L&Tis going in for a major change in its energy business focus. The country

Solan: With the Ministry of Commerce according its principle approval to Rs 60 crore Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) for the industrial hub of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) at a meeting in Delhi today, the pollution woes of the area would be eased.

Sundernagar: In the absence of any clear-cut policy thousands of water bodies in the hill state are either highly polluted or losing its character.

The lack of awareness on the subject is further proving fatal, as it has been observed that at village-level water bodies are being destroyed, as residents consider them as unproductive and fill it with debris.

Set up more than a year ago to put in place an effective mechanism to regulate and monitor the fast growing hydropower sector, the directorate of energy has virtually failed to take off due to indifferent attitude of the government.

By distributing compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) to 16.5 lakh households, Himachal Pradesh conserved about 270 million units of energy worth Rs 1 billion (Rs 100 crore) in a year.

BY DISTRIBUTING compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) to 16.5 lakh households, Himachal Pradesh conserved about 270 million units of energy worth Rs 100 crore in a year.

Chief Minister PK Dhumal has urged Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to file a supplementary affidavit before the Supreme Court supporting the claim of Himachal for 7.19 per cent share in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) power projects commissioned before 1990 in the state.

NEW DELHI: National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form a joint venture for the development of limestone mines in the sensitive hill region of Arki in Himachal Pradesh.

With the revised cost shooting past Rs 900 crore, the 100-MW Uhl project, the only major scheme being executed by the state electricity board, is heading for huge time and cost overruns, much like the controversial Larji project.

The central electricity authority had approved a cost of Rs 432 crore in 2002 and it was originally scheduled to be commissioned by March, 2006.

Much maligned for causing pollution, cement plants in the state will soon generate environment-friendly power from waste heat which will not only enable them to earn carbon credits, but also reduce emissions.

The first such power plant is being set up by the ACC Cement manufacturing unit at Barmana which produces 45 lakh tonnes of cement and clinker annually.