"Punjab is one of those six states in the country which feels it is not necessary to enact legislation on control and development of groundwater resources,' said union water resources minister Saifuddin Soz. The other five states are Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Mnipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

Incidentally, in neighbouring Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, initiatives are being taken for enactment of the Model Bill circulated by the Centre while Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh belong to the category that had already enacted and implemented the groundwater legislation.

Press Trust Of India / Gangtok July 04, 2008, 0:39 IST After discarding four hydel projects in March, the Sikkim government has scrapped three more such projects in the state accusing private developers of delaying execution of their contracts, a top government official said today.

GANGTOK, June 30

Students and young people are at the forefront of a protest against hydel projects that are being planned in Sikkim. AT THE VENUE of the relay fast that has continued in Gangtok since June 2007. The Affected Citizens of Teesta comprises students, professionals and former politicians. DAWA LEPCHA has a tube stuck up his nose. It goes right down to his stomach. Sometimes, while he is asleep, it moves and chokes him. But the tube is his only sustenance. The juices poured through it are the only nourishment that keeps him alive.

The States of north-eastern India demand their share of the development pie. PTI Union Minister for the Development of the North-Eastern Region Mani Shankar Aiyar (centre) with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar (third from left), his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga (right) and Manipur counterpart Okram Ibobi Singh (extreme right), along with other members of the NEC in Agartala on May 12, the day before the signing of the vision document.

In the complex backdrop of India's flourishing trade relations with China and its significant contributions to earthquake aid for the country

Many veterinarian doctors and medical experts in Sikkim are engaged in an endeavour for captive-breeding and prevent various animal species from facing extinction. Recently, Sikkim Anti-Rabies and Animal Health programme (SARAH) in cooperation with the Sikkim Government's department of Animal Husbandry, saved the life of a common Leopard through caesarian operation. It was for the first time that a C- section had been performed on an animal here.

To tied-over energy shortfall, the government is planning 40,000 mw of hydroelectric power generation capacity during the 12th (2012-17) and 13th Plan (2017-22). "We are making preparations for power projects in the 12th and 13th Plan, and are planning to add 40,000 mw capacity in the hydro sector,' Central Electricity Authority (CEA) chairman Rakesh Nath said here. Project sites in states with hydro potential are being identified.

A scientific team from Ministry of Forest and Environment will conduct a study tour of the lakes of Sikkim later this month to prepare wetland conservation protection action plan. Scientists from Ministry of Forest and Environment are scheduled to arrive in Sikkim on May 24 to visit the lakes and for preparation of wetland conservation action plan, said C.Lachungpa, Conservator of Forests, State Forest Department.

The two-day North Eastern Council (NEC) plenary has approved the Vision 2020 to restore the NE region to a position of national economic eminence by the next eight to ten years. After hectic discussion among member States of the NEC in the two-day plenary that commenced here on Monday, DoNER Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer, all Governors and Chief Ministers of the region states signed the Vision-2020 document on Tuesday.