
Uttarakhand forest chief opts for early retirement citing personal reasons
Mohan, a 1988-batch IFS officer, had cited personal reasons for seeking early retirement. He had taken charge as HoFF on May 1 last year and was due to superannuate in Aug.
According to an official communication issued by the office of RK Sudhanshu, principal secretary of the forest department, the VRS was granted by invoking a relaxation of section 16(2) of the All-India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958.
Sources in the department said the "request came as a surprise".
Meanwhile, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Samir Sinha, who is also the CEO of the state's Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), has been given the additional charge of Uttarakhand's head of forest force.
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Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
50k stray dogs, but city has shelters for only 100 now
Gurgaon: The Supreme Court's order that all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR must be relocated to shelter homes poses a significant challenge for civic authorities because of inadequate infrastructure to house the animals once they are removed from the roads. In a meeting held hours after the court ruling, municipal commissioner Pradeep Dahiya asked Preetpal Singh, joint commissioner (Swachh Bharat Mission), to start working towards implementing the order. The court's directive, however, contradicts the Animal Welfare Board of India's 2022 advisory that recommended against relocating stray dogs. The Monday verdict came in response to repeated incidents of dog bite cases across Delhi-NCR, which have raised concerns regarding public safety. You Can Also Check: Gurgaon AQI | Weather in Gurgaon | Bank Holidays in Gurgaon | Public Holidays in Gurgaon Dahiya told TOI after the meeting, "We will first study the Supreme Court order and then decide on the further course of action. Yes, we must allocate space to set up dog shelters in the city. But we will have to determine whether these shelters will be set up zone-wise or ward-wise." But implementing the order seems easier said than done. The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) now faces the daunting task of relocating an estimated 50,000 stray dogs in shelter homes. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Ranked: The 25 Best Cities To Live In The World Learn More Undo But as of now, the city has only two operational dog shelters — each with a capacity of 50 animals, located in Baliwas and Daultabad. Two additional shelters are under construction in Basai and Begampur Khatola, but they, too, can only accommodate 50 dogs each. This limited infrastructure presents a formidable challenge for MCG, which must now find ways to house the entire stray dog population. But why does the city lack adequate animal shelters? An MCG official explained, "The Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, required us to return sterilised dogs to their original locations. So, we never built extensive infrastructure for housing these animals. Creating such spaces now, and ensuring they are equipped with CCTV surveillance to prevent animal cruelty, will be a significant challenge." Apart from relocating strays, the apex court has also asked authorities to ensure that dogs that have already been picked up and moved to shelters earlier are not released back on to the streets. It has warned against any resistance to the relocation efforts, emphasising the need to make streets free of stray dogs. For civic bodies, the challenge is to balance public safety with humane treatment of stray animals, all while grappling with infrastructure limitations. Officials said MCG had been working with two private agencies for dog sterilisation and vaccination. According to them, over 20,000 dogs have been sterilised in the city since Jan this year. But the contracts of these agencies are set to expire in Dec. To improve coverage, the corporation is now planning to hire four separate agencies — one for each city zone — to continue with the sterilisation programme. "We are working to improve our numbers of dog sterilisation. After the contract of these two agencies gets over, we are planning to hire four separate agencies, one for each zone of the city. This will ensure better coverage in terms of sterilisation of the stray dog population," Preetpal said. In June 2023, MCG had informed the Punjab and Haryana high court that there were over 17,000 stray dogs in the city, with 1,670 dog bite cases reported in the previous three years. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.


The Hindu
7 hours ago
- The Hindu
Melur Alcoholics Anonymous celebrates 11th anniversary
Members of the Alcoholics Anonymous- Melur celebrated their 11th anniversary here on Sunday. Chief guest of the event B. Anandha Jothi, Sub-Inspector of Police, Melur, said that it was great to witness hundreds of men showing their willingness to give up their drinking habit. Change of mind was the first step towards the change of society and this had happened in the people who took part in the event, he added. By regularly witnessing men trying to lead to new life through the AA groups, he said, had developed a respect towards them. K. Rajangam, a social worker, said, to give up the habit, one needs to build up a psychological strength to win over the persisting urge to taste alcohol. 'But coming over the urge once will change the entire life of the person struck in it,' he added. Also, wives and relatives of the alcohol addicts, through the All-Anan society, expressed their relief in seeing their family members leading a happy life without the habit. 'More than the addict, it is the family and the surroundings which will be affected more. We are happier to see our family members change for the betterment of their lives and their families,' they added.

The Hindu
20 hours ago
- The Hindu
What are the new rules on chemically contaminated sites?
The story so far: The Environment Ministry has notified new rules under the Environment Protection Act that lays out a process for addressing sites with chemical contamination. Called the Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules, 2025, they give a legal structure to a process of addressing chemical contamination, that until now was missing despite several such sites already identified across the country. What are contaminated sites? Contaminated sites, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, are those where hazardous and other wastes were dumped historically, and which has most likely resulted in contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water that pose a risk to human health and the environment. Some of the sites were developed when there was no regulation on management of hazardous wastes. In some instances, polluters responsible for contamination have either closed down their operations or the cost of remediation is beyond their capacity. These may include landfills, dumps, waste storage and treatment sites, spill-sites, and chemical waste handling and storage sites. There are 103 such sites identified across the country. Only in seven sites has remedial operation commenced, which involves cleaning the contaminated soil, groundwater, surface water and sediments by adopting appropriate technologies. Why were these rules necessary? The Environment Ministry had, in 2010, initiated a Capacity Building Program for Industrial Pollution Management Project to formulate the National Program for Remediation of Polluted Sites. This consisted of three broad tasks — creating an inventory of probable contaminated sites; developing a guidance document for assessment and remediation of contaminated sites; and developing a legal, institutional and financial framework for the remediation of contaminated sites. While the first two steps have been in place, the last step, regarding a legal codification, remained unfulfilled. The rules that were made public on July 25 were part of this legal codification process. Under these rules, the district administration would prepare half-yearly reports on 'suspected contaminated sites.' A State board, or a 'reference organisation' would examine these sites and provide a 'preliminary assessment' within 90 days of being thus informed. Following these, it would have another three months to make a detailed survey and finalise if these sites were indeed 'contaminated.' This would involve establishing the levels of suspected hazardous chemicals — there are currently 189 marked ones under the provisions of the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016. If these sites exceed safe levels, the location of these sites would be publicised and restrictions placed on accessing it. Then, the 'reference organisation', which would basically be a body of experts, would be tasked with specifying a remediation plan. The State board would also have 90 days to identify the person(s) responsible for the contamination. Those deemed responsible would have to pay for the cost of remediation of the site, else the Centre and the State would arrange for the costs of clean-up. 'Any criminal liability, if it is proved that such contamination caused loss of life or damage would be under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (2023),' an official told The Hindu. Are there any exemptions? Contamination resulting from radioactive waste, mining operations, pollution of the sea by oil, and solid waste from dump sites would not be dealt with under the provisions of these laws as they are governed by a separate legislation. Another major omission from the rules is the lack of a defined timeline whereby once a contaminated site is identified, a deadline is set by which it must be returned to safe levels.