Hyderabad, June 30: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday granted an interim stay on the acquisition of railway properties between Tarnaka and Sangeet Crossroads. The Hyderabad Collector had issued a notification for the acquisition of these properties on the request of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to lay an Inner Ring Road to ease traffic congestion on the stretch.
On May 2, 1983, despite the sweltering heat and the unrelenting pressure of examinations, students of Anchal College, Padampur, pelted stones at the motorcade carrying the Union minister for mines, the chief minister of Orissa and the state's industries minister. The three were on their way to inaugurate a mining project at Gandhamardan.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday vacated a stay on the sale and allotment of land in the hillocks of Visakhapatnam and its surrounding areas. This means that the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation is now be able to auction land in the area. The issue was in the court for two years. The High court had earlier granted a stay on the alienation of hillock area to private parties following a petition filed by the Samata, a non government organisation.
THE lush green hill tracts of the Eastern Ghats may soon be blighted by smoke belched out by two bauxite units, each worth Rs 4,000 crore. While one refinery unit with a capacity of 1.4 million tonnes per annum is being set up by JSW Alumina Limited at Boddavara village bordering Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts, the other, almost with the same capacity, is being established by the Dubai-based Ras al Khaima at Ramannapalem and Rachapalli villages in Makavarapalem mandal in Visakhapatnam district.
The government is set to amend a clause of the SEZ laws to allow it to build strategic petroleum reserves totalling five million metric tonnes in the SEZ notified areas without being bound by any export obligations. The amendment would waive the requirement to export oil from its reserves to be built in the notified SEZ areas.
With humans invading and capturing their habitats to erect their high-rises, big cats are entering towns and cities as if to demand their due. Panthers once roamed in the Hitec city area of Madhapur, but they lost their habitat after the scrub jungle was levelled for erecting a cyber city. Similarly, scrub jungles in the fringes of Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and other urban areas were also destroyed for construction. These scrub jungles were the connecting links (marginal habitats) between the thick forest and human habitations. For long years, the borders were inviolate.
A fresh petition was filed at the Andhra Pradesh High Court against the land acquisition for the proposed SEZ in Krishnapatnam in Nellore district. Mr T. Gopal Reddy of Nellore town filed the petition seeking a direction to suspend the notice issued by the mining department for termination of mining lease.
For eight successive years - between 1999-2000 and 2006-07 - the port at Visakhapatanam occupied the number one slot among the twelve major ports in the country. In 2007-08, it lost that position to Kandla. Against Visakhapatanam's 64.59 million tonnes, Kandla managed to handle a little more at 64.89 million tonnes of cargo. The Kolkata port (including Haldia) slipped to the third position at 57.28 million tonnes.
The AP forest department has decided to create 1,000 water holes in reserve forests to ensure that thirsty panthers don't stray into human habitations and get killed. Forest officials will be particularly focusing on forests with a high population of panthers located in the fringe areas of cities. They will also create artificial waterfalls in these areas and also in the elephant sanctuary in Kuppam.
