Latest news with #Bhopal-based
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Greens hail NGT order setting guidelines for tree felling
Bhopal: Environmental activists have welcomed the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Central Bench, order laying down stringent guidelines for allowing large-scale felling of trees for construction or infrastructure projects. However, they said that execution would be key to making them effective. They further pointed out that the green watchdog should have given a timeline for the implementation of the order so that compliance within a definite time frame could be ensured. The Bhopal-based Central Bench of NGT, while hearing a petition against the proposed felling of 700 trees for the construction of roads and a stadium at Barkheda Nathu in the Neelbad area, in a significant judgement, asked the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) to constitute a Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) to decide on permission for tree felling in any project involving the cutting of 25 or more trees. The tribunal further asked for geo-tagging of all trees in the state, a tree census across MP, and 10 to 100 times afforestation in ratio to felled trees in the same area where the trees are cut. Advocate Harpreet Singh Gupta, who appeared in the case for the petitioner Nitin Saxena, described the NGT judgement as a 'landmark' judgement. However, he said that there are three major lacunas in the order: there is no timeframe for any of the measures mandated by the tribunal. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Gelsenkirchen: Gutes Hören sucht 700 Testhörer für Hörgeräte ohne Zuzahlung Gutes Hören Undo "It's an open-ended order in a way with no time frame for the constitution of the CEC. There is no reference as to who will provide funds for the committee and logistic support like office space, staff, etc. Besides, the NGT in several generic orders has said 'Vrikshon Ka Parirakshan Adhiniyam' but there is no clarity on how the green watchdog wants it to be done. If you look at sections 4, 5, and 6 of the Act, you will see that the tree officer is an important figure, who should be the municipal commissioner himself. He can't delegate this responsibility to anyone. The state govt can, but the municipal commissioner himself delegates the responsibility to an assistant commissioner or someone else, and the law becomes ineffective." Gupta said that he would be moving a separate application pointing out the lacunas in the order and praying the judges to give clarity on the issues raised. Environmental activist Subhash C Pandey also said that the decision could have a huge impact if its implementation is ensured. He also raised the issue of the timeline and said the tribunal should have given a clear time frame for the execution of everything that it has ordered. "If there is a CEC, we hope permission to get trees felled would be difficult. I don't think members of a high-level committee will be as irresponsible as the municipal corporation. The NGT should also have laid down a time limit for the CEC to give or refuse the permission. It could be 15 days or 30 days. Then, it should also have been laid down by when the tree census or geo-tagging of trees will be done. It's possible that the govt and its agencies take years to do it if a time frame is not decided by the NGT." Environmental activist Rashid Noor Khan, however, appeared to be disappointed with the NGT's inability to remedy the issues of grave environmental concern. "I have been fighting for years to see that blatant disregard of environmental laws in Kaliyasot and Kerwa areas stops, the forests in the twin localities are saved, but nothing happens. Unless and until NGT gets strict with the govt agencies and departments concerned, any judgement, howsoever pathbreaking, could not have the desired impact," he said.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Stringent norms set for execution of Kalladi-Meppadi tunnel road project
An expert panel under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) that recently granted final clearance for the proposed Kalladi-Meppadi tunnel road project has fixed stringent norms for the project's execution under the direct monitoring of a four-member committee recommended by the District Collector. A review report will have to be submitted every six months after the commencement of work. 'A notification on the final clearance will be out within a week, which will help us move to the construction phase. The formal construction agreement will be signed following the final clearance,' said Thiruvambady MLA Linto Joseph. While giving final clearance, the expert panel has laid 60 conditions to reduce environmental impact and address concerns raised by various green bodies about natural calamities in ecologically sensitive areas. 'The norms fixed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Central Institute for Mining and Fuel Research will have to be strictly followed at the worksite. Also, suggestions by various government panels related to geology, environment, and mining will have to be considered as such,' said Mr. Joseph. There is also a proposal to establish four ground vibrator monitoring stations to constantly assess the work's impact, he added. Ensuring proper protection of biodiversity in the project area is another major condition. The construction company will have to ensure that the flow of the Iruvazhinji river is not interrupted. Also, the company will be responsible for the close monitoring of the quality of air in the constructed tunnel. The ₹2,134-crore project will be completed with the cooperation of the Department of Public Works, Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board, and Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL). The tendering process had already been completed for the project which will be implemented by Bhopal-based Dilip Buildcon Limited and Kolkota-based Royal Infrastructure. Meanwhile, N. Badusha, president of Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi, said the Samithi would move the Kerala High Court challenging the clearance for the project. Also, a protest would be staged along with other organisations during Environment Day celebrations in front of the Wayanad Collectorate on June 5,' he said. It was on October 16, 2000, that the blueprint for the 8.17-km twin tunnel, claimed to be the third longest underpass in the country, was unveiled by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. To speed up the project execution, the Chief Minister had included it in the list of 30 special projects directly monitored by him.
