Despite a dearth of power in the north, small and medium entrepreneurs are not keen to profit from the energy efficiency project introduced by the State Bank of India (SBI). The energy efficiency project for energy-intensive SMEs was rolled out by SBI in the second half of 2005 in the Chandigarh circle (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Chandigarh). So far, the preliminary/walk-through energy audit of 83 units has been conducted and the detailed energy audit of 10 units has been done in the past two years. It is surprising that while Punjab alone has more than 200,000 small and medium industries and has clusters of iron foundries and forging units (which make intensive use of energy), only 83 units came forward and only10 out of those implemented energy conservation measures. According to sources in SBI, 50 per cent of the cost of energy audit or Rs 50,000 per unit,whichever is less, is to be borne by the bank and remaining by the unit. There is a funding incentive also where fresh term loan up to 90 per cent of the cost of equipment (Rs 2 lakh to Rs 1 crore) for the energy conservation can be obtained at a concessional rate. The study of the SME sector in the north reveals that most of the entrepreneurs are averse to growing bigger as it would invite tax implications. For instance, if the turnover grows beyond Rs 1.5 crore, they come under the ambit of excise. "It is not the fair charges but the hidden costs, the rampant corruption in Punjab, that undermines the spirits of entrepreneurs to increase the value and volume of business', said one of the small entrepreneur. But those who undertook this project were able to cut the cost of energy consumption by 10 per cent to 20 per cent. An official of Venus Cotsyn India Limited told that they implemented all the suggestion offered by the consultants for the efficiency of steam supply, air supply and electric power and the results were fruitful. Similarly, Ludhiana-based Eastman Forging and Casting was also able to save substantially on account of energy efficiency project. A senior official at the Local Head Office of SBI Chandigarh said that despite the minimum saving of energy consumption cost of 10 per cent to 15 per cent that can go up to 25 per cent 30 per cent in specific cases, the response of industry has been lukewarm.

A drug used for the treatment of acne offers hope to patients of Japanese encephalitis, a viral disease with no specific treatment and a high mortality rate.

The Rs 60,000-crore loan waiver for small farmers has not exactly sent farming communities in the country into transports of joy, a dipstick survey by Business Standard correspondents, each of whom interviewed 25 to 30 farmers across India, shows. Some farmers, notably in Orissa, are moderately happy to have debts of Rs 5,000 written off. Others who benefit from a write-off of as much as Rs 77,000 are worried about how much they'll have to bribe to access the waiver. And there is bitterness among farmers who have been left out of the bounty owing to the size of their land-holdings

Rs 2.80 a day for fuel makes cooking a challenge Government Primary School, Rukali village, Chhachhrouli, has a total of 14 students. They get Rs 2.80 a day as budget for fuel to cook midday meal whereas cost of cattle dung cake is Rs 1 per cake, firewood is Rs 5 a kg and one kg of coal is available for Rs 22 in market. Cooking midday meal on fuel purchase for Rs 2.80 a day is

The Delhi government is planning to go to the Supreme Court to seek a direction to the Haryana government for releasing adequate water from Tajewala so that the Yamuna reaches an optimum level in the national Capital. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that neighbouring state governments were aware of Delhi's problem. Thousands of people come from various states. There is pressure of civic amenities and water supply of the Capital. Still some times Uttar Pradesh reduces water supply to Sonia Vihar and some times Haryana. Now the government will approach the Supreme Court to get its share of water, she said. Two water treatment plants

Frazzled by the frequent disruptions in the supply of water meant for the Capital, the Delhi Jal Board wants the Centre to step in and ensure that Haryana sticks to the terms of water sharing agreement signed by the two States. Delhi and Haryana have been at loggerheads over the sharing of Yamuna waters and the recurrent reduction in the city's share over the past few months has brought matters to a boil. Options DJB officials say with most options already exhausted, the Board is now exploring the possibility of getting the Centre to establish a central monitoring mechanism that will act as a referee. "Our officials have been communicating with their counterparts in Haryana, we have already brought the issue to the attention of the Chief Secretary Haryana, written to the Central Water Commission and the Upper Yamuna River Board and even sent a legal notice with regard to the violation of agreement on providing water for the Nangloi plant,' said Arun Mathur, the Chief Executive Officer of the Board. A central monitoring mechanism he explained "would help in keeping a check on the flow of water between Haryana and Delhi.' "A neutral party that will keep an eye on the sharing of water will be able to alert both the States as soon as it observes a dip in the water levels of the Yamuna. We are only asking Haryana to abide by the agreement that has been signed and give Delhi its legitimate share of water,' he said. Mr. Mathur said while the Board is hopeful of getting Haryana to release the scheduled quantum of water, it wants to rule out any possibility of water shortage during the coming summer months. VIP areas Many parts of the city including the VIP areas have been witnessing water shortage for the past few days. Production of water at Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants has reduced following a cut in the water supplied by Haryana.

