High Level Enquiry ordered into Mines Accident
Shri Soren has ordered a departmental inquiry into the accident. A three-member High Level Committee under the chairmanship of Shri S. Choudhry, CMD, Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL) has been constituted for conducting Inquiry. Other members are Shri L. Jha, Director, (Technical) and Md. Salim Uddin, Director (Projects) of CIL.
The Inquiry would be carried out to ascertain the causes leading to the accident, fixing responsibility if any for the same and suggest measures to avoid recurrence of such accidents in future. The Committee has been asked to submit its Report within 15 days.
National Tiger Coservation Authority built
The enactment paves the way for the constitution of a National Tiger Conservation Authority. The Authority will be empowered to approve the tiger conservation plans prepared by the State Governments and lay down standards and guidelines for tiger conservation in the buffer and core areas of tiger reserves. The Authority would disseminate information on tiger protection measures and keep an eye on the mortality rate of the endangered animal. The Authority will approve and co-ordinate research on tiger, its habitat and related ecological and socio-economic parameters. The Authority would guide the States in setting up tiger conservation foundations which would also ensure the agricultural, livelihood, developmental and other interests of the people living inside tiger reserves.
BACKGROUND
Project Tiger was launched in India on April 7, 1973 to conserve the endangered animal. Initially, 9 Tiger Reserves were covered under the Project. But now they number 28 in 17 States. Project Tiger is a Centrally-Sponsored Scheme. Over the years the need arose for a statutory Authority, having legal backing with well-defined functions, for conserving the tigers in the country. Despite the project being in existence for over three decades, the status of tigers in the country remained critical, necessitating the need for addressing the issue right from planning to administration and making provisions for dealing with cases of violation.
Any conservation effort to save the tiger must take care of the prevailing circumstances in the country where forests are not regarded as wilderness areas but also inhabited by the tribal people. On the basis of the recommendations of the National Board for Wildlife, a Task Force was set up to look into the problems of tiger conservation in the country and to suggest comprehensive measures for its improvement.
The recommendations of the Task Force, inter alia, include strengthening of Project Tiger by giving it statutory and administrative powers. It also recommended that the report relating to Project Tiger should annually be sent to the Central Government for laying in Parliament and to enable it review its commitment to Project Tiger from time to time.
Rail-cum-Road Bridge across Ganga
The bridge will provide relief to the existing distressed road bridge i.e. Mahatma Gandhi Setu and will connect Patna on the Southern bank with Sonepur (Hajipur) on the Northern Bank. The share of Railway will be Rs.835 crore and that of Road is Rs.554 crore. The bridge is expected to be completed in 5 years.
National Workshop on Chemical Disaster Management
The Minister of Housing & Environment and Urban Administration, Shri Jayant Malaiya, former Army Chief and current Vice Chairman of NDMA General NC Vij, Shri. Lt. Gen. (Dr.) J. R. Bhardwaj, member NDMA, Smt Jyoti Rao, member NDMA, Shri P.D Meena Principal Secretary Housing and Environment Department Govt. of MP, Smt. Deepti Gaur Mukherjee Executive Director DMI and Dr. Rakesh Dubey Director will be present during the inaugural ceremony.
About 80 officials including Controller of Explosives from all the regions of the country, Director of Industrial Health and Safety & officials of State Pollution Control Boards from all the states of the country and Chief functionaries of all the major hazardous industries of the country and experts of national reputes dealing in chemical disaster management will be participating in the workshop.
Formulation of a road map for national guidelines on chemical disaster management is the prime objective of the workshop. The leading experts and administrative heads of the various departments at national level will discuss at length about the measures to be taken and their preparedness in case of chemical disasters and finally document the recommendations. Based on these recommendations the national guidelines will be developed.
First Indo-German Defence Agreement Today
The Defence Minister would hold talks with his German counterpart, Mr. Franz Josef Jung and Minister for Technology and Economics Mr. Michael Gloss.
Shri Mukherjee will also pay homage at the Zehrensdorf Indian cemetery where lie graves of 206 Indian soldiers who died as prisoners during the First World War.
Earlier, in Paris, the Defence Minister had a hectic schedule on the last day of his tour to the French capital.
He visited the Centre for Planning and Operations Management (CP&OM) which is the Joint Staff Operations Centre of the French Defence Forces. Senior Officials gave an account of the evolution of the Centre which is headed by a Major General of the Joint Services. He is directly under the Joint Chiefs of Defence Staff. The Centre is responsible for the conduct of joint operations not only for homeland security but also deployment in external theatres and providing help to the civilian populace during natural disasters. The Centre is in the process of changing and graduating for the role of a ‘coordinator’ to that of a military advisor to the Government and for planning operations. The Indian Delegation was given an overview of different types of operations being undertaken by the French Defence Forces all over the world.
During the interaction with the Indian delegation, the French side informed that they work on likely scenarios for the next 20 years and accordingly project the requirement of armaments for the Forces. Retraining of service personnel is also carried out to orient them for joint operations.
The Defence Minister also visited the French Armament Procurement Agency (DGA) where he was apprised of the Defence Procurement Procedure followed by France.