A High Court bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N M Jamdar had underlined “a serious lacuna in the decision-making process” and “lack of proper scientific study”. The Brihanmumbai
In a cityscape dotted by energy guzzling high-rises, the municipal corporation has decided to set the precedent for going green.
Nearly 40 years after the Common School System (CSS) was recommended by the Kothari Commission on education (1964-66), equal, inclusive and free education remains a distant dream even today.
With increasing incidence of man-leopard conflict, the recent one being at Nigdi, Pune forest division is all set to carry out a study on the "Genetical mutation in leopard species.' This is to study how leopards adapt themselves to human habitat. The first of its kind study has been approved at a meeting held by Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests (MoEF) S Raghupathy in the city. Deputy conservator of forests, Pune circle Ashok Khadse, who attended the meeting told The Indian Express of this development. The degradation of quality wildlife habitat and natural prey has forced leopards naturally to move towards human habitations. "We will carry out the study and have been asked to put forth our detailed proposal before the ministry,' said Khadse. The study will try to analyse the reasons behind the leopards adapting to sugarcane fields and agricultural lands and choosing dogs as their prey. While the proposal is yet to be worked out, Khadse said an earlier study of habitat and prey base in forest areas of Junnar division, Bhimashankar Sanctuary of Pune division was carried out. With a number of leopards entering populated areas, the recent one being the one at Nigdi, this study will help to understand this movement. The study will also observe whether the leopards have got acclimatized to human surroundings. Khadse said the expansion of Junnar rescue centre was another issue taken up and which was given the go- ahead from the ministry. Participation of various social organisations in wildlife management and implementing the metro green project too were discussed.
An unauthorised vermiculture project of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has ruined the life of a Pimpri hotelier U N Sukheja. His "Gurukripa veg - non veg restaurant' in Chinchwad Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation(MIDC) area, had to be closed within a month of its opening, all because of a vermiculture project that PCMC constructed on the land exactly opposite his hotel. According to official documents, PCMC was supposed to plant trees there. Instead, it constructed the vermiculture pit, where about 4.5 tonnes of hotel waste were treated every day. The foul smell and insects ultimately led to customers avoiding Sukheja's hotel, forcing him to close it. Sukheja had started this hotel on the land (plot number 10) he leased for 99 years from the MIDC in October 1996. He also took a hefty loan of Rs 45 lakh from the Rupee Co-operative Bank in 1999 to construct it. The hotel started functioning on March 8, 2000 and was earning up to Rs 30,000 per day, Sukheja said. "I ran from pillar to post in both MIDC and PCMC offices. In October 2000, the CEO of MIDC released an order for removal of the project. But the local MIDC officers took no action,' he said. Sukheja wrote letters to the Police Commissioner and MIDC, threatening to immolate himself. Meanwhile, loan recovery agents started bothering Sukheja for repayment. He approached Azeem Khan, the then CEO of MIDC, who in a letter dated October 14, 2002, requested the then Co-operation Commissioner Bijay Kumar to postpone the recovery action. Khan admitted that the PCMC's vermiculture project was "unauthorised' and had led to the closure of Sukheja's hotel. By the time the vermiculture project was finally removed in 2004, the bank had sealed Sukheja's hotel. Purushottam Jadhav, regional officer of MIDC, Pune said, "Sukheja still possesses the land and his hotel is mortgaged to the Rupee Bank.'
