|
India at 125th position in Environmental Performance Index
DAVOS, January 26, 2012 : Reflecting the adverse fallout of economic expansion, India has
been ranked at the 125th spot in terms of tackling pollution and natural
resource management challenges, according to a survey of 132 nations.
India is placed below neighbouring China, which has garnered the 116th
position, as per the 2012 Environmental Performance Index prepared by Yale and Columbia Universities in
association with the World Economic Forum. "Of the emerging economies, China and India rank 116th and 125th
respectively, reflecting the strain rapid economic growth imposes on the
environment," it said. Switzerland has topped the ranking in terms of addressing pollution
control and natural resource management challenges. Others in the top
five are Latvia, Norway, Luxembourg and Costa Rica.
The report noted that Switzerland¹s top-notch performance on the overall
EPI derives from its high scores on metrics related to both ecosystem
vitality and environmental health, particularly its very strong performance in biodiversity and habitat protection and air pollution
control. The list is based on 22 indicators across 10 major policy categories,
including air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity, and
forest management. "Occupying the bottom five positions in the EPI ranking are South Africa
, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iraq - all countries grappling with deteriorating environmental circumstances in
the context of significant economic development pressures and other challenges," it said.
According to the report, the US is placed 49th, with strong results on some
issues, such as water and air pollution management but weak performance
on others, including greenhouse gas emissions and renewable electricity
generation. "This ranking puts the US significantly behind other industrialised
nations, including France (6th), the United Kingdom (9th), Germany (11th), and Japan (23rd)," it added.
SC
directed Sterlite Industries Ltd. to file a
fresh application before the TNPC
New Delhi, January 18, 2012 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Sterlite Industries Ltd. to file a
fresh application before the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to obtain its consent for continuance of the company’s copper plant at
Tuticorin, which was allegedly causing environmental pollution.
A bench of justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale asked the company to file
its application within 15 days which shall be disposed of by the Board
within a month after inquiring into and verifying its claims of complying with various safety and environmental norms.
The apex court further said its October 1, 2010, interim direction staying the operation of the Madras High Court order directing closure
of the industry will continue and posted the matter for further hearing to March 28.
The bench also recorded an undertaking from Sterlite Industries’ counsel C A Sundram that it has complied with all “green belt” and “health”
facilities norms required for ensuring public safety and health. State’s Additional Advocate General Gurukrishna Kumar said the
government would examine the claim made by the company in this regard and file its reply.
Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of UK-based Vedanta Group, had moved
the apex court yesterday against the order of the high court which had on September 28, 2010, ordered shutting down of the smelting plant for
reportedly failing to comply with environmental norms. The company, in a special leave petition against the order, had claimed
the high court did not give it a proper hearing and ignored its submissions.
OSPCB issues showcause to 30 mines
BHUBANESWAR, January 10, 2012: The Odisha State Pollution Control Board
(OSPCB) has slapped showcause notice on 30 mines of the State for operating without
the statutory ‘Consent to Operate’. As per the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and Air
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, the Board will levy a fine
for operation of mines without the consent. The penalty is equivalent to
twice the consent fee which is calculated based on area and type of mines.
The Board has found that as many as 198 mines had operated in the past
without the Consent to Operate. It was in 2006 that the OSPCB brought all the mines in the State under
its consent administration and Consent to Operate was granted to the
existing mines for a period of five years. Later, the Board learnt that many of the mines have augmented their
production without obtaining environmental clearance (EC) from the
Government of India. As a follow- up action, after March 2011, while
granting the Consent to Operate, the Board restricted the production to
the quantity for which the mines already have EC and advised them to
obtain EC for the increased quantity. “In the first phase, 30 mines have been issued showcause and the cases
of the rest of the mines will be taken up soon,” the Board sources said.
China to release stricter Beijing pollution measure results
BEIJING, January 6, 2012 (Reuters): The Beijing city government will soon release the
results of stricter air pollution standards, Chinese media reported on
Friday, following a public outcry that authorities are understating the
extent of smog that often shrouds the capital. Many Beijing residents complain on the Internet that official figures
greatly underestimate the problem and say they only trust readings from
the U.S. embassy, which has its own measurement based on U.S. standards.
Those readings appear much grimmer than those of the city government's.
The stricter standards by the Beijing city government will now monitor
tiny floating particles -- 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less, known as
PM 2.5 -- that doctors warn can more easily settle in the lungs and cause respiratory problems and other illnesses.
A long-standing point of contention for Beijing residents was the
government's unwillingness to disclose measures for PM 2.5. The director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau,
Liu Xianshu, was quoted in the Beijing Daily as saying that the agency
would provide the readings of the PM 2.5 standard starting from the Chinese New Year, which falls on January 23 this year.
- Reuters
A monthly scholarship to 50 research scholars to study pollution
HYDERABAD, January 02, 2012: The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board
(APPCB) has decided to institute a monthly scholarship of `20,000 for five years to
engage 50 research scholars from 7 universities in the state for conducting detailed studies on critical issues being addressed by the
board.According to a press release issued by the board, the scholars
would be picked up from the IITHyderabad, University of Hyderabad,
JNTU, Osmania, Andhra, Sri Venkateswara and NALSAR universities.
The research would cover study of selected pollution hot spots in the state. The
board plans to seek support of scientific and technical experts of the
universities. The scholarship called the AP Pollution Control Board Environmental Research Fellowship would be in the CSIR and UGC models,
the release says. The minimum qualification would be qualifying in NET/GATE and interested in doing serious research on critical
environmental issues. The scholarship would be `20,000 per month for
first and second years, `24,000 per month for the next three years and a
research grant of `1 lakh per year per project. An experts committee
will be constituted in every university covered by the scholarship to
select the candidates who are meritorious and interested in the research
project. Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news |
|
|
