• 08 Sep 2023

E-Bus will run in 19 Cities of the State

Why In News?

According to the information received from the media on September 6, 2023, the Uttar Pradesh government is going to run e-buses in 19 cities including 17 municipal corporations of the state to provide better transport facilities to the people. These buses will be run under the PM e-bus service scheme.

Key Points:

• The Urban Development Department of Uttar Pradesh is preparing a proposal for this and soon it will be sent to the Central Government after approval from the higher level.
• There are plans to run 150-150 buses in big cities, 100-100 in medium cities and 50-50 in small cities. This will provide a lot of relief to the passengers.
• At present, 740 small AC e-buses are being run in 14 cities of the state under the Central Government's Fame India scheme. About 300 more buses were to be taken in Phase-II, but the government has started the PM e-bus service. Due to this, there is a churn on not buying new buses in Fame India Phase-II. The Urban Development Department will now demand new buses in the PM e-bus service.
• According to the proposal being prepared at the government level, a proposal is being prepared to run 150 more new buses in the big cities of the state, especially in Lucknow, Kanpur and Ghaziabad.
• A proposal is being prepared to run 100 buses each in Agra, Jhansi, Varanasi, Meerut, Prayagraj, Bareilly, Aligarh, Moradabad, Gorakhpur, Firozabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar.
• Apart from this, there is a plan to run 50 buses each in Ayodhya, Shahjahanpur, Mathura, Rampur and Saharanpur.

Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board and J-Pal South Asia Executive Director signed Letter of Intent to Join SARWA

Why In News?

On September 6, 2023, Shikhar Agarwal, Chairman, Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, and Sobhini Mukherjee, Executive Director, J-PAL South Asia, signed a letter of intent to join SARWA in the presence of Vini Mahajan, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat.

Key Points:

• Speaking on the occasion, Chairman, Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board said that the Government of Rajasthan has always done remarkable work in addressing environmental issues and SARWA will play an important role in guiding the policy makers to take high impact and cost effective policy decisions to tackle the challenges of wind and water.
• J-PAL South Asia and RSPCB will work together to design, test, implement and scale-up solutions that will play an effective role in reducing air and water pollution.
• Professor Namrata Kala, advisor to SARWA and representative of J-PAL, said that air and water pollution is a serious obstacle to economic growth and life expectancy. It is hoped that SARWA will play an important role in fostering a new momentum in fighting poverty and improving the quality of environment for all Indians.
• Under SARWA, J-PAL South Asia will work with governments at both the national and state levels to accelerate the adoption of scientific evidence and data to design effective air and water policies.
• The programme was launched at an event in Gandhinagar organized by J-PAL South Asia in partnership with Community Jameel.

High Powered Committee Constituted under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary

Why In News?

On September 6, 2023 Madhya Pradesh Government constituted a High Powered Steering Committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for the operation of the Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) by the Government of India.

Key Points:

• In this committee, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Principal Secretary, Public Health Engineering, Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Housing, Principal Secretary, Public Works, Principal Secretary, Tourism have been made members and the Director Budget has been made member secretary.
• This committee will give its recommendation after examining such projects proposed by administrative departments, for which it is proposed to get loan assistance under Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF).
• This committee will consider the need of the plan/project, its benefits to the state, its cost and its usefulness from the economic point of view.
• If the scheme/project of any other administrative department comes under the ambit of loan assistance under the Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF), in that case the Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary/Secretary of the concerned administrative department will be invited in the meeting.
• This committee will also be able to invite the officers of the regional office of the National Housing Bank in the review meeting.

Mahadev Toppo becomes COLIT Member of Sahitya Akademi

Why In News?

On September 6, 2023, Jharkhand's eminent litterateur Mahadev Toppo has been appointed as the board member of the Center for Oral and Tribal Literature (COT Lit) of the Sahitya Akademi.

Key Points:

• Jharkhand's famous litterateur Mahadev Toppo was born in a Kurukh tribal family in the year 1954 in Hulsi village of Ranchi district.
• Mahadev Toppo, along with pursuing postgraduate education, also did Film Appreciation Certificate course in Pune in the year 1994.
• His major works were published in Hindi newspapers and magazines like Dharmayug, Parikatha, Naya Gyanodaya, Vagarth Sablog, Samayantar, India Today, Samachar Janmat, Vishwa-Rang, Banas Jan, Jansatta, Prabhat Khabar etc. These works include articles, comments, stories, poems etc.
• His major works include ‘Jungle Pahad ke Path (poetry collection)’, ‘Civilized Adivasi (writing collection)’ and the poetry collection ‘Jungle Pahad ke Path’, translated into English, Marathi and Santali etc. Some of his poems were also published in Germany, English, Marathi, Telugu, Sanskrit, Santali, Assamese.
• He has also acted in the Kurukh film 'Pahada' and the national and international award winning film 'Aidpa Kaana (While Going Home)'. He has also composed short plays in his mother tongue Kurukh.
• Mahadev Toppo has been awarded many honors including the Birsa Munda Award.
• Currently, living in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, he is working for the development of language, literature, art, culture and mother tongue Kurukh.

23 Small Towns of Uttarakhand with Less than 50 thousand Population will be Rejuvenated

Why In News?

According to information received from the media on September 5, 2023, 23 small towns of Uttarakhand with a population of less than 50 thousand will also be transformed. The Centre has given in-principle consent to the state's proposal. Now a detailed proposal will be sent to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.

Key Points:

• Six municipal corporations of Uttarakhand - Dehradun, Haridwar, Haldwani, Rudrapur, Kashipur, Roorkee as well as Nainital - were included in the AMRUT-1 scheme. In these cities, sewage and drinking water etc works were done after making the master plan under the scheme.
• Now the central government is going to launch the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT 2.0).
• Recently, a meeting was held in the Union Ministry, in which Uttarakhand's Chief Town Planner Shashi Mohan Srivastava attended.
• He had demanded that small towns of Category-3 should also be included in a state with odd geographical conditions like Uttarakhand, to which the ministry had given its consent. After this, the department has sent its proposal to the Center.
• According to the state's chief town planner, there are 23 cities in the state that are in category-3. There are a total of 10 cities in category-1 and category-2.
• Under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme, the master plan of the cities will be made. According to this plan, apart from sewage and drinking water lines, drainage, green space and parks will be developed here. For this the budget will be received from the central government only.