• 22 Nov 2021

Environment Clearance for Ganga Expressway

Why in News

• Recently, the Member Secretary of the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority issued environmental clearance for the construction project of the proposed 594 km long Ganga Expressway.

Key Points

• According to a 2006 notification of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, it is necessary to obtain environmental clearance before construction of projects included in the schedule. Under this notification, environment clearance has been taken by UPEIDA for the construction of Ganga Expressway.
• The work of land acquisition for this expressway is in progress and so far about 94 percent of the land has been acquired.
• This expressway will start near Bijauli village of Meerut on Meerut-Bulandshahr road (NH-334) and will end near Judapur Dandu village of Prayagraj district on Prayagraj Bypass (NH-19).
• This expressway will connect 12 districts- Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj.

Swachh Survekshan, 2021

Why in News

• Bihar has been ranked 17^th in the ranking of states of Swachh Survekshan, 2021 released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India on November 20, 2021.

Key Points

• Bihar has been jointly ranked 17^th with Nagaland in this ranking, while it was ranked 24th last year.
• In the ranking of states, Chhattisgarh is at first and West Bengal is at last (28th).
• At the same time, in the list of cities with a population of more than 10 lakhs, out of total 48 cities, the state capital Patna has got 44th rank, whereas last time it got 47th rank (last).
• In the Citizen Feedback category of cities with a population of 50 thousand to 1 lakh, Supaul of Bihar has got the first place in the country.
• Munger has secured the second position in the list of cities with a population of more than 1 lakh on the banks of the Ganges, while the capital Patna is at the third place.
• Sonpur has got the fourth position in the list of cities with population less than one lakh along the Ganges.
• It may be noted that Indore city in Madhya Pradesh has remained the cleanest city in the country for the fifth time in a row.

Water Festival 2021-22 in Hanuwantia

Why in News

• On November 20, 2021, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the Jal Mahotsav 2021-22 at Hanuwantiya, a tourist destination in Khandwa district.

Key Points

• Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that Hanuwantia is as beautiful as Sentosa Island in Singapore. It was during his visit to Sentosa Island that he got the inspiration to develop Hanuwantia as a tourist destination. The deep blue water here is like the ocean.
• The Chief Minister said that along with cultural activities, various adventure activities like scuba diving, joy ride, hot air balloon etc. would be started in Hanuwantia. Tourists will also be able to enjoy sitting in a helicopter.
• The Nimar region tells the glory story of tribal heroes like Tantya Bhil, Bhima Nayak, Khajya Nayak etc. This is the birthplace of Tantya Mama and her kadhas are kept here.

Police Commissioner System will be Implemented in Indore and Bhopal

Why in News

• On November 21, 2021, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan decided to start a Police Commissioner System (Police Commissioner System) in two big cities of Madhya Pradesh- Bhopal and Indore.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister said that this decision has been taken in view of the law and order requirements arising due to increasing population, geographical expansion and technology in the state capital Bhopal and commercial capital Indore, the cleanest city of the country.
• Along with Bhopal and Indore, police and administration together have achieved many achievements in the state, but the urban population is increasing rapidly. The metropolis is also expanding geographically. Hence some new problems of law and order are arising. For their solution and to control criminals, a decision has been taken to implement a police commissioner system in two cities.
• Indore and Bhopal are the two big metropolitan cities of the state. Police commissioner system is being implemented for better control over criminals. The work of improving the already good law and order will be done through this system.

Indore First for the Fifth Time in Swachh Survekshan 2021

Why in News

• On November 20, 2021, President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Safai Mitra Safety Challenge and the best clean city in the country to Indore under Swachh Survekshan-2021 at the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav organized at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Key Points

• Indore has raised the flag of cleanliness in the country for the fifth time in a row while maintaining its sovereignty. Indore city also got 5 star city certification. Along with this, Madhya Pradesh has received the third cleanest state award.
• Four cities of Madhya Pradesh are included in the 20 top cities of the country in the category of population more than one million in the year 2021 Swachhta Samman. Among these, Indore got first, Bhopal seventh, Gwalior got 15th and Jabalpur got 20th.
• Madhya Pradesh has been ranked third in the category of states having more than 100 urban bodies for its urban bodies and following various sanitation procedures.
• Six cities of Madhya Pradesh namely Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain, Dewas, Hoshangabad and Barwaha and Pachmarhi were awarded for the Cantt Excellence Award category. Apart from this, 27 cities got star ratings.
• Along with Indore, Dewas and Bhopal have also secured the best position in the Safai Mitra Safety Challenge.
• The city of Ujjain has got the award of best city in the civic response among the cities with population of 1 to 10 lakhs. The city of Hoshangabad has got the honor of being the fastest growing city in the cities of 1 to 3 lakh population and Dewas has got the honor of innovation among the cities of the same category.
• Bhopal has retained its self-sustainable capital last year's title. In addition, Bhopal has been ranked third in the country in the Safai Mitra Safety Challenge.
• In the small towns category, Barwaha of Khargone district has been adjudged the fastest growing city in the zonal ranking.

