Himachal Pradesh Government has sought denotification of state's five wildlife sanctuaries including the Naina Devi, Shikari Devi, Govind Sagar, Shili and Darlaghat and reorganisation of the boundar

With rising prices spoiling the economic growth party, the government is ready to crack the whip beginning with a ban on cement exports.

The cement industry is experiencing a boom on account of the overall growth of the Indian economy primarily because of increased industrial activity, flourishing real estate business, growing construction activity, and expanding investment in the

Mandiakudar is a rural area near Rourkela, the steel city of Orissa. A large number of mini cement plants are in operation in and around Rourkela.

Letter from MOEF to Nirma Ltd on cement plant and captive power plant near village Padhiarka, Taluka Mahuva, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat dated 27 Feb, 2008 regarding Terms of Reference.

The economy of Madhya Pradesh is largely natural resource driven, leveraging the state's advantage in agriculture and mineral resources. The key industries and sectors where Madhya Pradesh has competitive strength include cement, textiles, mining and food-processing. To give a fillip to industrial development in the State, the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to establish a SEZ in the industrially backward Hargarh village of Sihora tehsil, Jabalpur district, in Mahakaushal region of the State. The work on setting up the SEZ is on in full swing and the blueprint for it is ready. The SEZ will be formally inaugurated during the Investors' Meet to be held in Jabalpur. The Industries Department has proposed to build the SEZ on 623 acres of land in Hargarh. While 250 acres of the land is being dedicated to an SEZ on mineral and mineral-based products, a similar area of land has been earmarked for a SEZ dedicated to agro and food products. The rest of the land will be developed as an industrial area. The proposal for the mineral-based SEZ has already been sent to the Central government while the proposal for agro and food products SEZ is being prepared by the Industries Department. The mineral-based SEZ will have a budget of Rs 158.10 crore and will take three years to develop. The units that are likely to be a part of mineral-based SEZ are iron ore units, granite, marble processing units and fire clay units. A lot of work is being done in these fields in the Mahakaushal region. The preparations for the inauguration are in full swing. The empty fields of Hargarh are being cleaned up and the Pan Umaraiya road and a link road to the inauguration spot is being built rapidly. Work is also in progress on the National Highway between Sihora and Jabalpur. The inauguration will be done on February 15 with Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan taking part in the Bhoomi pujan ceremony. In fact, SEZ is one of the main focus areas of the two-day Investors' Meet in Jabalpur. The SEZ is likely to have a lot of positive spin-offs for the region. With the establishment of the SEZ, export companies will set up offices and complexes in Jabalpur creating opportunities for employment. Also, the air traffic to Jabalpur will get a fillip and, in turn, taxi and hotel services will gain from increased human traffic. The ancillary units and factories in Jabalpur and Katni regions will also gain from the SEZ, besides improvement in the industrial environment in Sihora region. Another major gain will be in terms of employment generation. Nearly 8,300 people will get employment in mineral-based SEZ. The SEZ will thus be a boon for skilled manpower in Jabalpur and for unskilled labour of Sihora and Hargarh, there will be work available. The state goernment has already developed a greenfield SEZ at Indore and its experience in that venture is certain to stand it in good stead in Jabalpur.

Himachal Pradesh would explore the possibilities of creating a Nanobiosys Technology Park in a joint venture, Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal said presiding over the 29th meeting of the state-level Single-window Clearance and Monitoring Committee held here today. The committee gave its clearance to 13 industrial-units involving an investment of Rs 973.82 crore and five expansion/revision proposals with an investment of Rs 692 crore potential for 4,414 persons. The approved units included Steel Authority of India and Ambuja Cements, besides many others. Addressing the meeting, the Chief Minister said the state would welcome investment in the latest technological advancements, which could ensure globally acceptable job guarantees to professionally qualified people of the state. He said the state had congenial environment for pollution-free industrial units and it fitted well for setting up of a Nanobiosys Technology Park. He said the state had already decided to create an IT Park in the state so that the global players were invited to open their outlets in the state.

Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today asserted that the four cement plants-- one each near Sundernagar, Alcindi, Chamba and Chopal in Shimla district --would be set up within three years as they would generate local employment and the government would ensure environment protection. Addressing the BJP partyworkers' district

Apart from Madhya Pradesh, investors from nine other states have shown keen interest in making investments in the state at the Jabalpur Investors Meet held recently. Thirty-six investors from nine other states have signed 41 Memoranda of Understanding to the tune of Rs 46337 crore. In all, 61 MoUs worth Rs 56829 crore were inked at Jabalpur Investors Meet. With proposals worth Rs 18150 crore, Delhi tops the list as far as amount is concerned while the industrial houses of West Bengal's capital Kolkata have topped in the number by signing 13 MoUs.

Farmers belonging to several villages complained to the district collector against the managements of cement factories being set up on their lands at the praja darbar held in the Collectorate on Monday. In a memorandum submitted to the collector, Mr Eddula Chennaiah, a farmer from Madhavaravam village of Pyapili mandal alleged that cement companies were forcibly occupying their land in the village.

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