Republic Day: Jal Shakti Ministry To Display 'Jal Jeevan Mission:Changing Lives' Tableau 

On Republic Day, the Jal Shakti Ministry will showcase how at an altitude of more than 13,000 ft in harsh winter, Jal Jeevan Mission is bringing improvement.

According to the ministry, during winters villages are scattered and rainfall is scarce

"Villages remain cut off from the rest of country for few months in a year due to closure of passes during winters. This affects the supply of materials badly. Further, most of the water sources are in inaccessible areas, in many areas of Ladakh the water bodies freeze in winters, a lot of labour is required for construction and the help of animals & helicopters is taken to lift and transport the material," added Ministry of Jal Shakti press release.

Jal Shakti Ministry's Republic Day tableau details

The tableau shows local women conducting water quality tests by using 'Field Test Kits (FTKs)'. Under the mission, more than 8.6 lakh women so far have been trained to ensure clean tap water to homes with the help of FTKs. Water testing laboratories in the country are now open for the public to get their drinking water tested.[Readmore]

Maharashtra: Green nod in, Aksa beach set for makeover

With all the clearances of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and Environment in, the anti-erosion sea wall, under two-feet in height, will come up at a cost of Rs 20 crore at the beach in the western suburbs of Mumbai.

The current plan has been chalked out considering all the CRZ norms. There will be no construction or concretisation activity which is why we have got all the approvals. The area chosen for the activity is also a mid-section for high and low tide. An inspection by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) and IIT-Bombay will be carried out on the quality of the revamp to ensure that the activity does not harm the beach,” said an official.[Readmore]

Parliament gives nod to Dam Safety Bill

Rajya Sabha had passed The Dam Safety Bill on December 2 with minor amendments, including changing the year in the title of the Bill from 2019 to 2021.

New Delhi: Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill that seeks to set up an institutional mechanism for the safety of specified dams in the country.

Rajya Sabha had passed The Dam Safety Bill on December 2 with minor amendments, including changing the year in the title of the Bill from 2019 to 2021.

Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat moved amendments to the Bill in Lok Sabha, which approved it with a voice vote.

The Bill provides for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of the specified dams for the prevention of dam failure-related disasters. It provides for an institutional mechanism to ensure a safe functioning of the dams.[Readmore]

PM Modi to launch hydropower projects worth ₹11,000 crore in Himachal today

Built at a cost of ₹7,000 crore, the Renukaji Dam will optimally utilise the hydropower potential of the Himalayan region to bring benefits to as far away as national capital Delhi, which will be able to receive a water supply of around 500 million cubic meters per year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday visit Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, where he will inaugurate and lay the foundation for hydropower projects worth more than ₹11,000 crore. Included among these is the Renukaji Dam project, lying pending for around three decades.

According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the completion of the 40-megawatt hydropower project was only made possible by the collective effort of six states—Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Delhi—at the behest of the central government.[Readmore]

India's Mega Projects: How Hirakud Dam Became The World's Longest Dam?

The Hirakud Dam, built across the Mahanadi River, is the longest in the world, with a length of 4.8 km. It was one of the first initial projects that an independent India undertook. The first Prime Minister of the country, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, put the first piece of concrete of the dam on April 12, 1948. For adequate supervision, Mazumdar Committee was appointed to check the technical soundness and the feasibility of the project, which cost more than US$ 1 Billion in ancient times. Initially, the Committee had pegged the cost at nearly ₹94 crores and predicted the dam's completion by June 1955.[Readmore]

As told to Parliament (December 13, 2021): Sea level along Indian coast rising at 1.7 mm/year

The sea level along the Indian coast was rising at about 1.7 millimetres per year according to the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services.

Shoreline change including erosion and sea level rise were slow phenomena and manifesting globally, Ashwini Kr Choubey, minister of state in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change told the Lok Sabha December 13, 2021.

Ambient air quality data

Ambient air quality data in 96 cities showed a decreasing trend of PM10 whereas 36 cities showed an increasing trend of PM10 concentration in 2020-2021, as compared to 2019-2020.

Eighteen cities were found to be within the prescribed National Ambient Air Quality Standard (PM10 less than 60 µg / m3) in 2019-20 which has increased to 27 in 2020-21.[Readmore]

PM Modi to lay foundation of Rs 6,700-crore dam in Himachal Pradesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be laying the foundation of the Rs 6,700-crore Renukaji Dam project from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi town today.

The project on the Giri river in Sirmaur district, once completed, is expected to generate 200 million units of energy in a surface power house with 40 MW installed capacity which would be utilized by the state.[Readmore]

Supreme Court to hear pleas pertaining to Mullaperiyar dam’s safety today

The Kerala government had earlier moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to Tamil Nadu to not release a huge quantity of water in the wee hours from the spillway shutters of the century-old dam, saying it causes heavy damage to people living downstream.

The Supreme Court is set to hear on Wednesday a string of petitions which have raised safety concerns regarding the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, a broiling operational dispute between the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

A bench of justices AM Khanwilkar and CT Ravikumar had last Friday adjourned the hearing to December 15 after senior advocate Shekhar Naphade informed the top court that the Tamil Nadu government will be requiring more time to file its reply to the fresh objections raised by Kerala.[Readmore]

Union Minister Pralhad Singh Patel Reviews Work At National Water Academy and Central Water and Power Research Station at Khadakvasla

Pune, 24 December 2021: Union Minister of State for Water and Food Processing Pralhad Singh Patel is on a two-day visit to Maharashtra. On the second day of the tour today, Patel visited the Satara Mega Food Park and inspected the ongoing works over there. This food park has not yet started at full capacity. The Minister assured to try and remove the problems related to this project. “Cold storage facilities should be made available in this food park”, he added.

Patel also visited Apshinge village of Satara Taluka and Gutalwadi village in Khandala Taluka of Satara district and inspected various works carried out under the Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to supply safe and adequate drinking water to households. The Minister appreciated the waste recycling process adopted by the villagers of Gutalwadi.[Readmore]