M. Rajivlochan Towards Water Wisdom: Limits, Justice, Harmony by Ramaswamy R. Iyer. Sage. Pages 270. Rs 350. Towards Water Wisdom: Limits, Justice, HarmonyOUR pot of water woes is brimming over. That does not seem surprising, according to Ramaswamy R. Iyer, since even though India is one of the few countries in the world which is blessed with an adequate quantity of water, there is a tremendous amount of mismanagement of water resources. While the country has over 4,000 billion cubic meters (bcm) of annual rainfall and almost 2000 bcm of river flow, the reality remains that we have had constant lamentations about the shortage of water and the destruction of fertile soil because of the overuse of water. According to experts, we have already poisoned most of our major rivers to the extent that their waters are not fit for drinking any more and very soon would be unfit for irrigation as well. Under such circumstances, Iyer suggests, it is important to remove ourselves from the hurly-burly of water conflicts, mull over our relationship with water a little more than it has been possible till now and then, serendipitously think of a constructive way out. That calls for wisdom which has been lacking till now in our management of water resources. In this thought-provoking book, Iyer quickly takes us through the various conflicts that have marked the use and misuse of water since Independence. He looks at the various demand-driven policies made by the government for the management of water. However, fulfilling the demand does not necessarily result in an efficient use of water. For a long time, the main focus of the government was to increase the amount of water for irrigation to increase food grain production. Today, over 80 per cent of the total water used in India is for agriculture. However, of the water available for irrigation, more than 60 per cent is wasted. India is one of the few countries in the world where the cities provide as much as 200 litres per capita per day of water. It goes without saying that most of it is wasted, used for cleaning toilets, washing cars and maintaining gardens. No wonder our fields and cities constantly starve for water and our states busy fighting over it. Karnataka battles Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra fights with Karnataka, Punjab has its sword drawn against Haryana and Madhya Pradesh is getting ready to battle both Utter Pradesh and Gujarat. The fights have become so intense that today even the Supreme Court is wary of pronouncing firmly on the judicious distribution of water resources lest it be drawn into an irresolvable conflict. While the state governments battle each other for water, they find it increasingly difficult to manage the supply to their own citizens. Hence they are trying to palm off the management of water resources to private parties in the hope that private ownership of water would ensure market rates being charged for the water use and correspondingly less wastage. Whether this would generate even more inequalities is a matter that the states are not willing to consider at the moment. All this suggests that we are completely lacking in water wisdom, insists Iyer. Hitherto we have left the matter of planning for water in the hands of experts. Engineers, planners and economists may be very well in providing suggestions on how best to go about using our water resources, but for every expert there seems to be an equal and opposite expert who under political pressure is willing to provide contrary advice equally strongly backed by scientific evidence. Hence, Iyer suggests, the need of the hour is to get out of the conundrums created by experts and apply some Gandhian thinking. First and foremost this means restraining our greed for more water and bringing about a change in the way that we think about water as a resource. The state needs to play the role of a trustee over this resource and the people have to be involved in preserving it and encouraged to live in harmony with nature and each other.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, has written to Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz drawing his attention to the Capital's water woes and demanding proper allocation of the Yamuna waters. He has urged the Union Minister to convene a meeting of the Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh governments to discuss the issue of water sharing and to evolve a strategy to ensure that all States get their allocated share. Referring to the 1994 agreement on water sharing among Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, and the decision to construct a pucca canal for carrying water from Haryana to Delhi, the BJP leader said the Congress Government had failed to ensure timely construction of that canal. "The Delhi Government was directed to get the pucca Munak canal constructed, through which water would reach Delhi from Tajewala. It is a matter of concern that in spite of the lapse of 12 years the canal has not been constructed,' the letter stated. Pointing out that almost a third of Delhi is deprived of potable water today, Prof. Mukhi said the recent reduction in water supply had compounded the woes of the people. Cautioning that the ground water level in the Capital was fast depleting, Prof. Mukhi said at some places the level had reached a precarious stage. Seeking Prof. Soz's intervention, Prof. Mukhi said the Centre should find a solution to the water crisis in the Capital, which had become a perennial problem. The letter also referred to the flow of sewage into the Yamuna, which is making the process of river cleaning impossible despite a huge amount of money being spent on the cleaning works.