Haryana Ranked Second in the Country in Swachh Survekshan-2021

Why in News

• On November 20, 2021, President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the honor of second place to Haryana in the category of States having less than 100 Urban Local Bodies in Swachh Survekshan-2021 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Key Points

• Haryana secured the second position in the category of states with less than 100 ULBs (Urban Local Bodies) with a score of 1745. Seven cities of Haryana made it to this list.
• Gurugram, Rohtak and Karnal got gold, Panchkula, Faridabad and Nilokheri got silver and Ambala got the ascending bronze award under the new category named Prerak DAUUR Samman (which would classify cities on the basis of six selected indicators).
• Rohtak Municipal Corporation and Gurugram Municipal Corporation were given the award of 'Garbage-Pre City'. Municipal Corporation Gurugram received the 'Safai Mitra Safety Challenge Award'.
• Under Open Defecation Free Bodies, 12 municipal bodies of Haryana got 'ODF Plus-Plus' certificate 43 municipal bodies got 'ODF Plus' certificate.
• The 12 municipal bodies awarded ODF Plus-Plus are Gurugram, Karnal, Rohtak, Ambala, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Hisar, Nilokheri, Panipat, Gharaunda, Rewari and Radaur.

Haryana's Bhattukalan Police Station got the 'Best Police Station' Award

Why in News

• On November 19, 2021, Union Home Minister Amit Shah awarded the trophy to Sub Inspector Om Prakash, station in-charge of Bhattukalan police station in Fatehabad district (Haryana), one of the three best police stations in India, at a function held in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points

• The Union Home Ministry has included Bhattukalan police station among the best three police stations in the country for the year 2021.
• The Union Home Ministry selects police stations every year on the basis of parameters such as crime rate, investigation and disposal of cases, infrastructure and public service by surveying police stations across the country.

Jharkhand Number One in Swachh Survekshan 2021

Why in News

• On 20 November 2021, President Ram Nath Kovind honored Jharkhand as the top state in the category of states with 100 urban bodies in the Swachhta Survekshan 2021 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Key Points

• In the survey, Jharkhand has been awarded the Best Performing Award in the category of States having 100 Urban Bodies, along with some cities have also been awarded in different categories.
• Jamshedpur has got the second position for the Safai Mitra Suraksha Challenge among the cities with a population of 3 to 10 lakhs of the country.
• Jugsalai has been awarded as Best City for Citizen Feedback among cities with a population of 25-50 thousand in Eastern Zone.
• Similarly, Jamshedpur in Jharkhand has been awarded 3 rating in Garbage 3 star rating.

Chhattisgarh Got the Cleanest State Award

Why in News

• On November 20, 2021, Chhattisgarh was awarded the cleanest state in a program organized by President Ram Nath Kovind at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel received this award on behalf of Chhattisgarh.

Key Points

• The event was organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.
• Swachh Survekshan is conducted every year among all the cities and states of the country by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. In this, various criteria have been prescribed for assessment.
• These mainly include categories like door-to-door garbage collection, scientific disposal of waste, open defecation free cities, garbage free cities. Ranking is given on the basis of these parameters and on the basis of ranking the performance of cities and states is decided. The city and state that excel is rewarded on the basis of its category.
• After the year 2019 and 2020, for the third time in a row, Chhattisgarh has achieved the distinction of being the topper in cleanliness. In the category of Safai Mitra Safety Challenge-2021, the Best Performing State award went to Chhattisgarh. At the same time, out of 239 awards given in different categories, a maximum of 67 bodies received awards.
• 67 bodies of Chhattisgarh received awards in different categories. These include Ambikapur as Self Sustainable Small City (category II in one lakh to three lakh population), Faster Mover State Capital in Raipur, Cleanest City in Bhilai-Charoda (category first in 50 thousand to one lakh population), Innovation and Best Practices in Birgaon. (Category 4^th place in population from 50 thousand to one lakh).
• The cities have also been placed in three and five star categories (3 and 5 star category) based on the ranking during the cleanliness survey. In this, two cities of Chhattisgarh-Ambikapur and Patan have been included in the five-star category, while 44 other cities have been given 3-star ranking.