From June 2008, around 120 industries in Bhutan will have to follow the industrial emission standards set up by the national environmental commission (NEC). However, an NEC report in November 2007 showed that most of the major factories were not within these new norms. The NEC, which will be monitoring these factories, as of now has only three technical staff with equipment yet to be purchased. In a related development, a pollution control team from Delhi, India, has said that Pasakha was too crowded with factories even if it eventually met emission standards.

Doctors in the Capital have sounded a note of warning over the rising number of gastroenteritis cases in recent day, with the city already having recorded 8,268 cases till March this year. Hygiene The number of cases is higher than what was recorded during the corresponding period last year. In 2007, 5,140 cases of gastroenteritis were reported till March, while 7,354 cases were recorded in 2006.

The government claim is proving false to take the passengers to their destination at the earliest in the name of Bus Rapid Transit(BRT) corridor.

After facing flak for the sorry state of build-operate-transfer toilets in the Capital let out by the New Delhi Municipal Council here south of Rajpath, the civic body is getting ready to re-construct and re-furbish 113 free-to-use public toilets north of Rajpath with stricter regulations.

The Mayor of Delhi, Arti Mehra, has asked Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy to effect certain "vital' amendments to the Master Plan for Delhi-2021 on the basis of feedback from the various zones of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Ms. Mehra said on Thursday that though registration and payment of conversion charges for the shops under mixed-use regulations was to be done by June 30, most traders were unable to register themselves and pay the charges as they could not acquaint themselves with the provisions of the Master Plan.

Way Paved For Preparing Detailed Project Report On Light Rail Transit System Too TIMES NEWS NETWORK The monorail and light rail transit (LRT) system have moved a step forward. Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) put forward a techno-economic feasibility study on the projects before Delhi government on Thursday paving the way for beginning a detailed project report (DPR) to assess its execution. The three lines of LRT and three monorail corridors are estimated to cost Rs 5,738 crore and Rs 6,893 crore respectively.

A large number of solar power panels installed at road traffic signals all over the Capital have been carted away by thieves in recent weeks and months. This has not only left most road crossings dependent on regular power supply for operation but also led to a situation where the authorities no longer have the solar option to ensure round-the-clock operation of signals at important junctions.

The government has embarked upon a light rail transit (LRT) system and monorail project. Three corridors of the LRT and monorail transit system in various parts of the city have been planned, and might be run on publicprivate partnership basis. Addressing reporters, transport minister Haroon Yusuf said that for the LRT, three corridors -MehrauliBadarpur, Meh-rauli-Dwarka and Meh-rauli-Central Secretariat -have been planned that will be 11.5 km, 17.5 km and three km in length with 10, 12 and 16 stations respectively.

Delhi is slip ping off-track from its goal of becoming a smoke-free city by 2010. The report card of the last three months after the announcement of the plan suggests a lack of intent on the part of the government to achieve the target. The report for the months of December, January and February says that merely 462 organisations were fined under nosmoking rules. Just 1,126 vendors selling cigarettes in prohibited areas were fined under Section (a) of the rule which has a penalty of Rs 100, while 79 vendors were fined under Section (b) of the rule with fine of Rs 200.

This requires the courage to push new approaches but even the Nobel Prize favours the cautious.