Sewerage and sanitation projects proposed for Kochi have been hit by a fund crunch and hold up of policy decision making.

The Kochi Corporation had earlier drawn up plans for setting up two projects in the city, one for central city and another one for the West Kochi areas. In both cases, the delay in implementing them had resulted in cost escalation, and the civic body is finding the going tough. The existing sewerage system of Kochi covers hardly five per cent of the total city area. The scheme was originally implemented in the early ’50s when Kochi was a municipality. The sewerage system has not progressed an inch since then, said a civic administrator.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday scaled down its projection for India's economic growth to 6.5 per cent for this financial year, from the 7 per cent estimated earlier.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has extended loans worth Rs 1,462 cr to the government to fund railways transport services, boost agri-business infrastructure in Bihar and improve road infrastructure in the north-eastern region of the country.

In three separate loan agreements signed between ADB and the government, Rs 750 crore will be used to develop the railway system, Rs 374 crore to improve road connectivity in the north-eastern region and Rs 338 crore will be used to boost agri-business infrastructure in Bihar, an official statement said today.

“Serious social and environmental violations,” says group

An independent fact-finding team has called for suspension of work related to the upcoming 4,000 MW Tata Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Gujarat, citing “serious social and environmental violations”. The team, led by former Chief Justice of Sikkim S.N. Bhargava, released a report –‘The Real Cost of Power’- and presented the findings from the ground. “The project has disproportionately high social, environmental, and economic costs.

Rapid urbanisation may lead to 605 million people in Asia going without improved drinking water sources by 2015, says a new report by Asian Development Bank and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

Hydropower has been the backbone of energy supply in Uttarakhand, which is endowed with several rivers and mountains. State-owned generation utility, Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL) is the leading company responsible for tapping the huge hydropower potential, of over 18 GW, in the state. As the state nodal agency for the development of small-hydro power (SHP) plants.

Multilateral and bilateral intermediaries are a crucial part of the climate finance landscape.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Saturday said that the lack of successful models which could showcase the efficiency of the new waste management technologies to be introduced, was creating credibility issues among the public. He was speaking at the seminar on municipal waste management here.

“This is one of the greatest problems that the government is facing. Even if new technology is introduced, people are not willing to accept the same. There are no successful models to demonstrate the efficiency of the method,” he said.

The Bagmati Civilisation Integrated Development Committee (BCIDC) has initiated a new programme to give new looks to the holy Bagmati River.

The country has suffered Rs 324.5 billion losses due to flood damages and rehabilitation, said Economic Survey 2011-12 released.

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