Fisherman Nandu Pawar (40) is ecstatic at the prospect of having a nature park in what he calls his "native land' Bhandup. "We are locals of Bhandup village and fishing here has been our age-old occupation. However, of late, a lot of us have been finding jobs elsewhere because fishing is not lucrative anymore. The mangrove park will mean new opportunities in our own land. We can think of a plethora of respectable jobs here as guides, boat riders, guards, etc,' he explains. Nearly 10,000 villagers of Bhandup echo Pawar's feelings. "We'd rather work in the place that we have inhabited for years than find jobs elsewhere,' they say. "Besides, we know how living in the mangrove area saved us during the June 26, 2006, floods. We will be proud to see this land develop as a tourism zone.' The state government's forest department will soon sign a formal agreement with NGO Conservation Action Trust (CAT) to develop the 452-hectare wetland between Bhandup and Kanjurmarg as a Mangrove Wetland Centre (MWC), the first of its kind in India. Still a proposal, CAT plans to submit a master plan of the park
When R K Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) received the Nobel Peace Prize in December last year on behalf of the IPCC, which bagged the award jointly with Al Gore, he had clearly mentioned that he would first want to pay tribute to the thousands of experts and scientists who have contributed to the work of the panel over almost two decades. Two Puneites figure in the long list of experts who have contributed to the IPCC in the area of climate change. The Indian government has taken special cognizance of these scientists and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has issued certificates "recognising their contribution.' Two MeT officers from Pune
The Central Zoo Authority (CZA), while approving the Rs 434-crore Byculla zoo makeover plan on Tuesday, stipulated that no tree be felled and no heritage structure be disturbed in the process. "We have studied the masterplan and have decided to approve it now. But in the interest of concerned citizens, we've maintained that not one tree be brought down during the modernisation of the zoo,' said B R Sharma, member secretary of the CZA. Incidentally, the BMC had recently mentioned that only diseased trees would be uprooted. While the CZA had earlier shown reservation to this condition, Sharma now stated that they would allow the BMC to make internal decision as long as their main conditions are adhered to. The long wait over, the BMC is now geared up to put the mega revamp plan
In an effort to promote eco-friendly Ganesh festival in the city, Mayor Shubha Raul has proposed workshops in all civic wards wherein devotees and interested people will be taught how to make eco-friendly idols. Raul also wants the civic administration to set up artificial lakes and wells for immersion of these idols in each ward. Although Raul has been promoting
Devyani Rana, programme officer at the Energy and Environment unit of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - the United Nations Global Development Network - was in the city on Sunday for a meeting with the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) Committee to discuss the Environment and Green Games Initiative of CYG Pune 2008. Suresh Kalmadi, a member of parliament and CYG's organising committee chairman, conducted the meeting. Also present were Sandhya Mulchandani, adviser, CWG Delhi 2010, Vijay Kumar Gautam, chief operating officer, CWG Delhi 2010, and Municipal Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi, among other officers. In its presentation, the organising committee discussed the important objectives of its
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will re-start distribution of tetra-packed flavoured milk among civic school students. To start from the academic year 2008-09, the scheme will now be optional for students. Launched in November last year, the civic body had discontinued the scheme about two months back after 42 students felt ill consuming the strawberry-flavoured milk. The packs distributed were initially of elaichi flavour, but later they switched to strawberry flavour. However, milk will now be distributed in flavours of chocolate, mango and elaichi. The decision to re-start the scheme was taken on Wednesday at the BMC Standing Committee meeting when the civic administration submitted its joint task force's final report after considering the findings of the the expert committee. The expert committee, which analysed the contents of the tetra-packed milk after the students fell sick in separate cases, found no chemical adulteration or bacterial presence in the samples. Addressing the standing committee, Additional Municipal Commissioner M Sangle said that there is no harm in re-starting the distribution system of flavoured milk. "From March 2008, students from class V to X will be given the milk, while those from class I to IV will get it from June,' he said. Acting on the expert committee report by Dr Sanjay Oak, dean of Nair Hospital, the civic administration has decided to reduce the quantity of milk for students of primary level. "Considering their digestive level, they will be given 125 ml of milk instead of 200 ml,' Sangle said. The BMC has awarded contract for distributing flavoured tetra-packs to Rashtriya Madhyawarti Mazdoor Grahak Sangh who would procure the milk from GK Dairy in Haryana. The dairy will supply 4.5 lakh packets daily. The 200 ml packet will cost of Rs 11. Standing Committee Chairman Ravindra Waikar said that since the quantity of milk in almost half the packs has been reduced by 75 ml (for the pre-primary students), the civic administration should discuss with the contractor about reducing their price. Sangle, however, said that it would not be compulsory for students to drink the milk. "We will also not force children to consume the milk. It will be optional. Only if they want, they will be given the packs,' Sangle said. The standing committee has also asked to create awareness amongst students, parents and teachers to avoid any untoward incident due to flavoured milk consumption, by display of posters on use of tetra-packs and straws.
