UTTARAKHAND
Uttarakhand govt orders geological study of ‘sinking Joshimath’
As fearful residents of Joshimath continue their protests over the town’s apparent sinking and appearance of cracks in their houses, Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) has ordered a detailed bearing capacity analysis of the border town, regarded as the gateway to Badrinath, Valley of Flowers and Auli, following cracks in almost 500 houses.
USDMA, in its latest meeting, minutes of which are with TOI, ordered the irrigation department to “make a drainage plan and conduct a geological study of the town”
The panel also pointed out that the damage wasn’t restricted to floors or walls of houses. It extended to ceilings, ran through houses, including courtyards and outdoor areas, and even dislocated beams, resulting in lopsided structures.
The state irrigation department has also been tasked to make a plan to stop ongoing land erosion by Alaknanda river which has been attributed as one of the primary reasons behind the ‘sinking’ by the panel.
INTERNATIONAL
World’s first Palm-leaf Manuscript Museum in Kerala capital
Kerala Chief Minister(CM) Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugurated the Palm leaf Manuscript Museum with modern audio-visual technology at the renovated Central Archives, Fort area in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The Museum, promoted as “World’s First Palm-Leaf Manuscript Museum” was set up by the Archives Department in association with the Kerala Museum of History and Heritage at a cost of Rs 3 crore.
The museum is a repository of curious nuggets of administrative, socio-cultural and economic facets of the Travancore kingdom which lasted for 650 years till the end of the 19th century. It had been the Central Vernacular Records Office since 1887 before becoming a museum.
NATIONAL
Odisha wins World Habitat Award 2023 for its JAGA Mission
Odisha won the UN-Habitat’s World Habitat Awards 2023 for Jaga Mission, a 5T initiative of the state. The awards recognise and highlight innovative, outstanding and revolutionary housing ideas, projects and programmes from across the world. The Jaga mission is the land titling and slum upgrading program that aims at empowering the lives of slum dwellers.
Jaga mission is the world’s largest land titling and slum upgrading program which aims at empowering the lives of slum dwellers. Under the inspiring leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Government of Odisha has set itself the ambitious target of becoming the first slum-free state in India and is leading the Jaga Mission programme to upgrade all of the state’s 2,919 slums. In the last 05 years of the initiative, 1,75,000 families have been granted land tenure security. 100% households in 2,724 slums have been provided with pipe water connections, 707 slums transformed fully into Liveable Habitats, 100% households in 666 slums have individual toilets, and 8 cities have become slum-free.
Cabinet Approves Rs 19,744 Cr for National Green Hydrogen Mission
The Union Cabinet approved an initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore for the National Green Hydrogen Mission. Addressing the nation on its 75th Independence Day in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a national mission for green fuels in line with the Centre’s stated target of making India energy-independent before completing 100 years of Independence. The mission will have four components that aim at enhancing domestic production of green hydrogen and promote the manufacturing of electrolysers — a key constituent for making green hydrogen.
The initial outlay for the mission will include Rs 17,490 crore for strategic interventions for green hydrogen transition (SIGHT) programme, Rs 1,466 crore for pilot projects, Rs 400 crore for research and development (R&D), and Rs 388 crore towards other mission components.
PM Launches Aspirational Block Programme Aimed at Spurring Development Parameters
Prime Minister has launched the government’s Aspirational Block Programme (ABP), which is aimed at improving the performance of blocks lagging on various development parameters. The Aspirational Blocks Programme is on the lines of the Aspirational District Programme that was launched in 2018 and covers 112 districts across the country.
The Centre had announced its intention to launch this initiative in the Union Budget 2022-23.
The programme will cover 500 districts across 31 states and Union Territories initially.
Over half of these blocks are in 6 states—Uttar Pradesh (68 blocks), Bihar (61), Madhya Pradesh (42), Jharkhand (34), Odisha (29) and West Bengal (29).
However, states can add more blocks to the programme later.
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