The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will be issuing a fresh circular for the solid waste management (SWM) of bulk waste generators on September 21.

According to BBMP officials, the new circular is going to ensure that bulk waste generators like marriage halls, hotels and other such commercial properties will have to fend for themselves in clearing the garbage they generate. “We had previously told the hoteliers in a meeting that they need to look for alternative mechanism for disposing their waste and not burden the Palike. Accordingly, the circular also states the same facts with emphasis to look for affordable mechanisms to compost the wet waste on their own,” said a BBMP official.

Chhattisgarh government has decided to give respite in the water tax to the commercial shops where water consumption has been very less.

The shops trading foodgrains, stationary and garment would be covered under the orbit of respite as the water utilization in such shops had been nominal. They traders were earlier paying water tax at par with the other establishment like hotels, restaurant, auto service centre, tea-coffee shops, milk parlour etc where water consumption was more. According to the tax structure under the civic body act in Chhattisgarh, the shops and business establishment were paying Rs 350 per month in the area coming under Municipal Corporation and Rs 300 in panchayat limits.

Following resistance to the ban on tourism in core areas of tiger reserves by several States, NGOs and interested parties, the Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted the Centre to review existing norms and come up with comprehensive guidelines on ‘Tiger Project’ and ‘sustainable tourism.’

A Bench of Justices A.K. Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar gave this permission after Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati drew the court’s attention to the objections received and the Centre’s intention to revisit the guidelines framed under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

Elaborate arrangements have been made to monitor restaurants, hotels and other food businesses within the State and also the inflow of food items from outside the State during the festival season, Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar has said.

Special surveillance squads had already been deployed for the purpose in all districts. Checking had been made more stringent in the border check-posts of Amaravila in Thiruvananthapuram district, Aryankavu in Kollam district and Meenakshipuram and Walayar check-posts in Palakkad district, the Minister said on Sunday.

Buildings will affect lives of wild animals, say environmentalists

The environmental organisations have demanded cancellation of the permission granted to KSS hotel and a resort company to convert the land in Survey No 344 and 216 in Channagondanahalli in Vasthare. They have also urged to cancel the permission granted to Ravi Ramu to build a resort after converting 3.20 acres of land in Survey No 34 at Baganeheddal in Avathi hobli in Mallandur Gram Panchayat limits

The Health Department is preparing to embark on a major exercise to prepare a databank or the statistics regarding hotels and other food businesses in the State, as part of implementing the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 effectively.

Not only would the statistics on hotels and food establishments collected, each of the establishments would be graded into various categories. The Food Safety wing and the Health Department will also come out with detailed and separate guidelines on maintaining food safety and standards for food establishments in rural and urban areas.

The Commissioner of Food Safety has engaged a team in every district, including the representatives of the District Collector, the District Medical Officer, and the Food Safety Officer, to revisit