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
From roads to mining: How an engineering company has quietly built a coal empire
Dilip Buildcon Ltd, India's eighth-largest engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company, now gets more than a fourth of its total business and about a third of its profits from coal mining. The development has helped the company offset a slowdown in the roadway construction business. At the end of financial year 2025, the Bhopal-based company recorded ₹3,626 crore from mining projects in its ₹14,923-crore order book. This marks a significant jump from its 5% share in the FY24 order book. Of the ₹840-crore net profit in FY25, ₹265 crore came from coal mining projects. The proceeds from mining became crucial as three other segments of the company witnessed a slowdown in the previous financial year, which includes roads and highways, irrigation and water supply projects. To be sure, its total order book has declined from ₹25,395 crore in FY23. In the current financial year as well, it anticipates a decline in revenue at a standalone level as execution of new orders in core sectors will take some time, said Rohan Suryavanshi, head of strategy and planning at Dilip Buildcon during the May 9 earnings call post Q4 results. At the same time, analysts expect mining's share in its overall business to increase amid a slowdown in its key segments like road, highways and irrigation. Also Read: Bajaj sharpens international play as it takes full control of Austrian brand KTM via €800 million debt deal The company declined to comment on the matter when contacted by Mint. 'The Siarmal Coal Mine's ramp-up is leading to increasing the performance of the coal business of the company," Parikshit Kandpal, vice president of institutional research at HDFC Securities, said. 'The segment has also worked in boosting profitability." A planned increase of capacity to produce more than 50 million metric tonnes of coal annually at the Siarmal mine will make it one of the world's largest by 2029. In the coal mining segment, the company executes mining developer-cum operator (MDO) projects. Such projects allow a company to control all aspects of developing and operating a mine. Adani Enterprises is the largest player in the coal MDO market of the country, with a capacity of 63 MMTA as of 31 March 2025. But in the listed EPC space, there are very few who pick up such projects. Dilip Buildcon and Hyderabad-based NCC Ltd are among the few players who have diversified into the space. Dilip Buildcon was founded in 1987 by Dilip Suryavanshi, the current chairman and managing director of the company. The promoters hold about 70% of its shares. The company's market capitalization at the end of 23 May stood at ₹7,000 crore. How Dilip Buildcon got into mining The firm won its first mining contract in 2018 when a consortium led by it bagged the ₹32,156-crore Pachhwara Central Coal Block project in Jharkhand for 55 years. The peak capacity of the plant was 7 million tonnes per annum. But its bigger win came in the form of the Siarmal coal mine in Odisha in 2021, which was awarded by Mahanadi Coalfield Ltd. a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd, for 25 years. The peak capacity of the coal mine is 50 million metric tonnes annually (MMTA). Also Read: How Tata Motors plans to win back the market with its hatchbacks Currently, the firm is in the process of ramping up the capacity of the plant to reach the peak capacity of 50 MMTA, with the capacity at 18.53 MMTA at the end of 31 March 2025. Dilip Buildcon's target is to achieve peak capacity by FY29, and then operate it until FY48 when the contract expires. When the mine reaches its peak capacity, it will be the fourth largest coal mine in the world in terms of annual production capacity, putting it ahead of Shaanxi Mine located in China. 'Once the mine reaches its peak capacity, its revenue will stabilize till the end of the contract," Kandpal added. This increase in capacity will be key as the company is coming to terms with the slowdown in the infrastructure sector, leading to less order inflow in roads and highways segment. At the company's Q4 earnings call, Rohan Suryavanshi said the slowdown in road development had surprised both the company as well as the industry, which had expected stronger demand after an election year. 'However, for reasons unknown to us, it hasn't panned out in the way that the industry had expected," he said. The company is looking to offset the slowdown in its core EPC businesses with a ramp up in the coal segment. 'So, even in the face of a lot of headwinds on the EPC front, the steps that we have taken in the past along the coal and the road asset business, both of them will keep us in good stead going forward and provide company with predictable cash flows," Suryavanshi said. But as Kandpal indicated, the revenue from the current coal projects will stabilize when the mines reach their peak capacity, limiting the prospects for growth. With an eye on the future, Dilip Buildcon has entered the market to pick up more coal mining opportunities in its bid to build on the success of the Siarmal and Pachhwara coal mines. Also Read: With over ₹4,000 crore in cash, Ashok Leyland has eyes on acquisitions, new markets 'Now that we are on track with both these mines with one being at peak capacity, another one ramping up very swiftly, we are looking at other opportunities," Suryavanshi told analysts. In 2025, Dilip Buildcon's share price has increased by 5% compared to a 6.42% rise in Nifty Infra index.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Time of India
Probe into 2022 fake cert cases progress at snail's pace, just 1 chargesheet in 3 years
