Villagers win as SJVNL drops its tunnel plan for Luhri hydel project 

Once again, farmers and environmentalists win a battle against an ambitious plan as the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) drops its idea to construct a 38 km long tunnel for the Luhri Hydro project in Himachal Pradesh. The tunnel if implemented, would have led to the disappearance of the Sutlej river in the 50 km stretch and would have affected 78 villages. Now, one large project with the tunnel component has been replaced by three reservoir-based projects. 

Water connections in all Govt schools in Delhi by October 2

The Delhi Jal Board has ordered officials to provide high quality water connection to all Government schools in the capital by October 2. By August 16, DJB along with PWD will be receiving the list of schools with their requirements, after which the authorities will expedite the process. Also, the Centre and Delhi Government which were at crossroads for the past few days, have agreed to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle for reviving the Yamuna river. 

3 major irrigation projects in Vidarbha by 2019: Maharashtra Govt

The Maharashtra Government has set 2019 as an ambitious deadline to complete the three major irrigation projects in Vidarbha, the land of farmers' distress. The three dams are the long-delayed Gosikhurd, Bembla and Lower Wardha with a total irrigation potential of 3,70,940 hectares. Along with this, the Government is also planning to operationalise nearly 15 minor and medium projects in the region. 

NGT orders UP Govt to provide clean water in 6 districts

The National Green Tribunal has ordered the Uttar Pradesh Government to provide potable water to villages of six districts on the banks of rivers Kali, Krishna and Hindon. These six districts -- Baghpat, Meerut, Saharanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar and Ghaziabad -- have been facing severe impacts (water-borne diseases, high incidence of cancer, limb deformities) of highly contaminated groundwater. The samples of water from these rivers were tested and the results revealed the presence of alarmingly high levels of toxic metals like cadmium, zinc, chrome, nickel, sulphide, iron, lead, fluoride and mercury. 

HC wants to ban sand quarrying from Cauvery riverbed

The Madras High Court is willing to ban sand quarrying from the Cauvery riverbed on the lines of the sand mining ban from the Tamirabarani for five years. The issue has been raised following a petition filed against indiscriminate sand mining in the Cauvery riverbed in Karur and Tiruchi districts. Also, it has been alleged that the sand mined from the Cauvery, Palar and Tamirabarani rivers was being sold in Kerala at a very high cost.

This is a roundup of important policy matters from August 4 - 10, 2015. Also read last week's news updates.

Lead image source: Sanyam Bahga via Wikipedia