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New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
UP government plans mini-forests to mitigate heat wave impact in major cities
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government is planning separate budget allocations to develop mini-forests in urban areas, aiming to boost green cover and combat the rising urban heat island effect in major cities. The urban heat island effect is a phenomenon where higher temperature is experienced in urban areas as compared to rural surroundings. As part of Upvan Scheme, 17 municipal corporations across the state have been given a free hand to infuse up to Rs 3 crore to develop green zones over an area of 2,000 sq mt under their jurisdiction. State Finance Department has created a corpus of Rs 70 crore to dole out funds to urban local bodies for the fiscal year 2025-26. As per the official sources, the amount allocated to civic bodies would be utilised to address the severe heat wave-like conditions in urban areas during the extreme summers. According to the principal secretary, urban development, Amrit Abhijat, the need to mitigate the risk in densely populated areas had become essential. He lays stress on urban planning in a manner so as to create additional green space and cooling strategies to promote sustainable development in cities.
The Sun
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Penang does not sell land to meet state expenditure
GEORGE TOWN: Penang does not sell land to meet the state's financial expenditure, instead the disposal of state land is carried out through the method of expropriation (via ownership grants), leasing, alienation or other mechanisms permitted under the National Land Code (1965). Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said that therefore, the term 'land sale' is not used in the context of state government land administration and emphasised that it is not merely for generating revenue, but also to drive development, create job opportunities, and add economic value to the local area. 'For land disposal matters, the state government will consider current land valuation based on the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH). If the land involves strategic projects, including housing construction, the state will use the Request for Proposal (RFP) approach to dispose of the land. 'This allows the state government to obtain a higher premium income than the current land valuation,' he said during his winding-up speech on the opening address by the Penang Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Tun Ramli Ngah Talib, at today's state legislative assembly. He said that land disposal methods do not reduce state holdings or solely aim to increase state revenue, as a limited resource like land is used for development and to enhance socioeconomic conditions of affected areas. If the approach adopted is not to develop the land, Chow explained that it would become a burden on the state as it would then incur costs of maintenance. Additionally, the people would not be able to enjoy the benefits of developing the site, such as the construction of roads, playgrounds and other facilities. He also stated that Penang should not be ashamed of developing land for the state's progress and the welfare of the people. 'We (Penang) don't have gold mines, we don't have timber -- why should we be ashamed if land is our (only) asset? There are no other sources of revenue, so why be evasive about relying on land development to generate income? 'This (land sale) is to drive socioeconomic development in our state. Over the past 50 years, this has been Penang's generic formula,' he said. Meanwhile, Chow mentioned that the State Finance Department has conducted a review of state revenue from two perspectives: first, by increasing the collection of existing state revenue, including tax arrears, through data cleansing methods and reviewing irrelevant rates. The second perspective, he said, is through identifying new sources and methods for generating state revenue, including reviewing land tax rates, reclassifying rural areas into urban and strengthening state statutory bodies to enable the implementation of new revenue collection.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Plea for inclusion of substitute health workers in contributory pension scheme
Substitute health workers who were recruited to the government medical college hospitals through employment exchange starting from 1991, citing Government Orders and court orders, demand their inclusion in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Regarding their demands and the development that unfolded over the years for including them in the CPS, the Tamil Nadu Government Medical Department All Workers Sanitation Workers and Nursing Assistant Union have submitted a report with the State committee head Gagandeep Singh Bedi. M. Venkatachalam, founder president of the union, narrating the events, said that starting from 1991, 384 'substitute health workers' were recruited for assisting the Group-D workers employed in the medical college hospitals in Chennai, Thanjavur, Tiruchi, Salem, Chengalpattu and Coimbatore. Their recruitment was to discharge the work of the Group D workers when they were absent for e duty. As their positions were deemed temporary, several associations and unions demanded service regularisation, pension and leave benefits for them. Heeding to their demands, the State government, in 2007, through Government Order 149 made the 384 workers permanent with a condition that they must have completed 10 years of service by January 1, 2006. As the workers' services were regularised only after 2003, the year notification for new pension scheme was given, the government said they would be included under CPS. After that, G.O. 408 was issued by the State Finance Department in 2009 to include five years of service before 2007, the year when they were made permanent, to consider them as eligible for pension. Following this the association moved the Madras High Court for including them in the old pension scheme as it was the government which failed to make them permanent for those who had joined the service even back in 1991, Mr. Venkatachalam said. As the government went against the order, a two-judge bench of Madras HC ordered the substitute workers to be included in CPS itself, he pointed out. But, in the aftermath of the court orders, the government again denied pension citing the CPS condition that the substitute workers have not completed 30 years of service, he said. It was true that the workers have not fulfilled the 30 years service condition and that could not be their fault as it was the State which recruited them as temporary workers. 'If the same government has made them permanent seven to eight years ago, then they will be declared eligible,' he added. How could they bear the burden of the government's mistake. Even after several developments which assured the 384 workers their employment rights, the State government was yet to provide them their pension, he said. By recording the pleas of the workers and their grievances, a report had been submitted to the CPS committee with the belief that their demands would be considered for their inclusion, he said.
