Opinion

Opinion     01/102018                1434. Sub :- **"Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part I - 13. 3 Proposed guidelines/summary recommendations for sector-wise activities Ref :- Sector : Forestry & Government lands - ESZ1 ESZ2 ESZ3 from WGEA, SEA and DECs No Forest clearance or stream diversion for new projects Run of the river schemes not allowed in first order or second order streams Promote small scale, micro and pico hydropower systems, that are people owned & managed and are off grid. New small hydropower projects (10 MW and below) are permissible. No new thermal power plants Strict environmental regulation of existing thermal power plants. Existing thermal plants to actively promote alternate uses of fly ash - such as in road making in addition to the existing practices of manufacture of fly ash bricks. No large scale wind power projects Promote biomass based /solar sources for decentralized energy needs. No new

Opinion      30/09/2018                1431. **"Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part I - 13.2 Proposed guidelines/summary recommendations for sector-wise activities SECTOR : Forestry & Government lands - ESZ1,  ESZ2 &  ESZ3 1 .Illegal mining to be stopped immediately social audit Detailed plans for environmental and social rehabilitation of mines to be closed. 2. Illegal mining to be stopped immediately Existing mining to adopt good practice mining and be under strict regulation and social audit Illegal mining to be stopped immediately. 3.  Quarry and sand mining Where exists should be controlled effectively for environmental and social impacts immediately. 4.  No new licenses to be given for quarry and sand mining Up gradation possible/permitted subject to strict regulation and social audit Existing and new quarry and sand mining should be under strict regulations and social audit and without affecting tribal rights Poll

Opinion       30/09/2018                1429. Sub : - *"The Prime Minister recalled Swami Vivekananda’s emphasis on self-reliance, character building, and human values, as elements of education. The Prime Minister said innovation is another vital element of education today." Ref : - I. PM addresses conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence :- The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today addressed a Conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence, in New Delhi. He said that when one thinks of resurgence or revival, the first image that comes to mind is of Swami Vivekananda, who presented before the world, the strength of Indian thought. The Prime Minister recalled Swami Vivekananda’s emphasis on self-reliance, character building, and human values, as elements of education. The Prime Minister said innovation is another vital element of education today. Recalling the ancient Indian texts, the Vedas, the Prime Minister s

Opinion      30/09/2018               1428. Sub : - I. New Initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir Ref :- Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs 28 SEP 2018 12:19PM by PIB Delhi Jammu & Kashmir Government has taken a number of decisions pursuant to the review meeting on 4-5 July 2018 during Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh’s visit to the state. Most significant of these is the conduct of Local Body Elections that are currently underway. Central Government is providing all possible support to the State Government for smooth conduct of these elections including deployment of Central forces in sufficient numbers. 1. Elections to Local Bodies :-      The local body elections will have a historic significance in many aspects. The local body elections will re-establish the long overdue grassroots level democracy in J&K. The urban local body elections are being held after 2005 and Panchayat elections after 2011. P

Opinion    29/09/2018             1427. **"Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part I - 13. Proposed guidelines/summary recommendations for sector-wise activities WGEEP advocates a graded or layered approach, with regulatory as well as promotional measures appropriately fine-tuned to local ecological and social contexts within the broad framework of (1) Regions of highest sensitivity or Ecologically Sensitive Zone 1 (ESZ1), (2) Regions of high sensitivity or ESZ2, and the (3) Regions of moderate sensitivity or ESZ3. While we advocate this fine-tuning through a participatory process going down to gram sabhas, it is appropriate to provide a broad set of guidelines as a starting point. WGEEP has attempted to arrive at such a set of broad guide-lines for the various sectors on the basis of extensive consultations with officials, experts, civil society groups and citizens at large. These are summarized in Table 6. Table 6 Proposed guidelines and