E-waste management rules amended to improve implementation efficiency
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has amended the e-Waste Management Rules, 2016 to improve implementation efficiency. As per the new amendments, collection targets under the provision of Extended Producer Responsibility have been revised. In addition to that, targets have also been introduced for new producers who have started sales operations recently. Producer Responsibility Organisations will now have to apply to the Central Pollution Control Board for registration to undertake activities prescribed in the Rules.
Proposed forest policy to allow corporate entities to grow and harvest trees in govt-owned forest lands
The new National Forest Policy proposed by the union government seeks to allow the corporate sector to grow, harvest and sell trees on government-owned forest lands, something that has been explicitly banned under the existing policy. The Centre has been keen on opening up forest lands to industry since 2015 and has cited low quality and productivity of natural forests as the reason for bringing in the new amendments. Emphasis on public-private participation models for undertaking afforestation and reforestation activities figures prominently in the proposal.
Plea challenging legality of Yetttinhole project being heard by the NGT
The National Green Tribunal has begun to hear a plea challenging the legality of the Yetttinhole project for diverting water from the Netravathi river for drinking water purpose. The petitioner claimed that forest clearance given for the project was illegal and that it would result in man-animal conflict. The Yettinhole project, devised by the Karnataka government, proposes to use 24 tmcft of water from the Netravathi for providing drinking water to drought-hit Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Tumakuru districts.
Micro-Irrigation Fund announced in budget 2017-18 yet to become operational
A dedicated Micro-Irrigation Fund (MIF) which was proposed in the 2017-18 budget is yet to become operational as the union government is unclear about whether interest subsidy should be given to the states on the fund loans. With the increasing demand from state governments to support micro-irrigation projects, the interest subsidy for the Micro-Irrigation Fund is expected to cross Rs 500 crore annually.
To rectify critical deficiencies, Telangana government redesigns five irrigation projects
Keeping critical factors such as hydrology and terrain in mind, the Telangana government has redesigned five existing irrigation schemes. The redesign is expected to improve the viability of the projects in addition to increasing the scope for fisheries, inland water transportation and tourism. The Pranahitha Chevella Sujala Sravanti, JCR Devadula lift irrigation scheme, Indiramma flood flow canal, P.V. Narasimha Rao Kanthanapally Sujala Sravanti along with the Sita Rama lift irrigation project were the chosen ones this time around.
This is a roundup of important policy matters published between April 20 ad 26, 2018. Also, read the news this week.