TN government’s plans to denotify a portion of Pulicat Bird Sanctuary raise concerns
Thirteen revenue villages were included within Pulicat Bird Sanctuary boundary limits in 1980. The state government has now begun rationalising its boundaries raising concerns over the shrinking of the sanctuary’s eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).
According to a news report, a proposal for the use of 215.83 hectares of non-forest land for the development of an industrial park inside the ESZ, and 5 km from the bird sanctuary was discussed during the 77th meeting of the Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife held in January 2024. With the settlement of claims being the first step towards the process of denotifying the sanctuary, a petition is being put forth by environmental collectives in Chennai to the State authorities pointing out the significance of the Pulicat Lagoon and the dangers of identifying a sizeable area of the sanctuary.
Source: The Hindu
Read more: Fisherfolk lament as environmental threats push Pulicat Lake to the brink of decline
CUMTA to execute a parking management project soon in Anna Nagar
After a team from the housing department visited Hungary and studied the parking system in Budapest, the state government led by AIADMK announced a comprehensive integrated parking management project in 2019. Accordingly, the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) prepared a parking policy draft. As part of the pilot phase, CUMTA’s parking management plan will be executed in Anna Nagar with an hourly fee. This project aims to regulate the parking, regulate the traffic and encourage the use of public transport. The pilot phase is expected to be completed by the year-end.
Source: The New Indian Express
Admissions under the RTE Act begin in Chennai private schools
Under the Right to Education, Act (RTE Act), 25% of the seats in entry-level classes in private schools have to be reserved for students from weaker sections of society. Parents residing within 1 km of private schools could apply. The admissions under the RTE Act began on April 22. According to directions given by the School Education Department, details of the seats available under the RTE Act in entry-level classes in private schools should be published on the notice boards and flex boards at the entrance of the schools. Parents, who have been waiting for the notification, complain that no such notices were put up and that they were told the seats were filled up through online applications. Meanwhile, since March 1, the School Education Department’s drive to bring more admissions to government schools has only yielded 3 lakh enrolments as of April 5, according to the news reports.
Source: The Hindu
Read more: Why has RTE failed to level the playing field in Chennai schools?
Tender floated for imported coal for the new power plant in North Chennai
Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated North Chennai Super Critical Thermal Power Station Stage 3 of 800 MW on March 7. With the trial runs underway, TANGEDCO has floated the tender to import coal to meet the requirements for the generation of the power station. While the unit is designed to run on 100% imported coal, TANGEDCO has decided to run the unit with 50% imported and 50% domestic coal. For domestic coal supply, TANGEDCO has a Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) with Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) which will supply 1.971 million tonnes of domestic coals per annum for 25 years. According to the news reports, 43 million units have been generated during the train runs. The power plant is expected to generate 5,957 million units a year at the plant load factor of 85 per cent once the unit achieves commercial operations.
Source: DT Next
Pay property tax by April 30 and get an incentive of 5%, says Chennai Corporation
The Greater Chennai Corporation has urged Chennai residents to pay their property taxes for the first half of the Financial Year 2024-25 by April 30 to get an incentive of 5%. As many as 13 lakh houses in Chennai are entitled to pay the property tax to the GCC. During the last financial year, GCC collected a total of Rs 2,218 crore of which Rs 1,642 came from property tax. Compared to 2022-23, GCC collected Rs 86 crore of property tax more than in 2023-24. In a bid to boost the target further this year, GCC has been taking various initiatives like giving such incentives. The residents can pay their taxes through the GCC website or by scanning the QR code in the tax bill sent earlier via post.
Source: Times of India
[compiled by Shobana Radhakrishnan]