| hows keen interest in building Smart Cities Canada’s Minister Shri Ed Fast holds talks with Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu |
| Canada has strongly pitched in with the offer of its wood based high density house construction technology to enable India meet its ‘Housing for All by 2022’ target. This offer was made by the visiting Canadian Minister of International Trade Shri Ed Fast during his meeting with the Urban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu here today (15.10.2014). The Canadian Minister made detailed queries about the new initiatives in urban sector including building of 100 Smart Cities, Housing for All and infrastructure development in urban areas of the country. He sought to know the clear timelines for execution of these schemes and specific areas requiring technologies and investments. Shri Venkaiah Naidu gave a detailed account of various initiatives and suggested cooperation in respect of affordable housing, waste water recycling, sanitation and public transport infrastructure in urban areas and building smart cities. Shri Ed Fast elaborated on Canada’s expertise in wood based housing technology that enables multi-story construction that India can consider to meet its ambitious housing targets. He said, life span of such houses is about 60 years and is amenable for renewal. He also offered technology for waste water recycling. Noting that three of Canada’s cities viz., Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary figure among the top 10 smart cities of the world, Shri Ed Fast said, his country is keen to partner with India in an appropriate manner in building smart cities. The visiting minister noted that Canada is impressed by the new found sense of purpose and vigor in India under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and his country is keen to cooperate with New Delhi in all possible ways. Shri Venkaiah Naidu directed the Secretaries of his two ministries to examine Canada’s offers for firming up areas of cooperation before the meeting of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with his Canadian counterpart during the forthcoming G-20 Summit. |
Cracking the whip on 10 State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) for ad-hoc appointments, the National Green Tribunal has ordered the termination of Chairpersons of these regulatory authorities. The concerned states are Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana, Haryana, Maharashtra and Manipur. The order was given last week by the principal bench of the NGT, chaired by Justice Swatanter Kumar. The recent order of June 8, 2017, comes as a follow-up to an NGT judgment given in August 2016. In that judgment, the NGT had issued directions on appointments of Chairmen and Member Secretaries of the SPCBs, emphasising on crucial roles they have in pollution control and abatement. It then specified required qualifications as well as tenure of the authorities. States were required to act on the orders within three months and frame Rules for appointment [See Box: Highlights of the NGT judgment of 2016 on criteria for SPCB chairperson appointment]. Having