The virgin beauty of Arakku Valley in the Eastern Ghats is a popular tourist draw, but it may soon be just a memory. The hill ranges from Papikonda in East Godavari to Sileru and Krishnadevipeta in Visakhapatnam district, rich in bauxite ore, have been chosen as the site for a mega aluminium project.
Notwithstanding the legislative provisions to safeguard their landed interests, tribals are getting driven to circumstances in which retaining hold over the land under their possession is becoming difficult. The quality of land held by them is so poor that, in its present form, it cannot promise them any reasonable returns. The low returns leave little surplus for tribals to plough it back into agriculture to improve the quality of the land.
Already under pressure for delayed blending, the domestic biodiesel industry is facing another challenge in the form of imports from the US.
Last July, a shipment of 20,000 tonnes biodiesel from the US reached India.
After a 20 per cent rally in crude oil prices from November, biodiesel prices have also started rising globally. Biodiesel prices in Europe rose over 15 per cent, owing to a revival in demand. Indian producers, who mainly rely on export markets in Europe and the United States, are planning to increase exports.
Biodiesel shipments currently fetch exporters around $1,150-$1,200 a tonne.
US-based heavy equipment and forged steel manufacturing firm, Brighton Energy, is expected to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Andhra Pradesh to set up its facility near Visakhapatnam.
Hyderabad, June 16: Twenty-five per cent of the power generated by the 1040 MW power plant of the Hinduja Group at Visakhapatnam will be given to the APTransco while the remaining 75 per cent will be sold in the open market.
APTransco has approved this proposal and has sent it to the government for ratification.
Visakhapatnam, March 8: The north coastal Andhra would soon becoming the epicentre of power projects with as many as 17 projects in private sector and a nuclear power project in the public sector, generating 19,000 mega watts in the next couple of years.
Hyderabad, Jan. 3: Visakhapatnam overtook Patancheru and Bolarum as the most industrially polluted cluster in the state as per the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (Cepi).
Nov. 16: APTransco, the state power utility, has staked claims over 100 per cent power from the proposed Hinduja power plant in Visakhapatnam.
The move comes at a time when the Hinduja group is lobbying for permission to sell 75 per cent of the power in the open market under the
