Lucknow Uttar Pradesh’s tryst with power reforms seems to have boomeranged. Close on the heels of Coalgate, which has had the Central government scurrying for cover, a report by the state accountant general (AG) has alleged irregularities in the appointment of Torrent Power (TPL) as the power distribution franchisee (DF) for Agra.

The report also states that the appointment was done with complete disregard to the tendering procedure and has already caused a loss of R489.89 crore to the state exchequer in the first two years since the city was handed over to the company in 2010.

AHMEDABAD: Officials of Gujarat Pollution control Board (GPCB) issued immediate closure notice to Spectrum Dyes and Chemicals located at Baleswar of Palsana taluka of Surat District some 20 km off Surat city. This action was taken after the unit management was found guilty of releasing untreated Chemical water directly in to Baleswar creek through a fake pipeline installed by them .

Baleswar Khadi (Creek ) is located some 500 meters off the site of the unit. "We had received a complaint that unit management is releasing the untreated harmful water waste in the creek directly during the night hours.

Ahmedabad: Pollution control vessel, a dedicated oil spill recovery vessel, second of its class in Asia-Pacific region, will be commissioned by Indian Coast Guard in Surat on July 20. The 94-metre-long vessel with displacement of 3,300 tonnes is a highly specialized ship fitted with top-of-shelf technologically advance pollution response equipment and is capable of recovering and neutralizing different kinds of oil spills in the sea.

The vessel boasts of an integrated platform management system, a perfect example of human machine interface. It interfaces the main machinery, sensors and equipment onboard the ship, which can be operated and monitored from a remote location. Automation is the keyword for this system.

To keep fruits and vegetables fresh during transportation over long distances and cut post-harvest losses, the National Horticulture Mission (NHM) and Indian Railways have joined hands to start the

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, will support Gujarat in the replication in five cities of the rooftop solar project, completed last month in Gandhinagar, in

To attract investments, Maharashtra has rolled out a red carpet for the Gujarat textile sector. State textile minister Naseem Khan plans to lead a high level delegation to Ahmedabad in May to ask the textile industry in Gujarat to invest in Maharashtra in order to take the benefit of the newly released textile policy and the sops offered for development of textile parks in the state.

Maharashtra textile policy offers a 10 per cent capital subsidy for new textile projects in Vidarbha, Marathwada and north Maharashtra, and 12.5 per cent interest subsidy on long-term loans linked to centrally-sponsored Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme for new projects.

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government on Tuesday admitted in the state assembly that a sharp rise in the price of coal and gas, made available to the state’s power companies, is a major reason for increase in the price of electricity to the various categories of consumers – residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural.

The green cover in the state has declined by 554 sq km. This was revealed on Wednesday in the report of the Forest Survey of India.