Latest news with #TransportationandStorage)Rules
Hindustan Times
31-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Himachal cabinet cancels 172 stalled hydro projects
The state cabinet on Wednesday allowed cancellation of the current allocation of 172 projects sanctioned by HIMURJA that failed to pick up even after more than two decades and has decided to re-advertise these projects. Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu during cabinet ministers during meeting in Shimla on Wednesday. (HT Photo) The decision was taken by the chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led cabinet on Day 3 during the 4-day cabinet meetings. Himurja is the state nodal agency for promotion of renewable energy and aims to enhance the proliferation of rooftop solar within the state for projects. All the power projects under 5MW are handled by Himurja. The cabinet also decided to apply a uniform free power royalty of 12% along with an additional 1% for the local area development fund for all hydro projects up to 5 MW that will be allotted in the future. A senior officer said that the companies who were allotted these works failed to start the work and took extension from time to time. Along with this the cabinet also gave its approval to cancel 22 hydroelectric projects above 5 MW, previously allotted by the directorate of energy, where implementation agreements have not been signed. For rest of the projects, a time up to 5 August has been allowed for submission of the replies to the notices served. The state government had issued showcase notices to about 40 such companies. The cabinet also decided to constitute a committee to negotiate with 14 project developers for an out-of-court settlement for the refund of the principal amount of upfront premium, without interest. Amendments to the existing Compassionate Employment Policy The state cabinet also approved the much awaited amendments to the existing Compassionate Employment Policy giving relaxation in annual income eligibility. As per the revised policy, the annual income eligibility criterion per family has been enhanced from ₹2.50 lakh to ₹3 lakh. Priority for compassionate appointments will now be given to widows and parentless applicants below 45 years of age, as well as to the dependents of government officials who died while performing their duties. Additionally, in cases where vacancies under the existing 5% quota for such appointments are unavailable, the cabinet has permitted a one-time relaxation of this quota to ensure eligible applicants are accommodated. In another decision, the Cabinet has allowed engaging women workers in shops and commercial establishments to work in night shifts from 7 pm to 7 am to ensure gender equality. It was also decided to grant maternity benefits to every woman employee working in such establishments as prescribed under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. Amendments to the Himachal Pradesh Minor Minerals (Concession) and Minerals The state cabinet okayed amendments to the Himachal Pradesh Minor Minerals (Concession) and Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2015. As per the revised provisions, contractors or agencies engaged in road cutting will now be permitted to use the generated material, during the de-siltation and maintenance of reservoir projects, for captive purposes. Additionally, any leftover stacked raw material or finished product, along with the entire material generated shall be auctioned by the designated committee in accordance with the prescribed procedure. The cabinet also constituted a sub-committee under the chairmanship of industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan on the development of a 300 acre medical device park at Nalagarh and has been asked to submit its report within two months. Nod has been given to increase the number of BSc Nursing seats at Sister Nivedita Government Nursing College, Shimla from 60 to 100. Establishment of a new BSc Nursing College with an annual intake of 60 seats at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Kangra at Tanda, along with the creation and filling up of 27 posts of various categories was also sanctioned. The cabinet further approved the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state Government and Alliance Air Aviation Ltd. for operating flights on the Shimla–Dharamshala–Shimla route. To facilitate the expansion of Kangra Airport, it granted a one-year extension, up to August 16, 2026, under Section 26 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, for land acquisition proceedings. Cabinet also approved the draft development plan for the Dhaulakuan Majra Planning Area in Sirmaur district.
