Latest news with #MRDP
Time of India
an hour ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Almatti dam height issue: MVA netas seek meeting with flood study panel members
Kolhapur: Maha Vikas Aghadi's elected representatives have written to state irrigation minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, expressing concern over their exclusion from discussions regarding the Almatti dam height issue. They are requesting clarification on state govt's position concerning floods and Karnataka's plans for the dam's elevation. Despite Vikhe Patil's assurance at a May 21 meeting in Mumbai about including all political parties in subsequent discussions, MVA functionaries report they weren't invited to the May 31 meeting. The correspondence, endorsed by MPs Shahu Chhatrapati, Vishal Patil, and legislators from Kolhapur, Sangli, and Satara districts, raises several queries. They seek information about the implementation status of the Nandkumar Vadnere committee's recommendations following the 2019 floods. The MVA politicians requested a consultation with the panel to understand their conclusions about the dam height on flooding. They also raised questions about the status of the National Institute of Hydrology's study regarding the dam's backwater effects on flooding, and whether their findings have been submitted to the govt. "Over the past month, approximately 3,000 objections have been filed with central govt by the people of Sangli and Kolhapur regarding the concerns of raising the height of the dam. What is central govt's stance on these objections, and has state govt corresponded with central govt on this matter? If not, why? These issues need clarification," said Satej Patil, Congress MLC. The representatives are also requesting details about the Maharashtra Resilient Development Programme (MRDP), a Rs 3,200 crore initiative to address recurring floods in Kolhapur and Sangli districts. They specifically asked whether scientific studies support the project's effectiveness in flood control and requested access to relevant reports.
Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Industry sees red after Mantashe says no BEE for mining exploration, contradicting draft Bill
A new mist of uncertainty has shrouded mining policy just as progress is being made on other fronts such as the looming rollout of the long-awaited mining cadastre to address the applications backlog for mining and prospecting rights and permits. The draft Mineral Resources Development Bill (MRDP) has stirred a hornet's nest in the mining industry and with the ANC's GNU political partner the DA, and its ill-conceived nature was on full display on Wednesday when Minister Gwede Mantashe confusingly said the BEE requirements for exploration were not there and would be removed if they were. 'Now, and in the future, there's no provision for BEE on exploration,' Mantashe, the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (MPR), said during a media briefing at the conclusion of the AGM for the Minerals Council SA, the main body representing the country's mining industry. That's neither the Minerals Council's reading of the draft Bill nor Daily Maverick's interpretation of it. 'We raised this point over and over in our engagements with the department that the amendments must specifically exclude prospecting companies from empowerment requirements … Yet in this draft Bill, none of that is included,' Minerals Council CEO Mzila Mthenjane said in a statement on Tuesday. The thing about prospecting – or exploration – is that it is an extremely high-risk activity that onerous BEE rules will severely curtail. And without exploration, the South African mining industry has no viable long-term future. Daily Maverick asked Mantashe to clarify this afterwards and he responded by saying: 'If there is a BEE requirement in the Bill for prospecting, it must be removed.' So, the industry's complaints on this front are not falling on deaf ears, though it has raised concerns that its inputs were not included in the draft. And a new mist of uncertainty has shrouded policy just as progress is being made on other fronts such as the looming rollout of the long-awaited mining cadastre to address the applications backlog of mining and prospecting rights and permits. Overall, the industry is not happy with the Bill, which once again moves the goal posts at a time when investors are crying for certainty for a sector that remains crucial for South Africa's low-growth and high-unemployment economy. 'When we ask ourselves this question, does this Bill promote investment and create jobs, we see it has some serious short-comings,' said Paul Dunne, the CEO of Northam Platinum, who was re-elected as president of the Minerals Council SA. 'They are both substantive in nature and technical … Council is a very considered, professional advocacy group. We represent at least 99% of the mining industry in this country and our submission [on the draft Bill] will be made public when the right time comes, and we will engage very, very robustly with the department and the minister on this issue,' he said. The good-natured Dunne added: 'The minister knows us very well. We are very tough. And minister, we are coming.' That raised a chuckle from the audience and Mantashe, but it is no laughing matter – except for lawyers, who are going to giggle all the way to the bank. The draft Bill raises the almost certain prospect of arduous and time-consuming legal and court battles – another obstacle to the investment that the mining sector and wider South African economy desperately need to reach faster levels of growth and job creation. It has also raised hackles in the GNU, which is supposed to be the ANC's main governing partner. One bone of contention is embedding the Mining Charter into the legal framework, which could once again unleash the 'once empowered, always empowered' debate which the industry has already won in court. But fresh legal scraps could loom on this front. This played out in the courts when Gupta stooge Mosebenzi Zwane was the minister in charge of mining, and the term refers to the industry's contention that once a company reached a required BEE ownership threshold that should be set in stone even if black shareholders decided to sell their stakes – which is the point of owning shares. The government at the time held that mining companies needed to endlessly keep topping up BEE stakes, a state of affairs that would dilute value and repel foreign as well as domestic investment. 