Hyderabad: Though city police registered four cases related to procurement of academic degrees from various private universities in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh by city-based education consultancies for their clients, Special Investigation Team ( SIT), which has been probing these cases since 2022, managed to file a chargesheet in only one case. The investigation in three other cases, where the top management of Bhopal-based SRK University was allegedly involved, has not progressed much. In 2022, the city police had registered four cases related to the procurement of academic degrees from private universities. Along with the consultants, students who obtained the certificates and even the vice-chancellor of SRK University in Bhopal were arrested. The Malakpet, Asif Nagar, Musheerabad, and Chaderghat police registered a suo motu case each after raiding three educational consultancies and a private college in their jurisdictions between Feb 14 and 22, 2022. Police had caught education consultancy operators, students, and also claimed to have arrested SRK University faculty member Ketan Singh at Sri Sai Education Consultancy in Malakpet. Police seized certificates of SRK University in Bhopal, Swami Vivekananda University in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, and Glocal University in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, from the accused. The cases were transferred to SIT in CCS the same month, as the certificates were allegedly issued by the university staff in collusion with the city-based consultancies for money. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Three years later, SIT managed to file a chargesheet in only one of the four cases. In that case, apart from G Maheshwar Rao, owner of Pride Educational Academy in Mehdipatnam, 10 others, including Swami Vivekananda University faculty members Pawan Kumar Srivatsava, Srikanth Sharan Pandey, Bhadri Vishal Tiwari, and Vishal Chowdhary, along with students who had obtained certificates, were chargesheeted on Oct 4, 2024. Although 24 Swami Vivekananda University degree certificates, eight SRKU, and four Glocal University certificates were also seized from Maheshwar Rao, none from those universities were chargesheeted. In the remaining three cases, in which SRKU VC Dr M Prashant Pillai and their former VC SS Kushwaha were arrested in May 2022 along with several others, chargesheets were yet to be filed. In these three cases, only SRKU certificates were seized in possession of the education consultancy operators and the students. SRKU faculty Ketan Singh was named as an accused in the three cases. Ketan was arrested by the Hyderabad police in the Malakpet case on Feb 14, 2022, but he challenged the arrest in the Jabalpur High Court, stating that Hyderabad police illegally picked him up from Bhopal on Feb 11 and later showed his arrest from Malakpet on Feb 14. In its order on Oct 10, 2023, the court partly allowed the petition, calling the arrest illegal, directing that "evidence collected by Hyderabad police after making the illegal arrest of Ketan after Feb 11, 2022, shall not be used in evidence against the petitioner in the pending criminal trial. Said evidence includes the memorandum of confessional statement, enquiries done of petitioner, seizure panchanama, documents seized as a result of disclosure made by Ketan Singh, articles seized, cell phone, etc. " When contacted, an SIT official said, "Due to certain court orders, our investigation into the three remaining fake SRKU certificate cases got delayed. All the three cases are still under investigation and the accused are out on bail."
The Hindu
24-05-2025
- The Hindu
Plea in Madhya Pradesh HC against news outlets over ‘communally inciting coverage' of Bhopal rape and blackmail case
A petition has been filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court against the State Government and two Hindi dailies for allegedly running a 'communally inciting coverage' and using words like 'love jihad' to defame the Muslim community while reporting on a recently-exposed Bhopal rape and blackmail scandal involving multiple college going women. The writ petition, seen by The Hindu, seeks criminal case against the editors of the two newspapers and directions for the government take preventive measures against divisive and communal coverage of issues by the media. The petition was filed on May 19 by a Bhopal resident of the Muslim community, who wishes to remain anonymous, his lawyer Advocate Deepak Bundele said. The matter pertains to multiple sexual assault and blackmail cases lodged by six girl students of a private college over the past one month. The police have so far arrested five men, Including the prime accused Farhan, a former student of the same college, for allegedly befriending them with fake identities, sexually assaulting them and recording their private videos to blackmail them into introducing their friends to more men. Several local media outlets also quoted police sources to claim that the accused were involved in forced religious conversions of the survivors. A National Commission for Women probe panel, that visited Bhopal earlier this month, also claimed in its findings that the accused may be linked with a 'drug smuggling or organised criminal network', as per some reports. The petitioner had also filed a complaint at Bhopal's Aishbagh police station on April 30 and alleges that no action was taken in the matter. 'The State Government and the Police have been made Marty in the plea because they failed to take any timely action in the matter. We have attached a copy of the police complaint with the plea,' Mr. Bundele said. The petition cites multiple news articles and headlines by the two outlets accusing them to be communally inciting in nature. 'Through the news published and broadcast by the said newspapers, an attempt is being made to hold all Muslims responsible for the rape and porn incident with the students of a Bhopal-based private college, instead of limiting it to the accused,' the petition reads, while saying that the matter should be seen as a strictly criminal case and the accused should be tried as per law. 'But the two newspapers published from Bhopal are continuously using words like love jihad in the context of crime, which neither has any legal definition nor is contained in any law till date, and all Muslims are being targeted for the said crime. Whereas the word love jihad is not mentioned in the Quran,' the plea further argues, accusing the publications of trying to harm the nation's sovereignty and spread hatred. 'They are playing with the religious beliefs of the applicant, which is a violation of Article 14, Article 15, Article 19, Article 21 and 25 of the Fundamental Rights granted to the petitioner by the Constitution of India,' it claims.