Time of India
30-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Himachal cabinet approves new compassionate job rules, more nursing seats, hydro project cancellations
Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to amendments to the state govt's existing compassionate employment policy. In the revised policy, the annual income eligibility criterion per family has been enhanced from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Priority for compassionate appointments will now be given to widows and parentless applicants below 45 years of age, as well as to the dependents of govt officials who died while performing duty. In cases where vacancies under the existing 5% quota for such appointments are unavailable, the cabinet permitted a one-time relaxation of this quota to ensure eligible applicants are accommodated. The cabinet also decided to increase the number of BSc Nursing seats at Sister Nivedita Government Nursing College, Shimla, from 60 to 100. It also approved the establishment of a new BSc Nursing College with an annual intake of 60 seats at Dr Rajendra Prasad Govt Medical College, Tanda in Kangra, along with the creation and filling up of 27 posts of various categories. It also allowed engaging women workers in shops and commercial establishments to work in night shifts from 7pm to 7am to ensure gender equality. A decision was also taken to grant maternity benefits to every woman employee working in such establishments as prescribed under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. Industry and mining A cabinet sub-committee headed by industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan has been constituted for the development of a 300-acre medical device park in Nalagarh. The sub-committee has been asked to submit a report in two months. It also gave the nod to amendments to the Himachal Pradesh Minor Minerals (Concession) and Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2015. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now As per the revised provisions, contractors or agencies engaged in road cutting will now be permitted to use the generated material, during the de-siltation and maintenance of reservoir projects, for captive purposes. Any leftover stacked raw material or finished product, along with the entire material generated, shall be auctioned by the designated committee in accordance with the prescribed procedure. Approval was also given for the extension of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the state govt and Alliance Air Aviation Ltd for operating flights on the Shimla–Dharamshala–Shimla route till June 30, 2026. To facilitate the expansion of Kangra airport, the cabinet granted a one-year extension, up to Aug 16, 2026, under Section 26 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, for land acquisition proceedings. A nod was given to the draft development plan for the Dhaulakuan Majra planning area in Sirmaur district to conserve natural resources and scenic beauty while promoting sustainable economic development in the region. Power projects The cabinet also allowed the cancellation of 172 small hydro projects below 5 megawatts (MW) under Himurja, where construction work was stalled for an extended period. The cancelled projects will be re-advertised. A decision was also taken to apply a uniform free-power royalty of 12% along with an additional 1% for the local area development fund for all hydro projects up to 5 MW that will be allotted in future. It was also decided to cancel 22 hydroelectric projects above 5 MW, where implementation agreements were not signed, previously allotted by the directorate of energy. For the rest of the projects, a time up to Aug 5 was allowed for submission of the replies to the notices served. It was also decided to constitute a committee to negotiate with 14 project developers for an out-of-court settlement for the refund of the principal amount of upfront premium, without interest.
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Business Standard
30-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
ED flags ₹131 crore sand mining scam to Bihar govt, seeks fresh FIR
The Enforcement Directorate has written to the Bihar government flagging an alleged over ₹131 crore worth sand mining scam in Banka district of the state that has potential links to certain politicians and their associates, official sources said. The federal probe agency's communication was sent a few weeks back and it came in the backdrop of a 2023 'Lok Adalat' (alternate dispute redressal platform) proceeding during which the alleged criminal offence was "compounded" and the accused were let off with a monetary penalty, the sources told PTI. The case began with the Banka police filing as many as seven criminal FIRs between 2017 and 2018 against a company named Mahadev Enclave and its promoters to probe the alleged illegal sand mining in the district. The police had pressed multiple IPC sections related to cheating, forgery and theft apart from sections of the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act, Bihar Minerals (Concession, Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules and Environment Protection Act in its complaint. The company was the sole licence holder in the said district to excavate sand from 28 river banks between 2015 and 2021, according to mining department officials. The police investigated the case, recorded statements of various persons and filed chargesheets in all the seven cases before a local court naming the company and its director Manoj Kumar Pachisia as accused, they said. However, the sources said, as there was a delay in the court proceedings, the case was taken before the 'Lok Adalat' for compounding and the accused were let off after they were slapped with a penalty amount in February 2023, the sources said. The company or its promoters could not be contacted for a comment on these charges made against them. The ED had filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of these police chargesheets and had collected some "evidence" and recorded statements of various persons under the PMLA, including that of the Banka mining development officer. However, the compounding of the original criminal case tied the hands of the ED as under the anti-money laundering law, the agency requires a predicate