• 06 Apr 2022

Blueprint for the Revival 60 Rivers of Uttar Pradesh

Why in News?

In the government-level meeting held through video conferencing on April 5, 2022, a blueprint for the revival of 60 rivers of the state has been prepared.

Key Points

• Technical cooperation of IIT BHU, Kanpur and Roorkee will be taken in this work of river rejuvenation.
• 60 rivers including Varuna, Gomti, Banganga, Nanda, Karmanasha and Gadai will be included in this initiative of river revival and conservation.
• It is worth noting that the Central Government had launched an Integrated Ganga Rejuvenation Mission named 'Namami Gange' in June 2014 with the objective of reducing pollution of river Ganga and rejuvenating the river.
• Under this programme, out of 152 sewerage infrastructure projects, 46 completed projects have created 632 MLD of sewage treatment capacity. In addition, 28 river-front development projects, renovation and modernization of 182 ghats and construction of 118 crematoriums have also been undertaken under this programme, which has significantly improved the environmental health of river Ganga.

Bihar Legislative Council

Why in News?

On April 4, 2022, voting was held for the 24 seats of the Bihar Legislative Council.

Key Points

• Legislative council elections were postponed last year because rural local bodies, which account for about 97.56% of the total electorate, could not be reorganized due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Significantly, there are 75 seats in the Bihar Legislative Council, out of which 63 are elected members and 12 are nominated members.
• The term of a member of the Legislative Council (MLC) is six years, with one-third of the members retiring every two years.
  
  • The members of the Legislative Council are elected as follows:
  • One-third of the MLCs are elected by the state legislators.
  • In addition, 1/3 of the members are elected by local bodies, such as municipal and district boards, etc.
  • 1/12 members are elected by the people who have been teaching for 3 years.
  • 1/12 members are elected by graduates from 3 years residing in the state.
  • The remaining members are nominated by the Governor from amongst those who have special knowledge and practical experience of literature, knowledge, art, cooperative movement and social service.

Operation Samanta

Why in News?

On April 5, 2022, Chairman of the State Scheduled Castes Commission of Rajasthan, Khiladi Lal Bairwa, in the meeting of district level officers in Bundi district, directed to work on the campaign level in other matters of the Scheduled Castes on the lines of 'Operation Samanta'.

Key Points

• Operation Samanta, which started from January 24, is an innovation of Bundi Police, which is now being implemented across the state.
• Under this, the beat constables at the police station have to mark such villages in their area, where till now Dalit grooms are not sitting on the mare or there has been an unpleasant incident while sitting on the mare or they have been removed from the mare.
• After marking, equality committees are formed in such villages so that the brides of Dalit community can be taken out on the mare without any controversy and untoward incident.
• It is noteworthy that despite the Right to Equality (Article 14-18) provided under Part 3 of the Constitution, SC/ST communities are subjected to various types of discrimination including untouchability. In such a situation, this step of Rajasthan Police is highly commendable.

Mukhya Mantri Kanya Vivah / Nikah Yojana

Why in News?

On April 5, 2022, in the meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, approval was given to the amendment of 'Mukhya Mantri Kanya Vivah / Nikah Yojna'.

Key Points

• Now 55 thousand rupees will be approved in the name of the eligible girl included in the scheme.
• Out of this amount, an amount of Rs.6 thousand will be payable to the organizing body for organizing the mass marriage program and material of Rs.38 thousand and an account payee check of Rs.11 thousand will be given by the organizing body as a gift to the girl.
• The marriage assistance scheme for workers registered in the Madhya Pradesh Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board of the Labor Department will be included in the Chief Minister's Girl Marriage Scheme run by the Social Justice Department.
• The organization authorized for the program will be the organizers of the mass marriage, Municipal Corporation/ Municipality/ Municipal Council in urban areas and Janpad Panchayat in rural areas. Mass marriages conducted by any other institution will not be eligible to get the benefit of this scheme.
• District and body level committees will be formed with the approval of the minister in-charge of the district to ensure that the mass marriage/nikah program is organized smoothly. Senior government officials will also be members in these committees.
• With the approval of the Minister in charge of the district, the District Collector will issue a financial year wise calendar of 2 dates each for mass marriages for each body of the district. Wide publicity of this calendar will be ensured so that interested couples can apply in time.
• The process of application will be as before, under which the bride and groom will have to make a joint application in the prescribed form at least 15 days before the date of organizing the mass marriage/nikah program.

Devishankar Awasthi honor to litterateur Achyutananda

Why in News?

On April 5, 2022, Achutanand Mishra, a litterateur of Jharkhand, was awarded the prestigious Devi Shankar Awasthi Award for the year 2021.

Key Points

• Achuthanand Mishra has been given this award for his critical book 'Kolahal Mein Kavita Ki Awaaz'.
• As a mark of respect, Mishra was given a citation, a memento and a check of Rs 11,000.
• It is worth mentioning that this award is given to a young critic for his remarkable contribution in the development of Hindi criticism.
• It was established in the year 1995 by his family including his wife Kamlesh Awasthi in the memory of famous Hindi critic Devishankar Awasthi.

Hariyali Prasar Yojana

Why in News?

On April 5, 2022, Rakesh Chaturvedi, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief of Forest Force of Chhattisgarh informed that 83 lakh 31 thousand Planting has been done in three years (2019, 2020 and 2021) under the 'Hariyali Prasar' scheme run by the Forest and Climate Change Department.

Key Points

• Under Hariyali Prasar Yojana, one thousand 600 hectare area in the year 2019-20, 3 thousand hectare area in 2020-21 and 2 thousand 800 hectare area (total 7 thousand 400 hectare area) in 2021-22 was covered with greenery.
• Under this scheme, 18 lakh 56 thousand saplings have been planted in the year 2019-20, 33 lakh 80 thousand saplings in the year 2020-21 and 30 lakh 95 thousand saplings in the year 2021-22.
• Under Hariyali Prasar Yojana, 10 thousand 497 beneficiaries have been benefited in the year 2019-20, 20 thousand 16 beneficiaries in the year 2020-21 and 13 thousand 651 in the year 2021-22.
• Under this scheme, plantation of plants of teak, bamboo, khamhar, amla, rosewood, sandalwood, milia-dubia, clonal Nilgiri, tissue culture bamboo, tissue culture teak, mango, jackfruit, munga, cilantro and other species are included.
• It is noteworthy that under the Hariyali Prasar Yojana, 50 to 5 thousand saplings are provided per beneficiary by the Forest and Climate Change Department to encourage agro-forestry on the farmers' own land and to increase the greenery and for their maintenance. Partial amount is also made available in the form. With this, farmers will be able to earn a profit of about 30 thousand rupees per acre per year.