December 19 2002 Keralamonitor.com
Israel/Occupied Territories: Conscientious objectors jailed while soldiers who commit grave violations enjoy impunity Cluster Bomb Detailed Report on Afghan War U.S. Cluster Bombs Killed Civilians in Afghanistan
Multicrore project to clean up Pampa River
New Delh --The Rs. 320 crore project for control of pollution in the Pamba river in Kerala will be duly considered for action under the National River Conservation Plan, said the Environment and Forests Minister, T. R. Baalu at a meeting with a high level delegation led by the Kerala Chief Minister, A. K. Antony here today. Antony presented the Detailed Project Report in this regard to Baalu.
The Union Minister for Enviornment & Forests Shri T. R Baalu in Conversation with the Chief Minister of Kerala Shri A.K Antony who led a high level delegation, regarding cleaning of river Pampa, in New Delhi on December 18, 2002 (Wednesday).
Antony said that the 176 km long Pamba river has turned into a puddle of human waste due to discharge of raw sewage, domestic and commercial wastes and open defecation, especially during the Sabarimala pilgrim season. The Chief Minister said the Pamba Action Plan could be taken up in three phases to address in a comprehensive manner the problem of pollution in the river for the benefit of pilgrims and the people of towns and cities along the river. He further said that as required under the norms, 30 per cent of the project cost would be borne by the stakeholders, beneficiary population and the local bodies.
According to the Detailed Project Report, 1.8 lakh pilgrims visit Sabarimala every day during November-January every year. Improper disposal of sewage and garbage, unhygienic temporary public conveniences, open defecation, parking of vehicles by the riverside, drains discharging into the river, low flow into the river etc. have resulted in environmental degradation of the Pamba river. The coliform bacteria count in the river water is in the range of 15,500 to 2,00,000 per 100 ml as against the standard norm of 10,000 per 100 ml.
The Union Government launched the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) in 1995. With the merger of Ganga Action Plan – II with NRCP, the present approved cost of NRCP stands at Rs. 3391.80 crore covering pollution abatement works in 154 towns along polluted stretches of 28 rivers in 17 States. The project cost under NRCP would be shared by the Union and the State Governments on 70:30 basis. (keralamonitor.com)
DEFENCE COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL
RAJYA SABHA
An official delegation led by Defence Secretary visited Israel to attend the first meeting of the India-Israel Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation, held during Sep 17-20, 2002. No purchase agreement was signed during the visit. This information was given by the Defence Minister George Fernandes in a written reply to Smt NP Durga in Rajya Sabha today.
Pakistan has recently test fired a medium range surface-to-surface ballistic Missile HATF-IV. As per information available, the missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and may have the capability to deliver other unconventional warheads also. Government continues to closely monitor all developments related to Pakistan’s nuclear and missile programmes, as also possible threats from use of chemical and biological weapons, and remains fully committed to taking all necessary steps to effectively safeguard India’s security and national interest. This information was given by the Defence Minister George Fernandes in a written reply to Prem Chand Gupta in Rajya Sabha today. (keralamonitor.com)
INDO-SWISS DEFENCE TIES
RAJYA SABHA
The Defence Minister George Fernandes visited Switzerland from August 28-31, 2002 to attend and address an International Conference on Federalism and to hold talks with Mr. Samuel Schmid, the Swiss Minister of Defence. The discussions between Fernandes and the Swiss Defence Minister explored areas whereby Indo-Swiss defence ties could be strengthened. Defence Minister also gave a detailed exposition to his counterpart on India’s stance relating to the Kashmir issue. Inter-alia, the bilateral talks also focused on the dimension of the Strategic and Security policies of other nations. The emerging political and security situations in areas such as Central Asia, Afghanistan, and the EU etc. were also discussed. This information was given by the Defence Minister George Fernandes in a written reply to Prof M Sankaralingam in Rajya Sabha today.
MEASURES TO PROMOTE E-GOVERNANCE AND USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN CENTRAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS
LOK SABHA
Government has taken several measures to promote E-Governance and the use of Information Technology in the Central and State Governments. Stating this in a written reply to a question raised by Dr. V. Saroja in the Lok Sabha today, the Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Sanjay Paswan informed the Members that the Planning Commission has constituted a Working Group on Convergence and E-Governance for the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) and the minimum agenda for E-Governance in the Ministries/Departments of the Central Government has been prepared.
The Minister stated that in the last two years, there has been considerable increase in the use of Internet to access Government information. More and more Government Departments/Ministries at the Centre and the State level are publishing information on the web. Interactive services like downloadable forms, online feedback, public grievance submission and other similar services are being made available through the Internet. As per the information available from National Informatics Centre (NIC) who are providing these services, 40%-50% growth has been observed on an average in the usage of Internet in the Government sector.
The Minister added to inform that presently, most of the on-line Government services provided over Internet are related to dissemination of information such as Public Exam results, Government forms, tender notices, information about Government Departments, etc. This does not require any personal information from users to access these sites. However, with the coming of transaction based Government services in a year or two safety/security aspect will be an important concern within the purview of IT Act 2000. (keralamonitor.com)