offence to prosecute the accused. Sources privy to the development said the ED recently wrote to the Mines and Geology department of the Bihar government under section 66(2) of the PMLA that allows it to share information and evidence with a law enforcement agency regarding violation of a criminal law. The agency, in the communication, is understood to have furnished a geospatial report prepared by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Patna (undertaken on ED's request) to the Bihar government which found that 11.99 crore cubic metres of the sand was "illegally" excavated from the district by the accused company between 2016 and 2021. Experts of the IIT used remote sensing and similar techniques to prepare the report in about two months time and it was also reported that alleged illegal sand mining was done beyond the lease areas, according to the sources. The ED has said in its letter that as per mining department's rates, this alleged illegal excavation of sand led to the loss of about Rs 131,43,20,058 in revenue to the state government, the sources said. The agency has sought filing of a fresh FIR by the state police under various sections of the IPC/BNS related to cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and relevant mining and environment laws so that the accused could be prosecuted under the relevant criminal laws. Sources said a money trail analysis of the accused and others linked to them indicate potential involvement of certain politicians. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian Express
03-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Illegal mining in Baddi: Permission granted to contractor was void, Amicus tells NGT
Sand and soil were mined at Mauza Khol in industrial town of Baddi in Himachal Pradesh‵s Solan without obtaining the mandatory environmental clearance. The mining permission granted to contractor Gurdyal Singh by the Director of Industries, Himachal Pradesh, was void ab initio (void from the beginning) and a construction firm, which supplied the mined material, and the Railways, which used it, are liable for failing to ensure compliance with environmental safeguards. These are among the key facts highlighted in a detailed report filed by amicus curiae Ritwik Parikh with the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The Tribunal had appointed Parikh as amicus curiae to assist in a matter pertaining to case where one Vijay Chandel, a local resident, moved a letter petition in the NGT last year alleging that Gurdyal Singh illegally mined soil from a hill slope along a road leading from Sheetalpur to Dashomajra. The NGT in an order in March had directed the Himachal Pradesh government to recover to recover an environmental penalty of Rs 1.08 crore from violators within 60 days and deposit it with the HPSPCB to be utilised for environmental restoration. The Director of Industries, Dr Yunus, confirmed that the amount has been deposited with the Department of Environment, Science & Technology. However, no subsequent report detailing the actual restoration work has been filed. The Amicus, in his report, has now recommended that the Tribunal direct the department to submit a detailed action plan and timeline to ensure proper remediation of the site. Meanwhile, in an affidavit, Dr Yunus submitted that contractor Gurdayal Singh was granted the permission for carrying out mining following due course. 'Mining activities in state are regulated under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and the Himachal Pradesh Minor Mineral (Concession) and Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2015. Rule 33 of these rules allows the disposal of minor minerals generated incidentally during non-mining activities such as plot development, road construction, and tunnel excavation,‶ read the affidavit. It adds that Gurdyal Singh had applied for permission to level a plot measuring 13-17 bighas in Mauza Khol. After scrutiny of the application and inspection a joint inspection comprising officials from the Revenue, PWD, and Mining departments, recommended allowing the sale of 49,992 metric tonne (MT) of minor minerals — 29,995 MT sand and 19,997 MT soil. 'Permission was formally granted on January 14, 2023,‶ it said, further adding that following due procedure under Rule 33, it had issued seven similar permissions in the Baddi sub-division over the past two financial years. The affidavit underscores that the material excavated was a by-product of approved development activities, not commercial mining, and was regulated through a defined procedural framework to prevent illegal mining. In his report, however, the amicus curiae noted that the mining permission granted to Gurdyal Singh was in blatant violation of environmental laws, as no prior EC had been secured. He cited that the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the EIA Notification of 2006, mandate EC for all mining projects, regardless of their size. 'The law is crystal clear: no mining of minor minerals—whether over large or small areas—can proceed without prior Environmental Clearance,' read the report. The amicus curiae, also highlighted lapses by M/s Singla Construction, the sub-contractor responsible for procurement of the mined materials, and the Railways, the project authority. Both had failed to verify the statutory clearances required for the sand and soil used in their projects. 'This amounts to a serious lapse in due diligence and renders the entire chain of extraction, supply, and use legally unsustainable,' the report said. It further pointed out that the 'responsibility also extends to the Railways, as the project authority, who were under an obligation to ensure that all materials sourced by their contractor‶ were compliant with environmental regulations. 'Failure to ensure the production of the required EC certificates renders the entire chain of extraction, supply, and use of the minerals legally unsustainable and environmentally non -compliant.' 'Therefore, the mining activity carried out by Gurdyal Singh…is entirely unlawful, having been undertaken without the requisite EC. The mining permission granted by the Director of Industries…is void ab initio, and and both M/s Singla Construction and the Railways ) are liable for failing to ensure compliance with mandatory environmental safeguards‶.