'By expressly including the Mining Charter as law and not simply policy, the Bill allows for the rapid overturning of t'once empowered, always empowered', opening the door to the need for constant injections of new BEE investors, a feature which would on its own make investing a lossmaking prospect,' MP James Lorimer, the DA spokesperson on Minerals and Petroleum Resources, said in a statement. 'The Bill is poorly thought out. It is contradictory and unclear in several places. It grants new powers to the Minister to rule the industry according to his own whim.' What this means More policy confusion and uncertainty at a time when South Africa needs both to extract wealth, investment and job creation from its rich minerals endowment. It will also test the GNU and likely trigger a tsunami of legal challenges for South Africa's already stretched court system. The ANC is acting like it has a two-thirds majority in Parliament on this front and has yet to be pulled back to Earth by the laws of political gravity. Mantashe on Wednesday reminded the industry of its racist past, and that is no bad thing – in an age when US President Donald Trump is parroting fascist-inspired lies about 'white genocide', hard historical truths need to be confronted head-on. The South African mining industry was the economic bedrock of apartheid, subjecting an overwhelmingly black migrant labour force to ruthless exploitation. But the times are changing and the industry – partly in response to government regulation and union demands but also wider concerns among investors foreign and domestic – has made strides from the indignities of the apartheid past on a range of fronts, including ownership, wages, communities, health and safety. BEE as a mantra has not delivered a utopia while enriching a relatively small elite, and it is also starting to look like a fossilised relic in an age when – despite the Trump administration's efforts to turn the tide – capital is largely looking for kinder, gentler returns. The Bill, for now, is not law and open to public comment. Break out the popcorn for the fireworks. DM
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
963cr granted for flood-control measures in Kolhapur & Sangli
Kolhapur: The Maharashtra Resilient Development Programme (MRDP), a World Bank-funded initiative for flood management in the Krishna-Bhima river basins, has received administrative approval of Rs 963 crore from the state revenue department, said Rajesh Kshirsagar, Shiv Sena MLA and executive president of the State Planning Commission. At a recent event in Ichalkaranji, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that MRDP tenders would be issued within a fortnight. Kshirsagar, who is also the vice-chairman of Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), announced on Sunday that the MRDP implementation would take place in two stages, with the latter phase focusing on redirecting floodwater to Marathwada and drought-affected regions. "The MRDP project took concrete shape when Eknath Shinde was the CM. The funding comprises 70% from the World Bank and 30% from state govt. The first phase, for which administrative approval has been given, includes improving drainage systems in municipal areas, increasing the depth and width of rivers and streams through the water resources department, desilting, and converting the automated gates of Radhanagari dam to manual operation," said Kshirsagar. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo World Bank officials visited Kolhapur, Ichalkaranji, and Sangli Miraj Kupwad municipal corporations, inspecting flood-prone areas and assessing preparedness measures. They also inspected the Radhanagari dam featuring automatic gates that operate at 100% capacity. "Currently, administrative approval has been granted for works worth approximately Rs 963 crore, including setting up drainage systems in municipal areas, appointing consultants, and establishing project management and technical consultancy units for the project implementation unit," said Kshirsagar. Kolhapur: The Maharashtra Resilient Development Programme (MRDP), a World Bank-funded initiative for flood management in the Krishna-Bhima river basins, has received administrative approval of Rs 963 crore from the state revenue department, said Rajesh Kshirsagar, Shiv Sena MLA and executive president of the State Planning Commission. At a recent event in Ichalkaranji, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that MRDP tenders would be issued within a fortnight. Kshirsagar, who is also the vice-chairman of Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), announced on Sunday that the MRDP implementation would take place in two stages, with the latter phase focusing on redirecting floodwater to Marathwada and drought-affected regions. "The MRDP project took concrete shape when Eknath Shinde was the CM. The funding comprises 70% from the World Bank and 30% from state govt. The first phase, for which administrative approval has been given, includes improving drainage systems in municipal areas, increasing the depth and width of rivers and streams through the water resources department, desilting, and converting the automated gates of Radhanagari dam to manual operation," said Kshirsagar. World Bank officials visited Kolhapur, Ichalkaranji, and Sangli Miraj Kupwad municipal corporations, inspecting flood-prone areas and assessing preparedness measures. They also inspected the Radhanagari dam featuring automatic gates that operate at 100% capacity. "Currently, administrative approval has been granted for works worth approximately Rs 963 crore, including setting up drainage systems in municipal areas, appointing consultants, and establishing project management and technical consultancy units for the project implementation unit," said Kshirsagar.
