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A parliamentary subcommittee yesterday set July 20 for public hearing of four organisations on saving rivers and environment from pollution.

Sources said the subcommittee, in its report to be submitted to the parliamentary standing committee on forest and environment, will recommend appointing an ombudsman to deal with the irregularities and complaint in the environmental sector.

A parliamentary panel on Tuesday decided to seek opinions of environmental experts and civic groups in working out final recommendations to save rivers from being polluted and to reclaim them from illegal occupation, said a panel member.

With deficient rainfall in many parts of the country raising the spectre of a dip in agricultural production, a concerned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday took stock of the monsoon situation and instructed officials to be ready with contingency measures to meet any eventuality.

In a bid to introduce competitive bidding in the allocation of coal blocks to ensure greater transparency in their allocation, the Coal Ministry has convened a meeting of coal-rich states on August 10 to discuss with them the proposed legislative measures and recommendations of the parliamentary panel in this connection.

Consultations With Food Depts Over; Bill May Come Up In Winter Session; Beneficiary Base To Widen

Section 2 (h) of the RTI Act defines public authority as any body, institution or self-government established or constituted by or under the Constitution, Parliament, state legislature or appropriate government. It includes all ministries and their departments, municipal bodies, panchayats, courts, universities, UPSC, PSUs and even non-profits substantially financed by the appropriate

bauxite mining Vietnam opens door to China Vietnam has invited a Chinese company to mine a massive bauxite reserve beneath its Central Highlands, despite growing opposition to mining and a deep-rooted suspicion of China. Deputy Industry Minister Le Duong Quang said the state-owned Vietnam National Coal would go ahead with a US $460 million venture with a subsidiary of China