The Central government is scrutinising the steep escalation costs of 330-MW Kishenganga power project. The project proposed on a tributary of river Jhelum in Gurez Valley is proving to be a non-starter due to 68 per cent cost escalation. While modifying the design of the project by reducing storage, Union Cabinet had approved the project at the cost of Rs. 2238 crore in July 2007. But, even after eight months since the Cabinet approval the major works could not be awarded due to high price bids.

Summers make water, particularly its scarcity, a fiery issue in urban life. But a young man has made it more than that: He has made water his mission. In fact so driven is C S Sharada Prasad about understanding the extent of the looming water crisis in the country, that he has embarked on a breathtaking journey, straddling 28 states and covering 19,000km in 75 days on a motorcycle. Covering also five Union Territories, this modernday odyssey has a tag: K2K, or from Kashmir to Karnataka.

KISHTWAR: Residents of Kishtwar have demanded naming the Dul Hasti power project after Om Mehta, prominent congress leader. Terming Mehta involvement in the project right from the beginning and was instrumental in getting the power project of 390 MW capacity sanctioned by the cabinet. The hydel project was to cost Rs 3400 crores. Due to the interruptions its present cost is estimated to be Rs 4500 crores. The plant will generate 390 MW of electricity and provide employment to a large number of local people. It has been constructed by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation.

With fruit production in Kashmir static, the Kashmiri growers have asked the state and central government not to acquire horticulture land for any official purposes. They are also not satisfied with recent rent hike by the defence ministry. The growers fear that acquiring of the horticulture land for official purposes will reduce the fruit production in the state. Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in India that has around 2.75 lakh hectares of land under the horticulture. The major portion of this land is used for the cultivation of fresh fruits especially apples.

Once upon a time, houses made of wood inhabited real spaces and not the glossy confines of lifestyle magazines. The states of Kerala, Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh, blessed with abundant timber, were particularly known for their refined architectural traditions in wood.

The Jammu and Kashmir Government's clean slate denying any reported case of illegal possession of shahtoosh items has come under tough scrutiny before the Supreme Court. At pains to implement a State law banning trade in shahtoosh items for the past five years, the Court took the State's assertion with a pinch of salt and instead asked the State machinery to come up with the true facts before July this year.

After months of politics and bureaucratic wrangling with various state governments, the Union HRD Ministry has finally selected the states which will get new IITs and IIMs.