing the safer option of auctions for these allocations.

The newly-elected Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh has introduced an e-tendering system for all leases on mining projects. The decision could impact the future of liquor baron-cum-mining czar Ponty Chaddha, who was seen as closely linked to the previous Mayawati government.

The Annual Plan for Uttar Pradesh for 2012-13 was finalised at Rs.57,800 crore at a meeting here on Wednesday between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

While the outlay for the current fiscal is 23 per cent higher than the Rs.47,000 crore that was approved for 2011-12, it includes a special assistance of Rs.800 crore for the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad next year.

With the lion safari and breeding centre gradually taking shape in about 300 hectares of Fisher forest in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, purebred lions, unlike their counterparts in Gir and Juna

Lucknow Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation’s (UPPCL) chickens have come home to roost. With outstanding dues of R8,636 crore on July 5 — which the corporation says it has reduced to R4,500 crore now — the loss-making UPPCL finds it no longer has enough money to buy power from generating entities in the state.

Normally, these units should be able to sell this power outside the state, but with state-owned dispatch centres often not giving permission to do so, power capacity often gets wasted.

New Delhi Bajaj Hindusthan’s R12,000-crore Lalitpur thermal power project in Uttar Pradesh seems to be in trouble, with the coal ministry making it clear that it is not in a position to commit coal supply to the project under the power ministry’s 12th Plan capacity addition programme.

The Shishir Bajaj-led Bajaj Group, a sugar-to-hair oil conglomerate, recently forayed into commercial power generation through its subsidiary Bajaj Hindusthan. The subsidiary is banking on timely completion of the Lalitpur power project to have 5,000 MW operational capacity in place by 2015. Its plan could go haywire, though, if the company fails to secure fuel linkage for the project on time.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 648-crore project in Uttar Pradesh for widening the Raibareilly -Jaunpur highway section.

New Delhi The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared a Rs.648-crore project for two-laning of a national highway in Rae Bareli, falling under the constituency of Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Of the R648 crore, R78.62 crore has been earmarked for land acquisition, resettlement, rehabilitation and pre-construction, while R569.36 crore will be for construction.

The Cabinet also approved the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme under which the government will provide up to R10,000 crore in benefits to the industry over the next five years for promoting production of electronic products and components in India.