• 12 Feb 2022

The Uttar Pradesh Compensation for Damage to Public and Private Property Act, 2020

Why in News

• On February 11, 2022, the Supreme Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to withdraw the recovery notices issued against those involved in the anti-CAA protests.

Key Points

• The Supreme Court observed that the action taken by the Uttar Pradesh government in December 2019 was contrary to the rules laid down by the court, as the Uttar Pradesh government itself acted as a 'complainant, adjudicator and prosecutor' in the proceedings for attachment of the properties of the accused. has done. Therefore it cannot be maintained.
• This action has been taken under the 'Uttar Pradesh Compensation for Damage to Public and Private Property Act, 2020'.
• Under this Act, a provision has been made for the constitution of a Tribunal by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh for the claim of recovery of damages to public and private property. It will be headed by a retired district judge appointed by the state government and may include an officer of the rank of Additional Commissioner.
• The Act allows for the constitution of multiple tribunals for the same event. This will ensure that the proceedings are concluded within three months, and the Tribunal is empowered to appoint an assessor, who is technically qualified, to assess the loss in a panel appointed by the State Government.

Inauguration of Access Road Project of Rail-Cum-Road Bridge Built on River Ganga in Munger

Why in News

• On February 11, 2022, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the approach road project of 'Rail-cum-Road Bridge' over river Ganga at Munger in Bihar state.

Key Points

• A 14.5 km long approach road has been developed at Munger for a rail-cum-road bridge constructed over river Ganga on National Highway 333B at a total cost of Rs.696 crore.
• This 'Rail-cum-Road Bridge' is the third rail-cum-road bridge built over the river Ganga in Bihar, which will connect the cities of Munger-Jamalpur with Begusarai, Khagaria and various districts of North Bihar.
• In 2002, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid the foundation stone of the rail-cum-road bridge. The current CM of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, was the Railway Minister in the Vajpayee government at that time.
• This bridge was being demanded for a very long time, which can be seen as follows-
  
  • In 1953, the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru also promised the people of Munger that a bridge would be built over the river.
  • Indira Gandhi reiterated similar assurances during an election campaign in 1971.
  • The rail-cum-road bridge finally got a token allocation (through supplementary grants) in the 1997-98 Railway Budget.

Intensive Mission Indradhanush 4.0 Campaign

Why in News

• On February 11, 2022, the Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 vaccination campaign was launched in Jaipur by the Medical and Health Department of Rajasthan.

Key Points

• Children in the age group of 0 to 2 years and pregnant women are being vaccinated in this campaign.
• In the first phase of Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 vaccination campaign, a target has been set to vaccinate about 487 children and 114 pregnant women of Jaipur district.
• Vaccines of BCG, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pentavalent, FIPV, RVV, PCV and MR are being administered to these children to protect them from nine types of diseases.
• Under this campaign those children have been included, who are deprived of routine vaccination due to any reason. Similarly, td-1, td-2 and booster td vaccines are being administered to pregnant women who are deprived of routine vaccination.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 vaccination campaign is being conducted in 209 sessions.
• Its first phase will operate till February 13, 2022. After this, the second phase of the campaign will be conducted from March 7 to March 13, 2022, the third phase will be conducted from April 4 to April 10, 2022.

Dinosaur Eggs Found in Madhya Pradesh

Why in News

• Recently, fossils related to dinosaur eggs have been found in the forest of Varla tehsil of Sendhwa block of Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh.

Key Points

• After examining 10 oval rocks found in the forest of Barwani, archeologist Dr. DP Pandey said that these are dinosaur eggs, which can be 60 lakh to 10 million years old.
• The largest of these eggs weighs about 40 kg, while the others are up to 25 kg. Out of these, 3 eggs will be kept in the museum located in Indore.
• Dinosaur fossils were also found in Dhar district in 2007, which have been kept in the Fossil Park in Mandu.
• It is noteworthy that Ghughuwa Fossil Park is a national park located near Shahpura in Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh, in which fossils of plants of 31 genera of 18 zoological families have been found.

'Oro Scholar' and 'Project Inclusion' Programs Started

Why in News

• On February 11, 2022, Chhattisgarh's School Education Minister Dr. Premsai Singh Tekam organized a virtual program of 'Oro Scholar' and 'Project Inclusion' program for children with special needs from class I to XII of the state in his residence office. launched.

Key Points

• Under the Oro Scholar program, children will be able to get a scholarship of thousands of rupees by participating in the quiz competition.
• Similarly, the Project Inclusion Program is to identify children with special needs and bring them along with normal children.
• Both these programs will be conducted through Sri Aurobindo Society.
• Minister Dr. Tekam informed that the Oro Scholar program is for the students studying from class I to XII. In this, children can participate in 20 quizzes by registering themselves in the Oro Scholar App. They will get 50 rupees for scoring 80 percent marks in each quiz. In a month, the child will get one thousand rupees for scoring 80 percent marks in all of the 20 quizzes.
• With the money received from the quiz, children will not only be able to bear the cost of further studies on their own, but will also be able to provide financial support to their families.
• Under the Project Inclusion program, teachers will be given training by the Aurobindo Society to identify children suffering from physical and mental diseases and how to improve their weak areas. After taking training, teachers will be able to identify such children and remove their shortcomings and make them learnable like normal children.

'Balwadi' will be Set up For the Novices in Chhattisgarh

Why in News

• According to the information received from the School Education Department of Chhattisgarh on February 11, 2022, 'Balwadi' will be established under the new education policy to improve the education and education level of the young people in the state. The emphasis will be on the learning of the newbies through play based activities in these Balwadi centers.

Key Points

• It is noteworthy that Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had recently announced the establishment of more than 6000 kindergarten centers across the state in the first phase on the occasion of Republic Day.
• Under Early Childhood Care, play school 'Balwadi' will be established for children in the age group of 5 to 6 years at such places where Anganwadi and primary school are in the same courtyard.
• In the first phase, more than 6 thousand such Balwadi will be started. The number of such centers in the state is 6536, where primary schools are located in Anganwadi only. According to the proposal, the operation of Balwadi (Balvatika) will be started from the academic session 2022-23 itself.
• The estimated number of children in the age group of 5 to 6 years for admission in Balwadi is one lakh 15 thousand. SCERT has also prepared a Balvatika Activity Book for these children.
• It is worth mentioning that in Chhattisgarh, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the state government has taken many steps for the secure future of the new generation, from school education to higher education and from employment to developing culture.
• Swami Atmanand Excellent English Medium Schools have been established to provide better opportunities in future to the children of the economically weaker sections of the state. At present 171 Swami Atmanand Excellent English Medium Schools are being run in the state, in which more than 20 thousand children are being educated in English medium. Similarly, such Hindi schools will also be established in every district.

Ravi Chopra Committee

Why in News

• On February 11, 2022, environmentalist Ravi Chopra resigned as the chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed High Powered Committee (HPC) to oversee the implementation of the Uttarakhand Chardham road widening project.

Key Points

• The reason for this resignation has been given as the lack of attention by the officials related to the project on the recommendations and suggestions of the committee.
• It is worth noting that in the year 2019, this 25-member committee was constituted by the Supreme Court regarding the environmental aspects in the Chardham highway project.
• This committee had recommended limiting the width of the roads to 5.5 meters in the Chardham project.
• However, on December 14, 2021, the Supreme Court in its order allowed the width of the road to 10 meters in the strategically important Badrinath, Gangotri and Pithoragarh highways.