Rajasthan is set to play a major role in solar and renewable energy, according to its Governor Margaret Alva.

“Energy is the key to progress. At the same time, it is a big challenge too. Rajasthan is a national leader in solar energy and under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, a majority of the solar projects are located in Rajasthan. In wind energy, India is globally positioned at No. 5, generating 11,000 MW after the U.S., Germany, China and Spain,” she said.

The Inter-Ministerial Group on Ganga river management was oriented more towards building dams and less towards saving the river, renowned water conservationist Rajendra Singh wrote in his dissent note on the IMG’s report.

The Magsaysay award winning conservationist, popularly known as “Waterman,” was here on Wednesday to talk about issues related to the conservation and revival of the Ganga. Accompanying him was celebrated environmental engineer G.D. Agrawal, also known as Swami Gyan Swarup Sanand. The duo objected to the IMG's recommendation to reduce the Ganga’s environmental flow, which is the quantity, timing and quality of water flow necessary to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems and the human livelihoods dependant on these ecosystems.

Observing that Shree Maheshwar Hydel Power Corporation Ltd. (SMHPCL), the private promoters of the Maheshwar dam project, had failed to begin commercial operation and had no funds to complete the project and rehabilitate the displaced, the Madhya Pradesh Government has threatened to terminate the project’s power purchase agreement.

A notice of default, a copy of which is with The Hindu , was issued by the MP Power Management Company Ltd (MPPMCL) in November last year but came to light only last week.

110 deaths since January; 148 since April 2012; 586 since 2009

The Rajasthan Government on Monday cautioned about rising incidence of swine flu (H1N1) in the State and sought Central assistance even as the Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Government of not being serious about addressing the epidemic-like situation. The virus has claimed over 110 lives in the State this year while 148 people have died of the disease since April 2012. Since 2009, when the epidemic first broke out in the state, a total of 586 people have succumbed to the disease.

Adding fuel to fire, people haven’t received subsidy

Mahipal Singh Yadav (31) is a contractual junior manager at the Kotkasim Gram Sewa Sahakari Samiti. Joining the cooperative, he had hoped, would be like any other job. However, since the direct cash transfer of kerosene subsidies scheme was piloted here, Mr. Yadav has found himself at the receiving end of people’s anger. The KGSSS operates five fair price shops (FPS) in the Kotkasim block. As the scheme came into effect, kerosene prices were hiked to Rs. 45 and then to Rs. 50 a litre from Rs. 15.

Accusing the ruling BJP government of resorting to British-style repression, the Madhya Pradesh Congress has asked Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to immediately stop “forcible land acquisition” for a power project in Katni, about 300 km from here.

The protests against the project have claimed the life of woman farmer Sunia Bai who immolated herself on Tuesday after she received a government notice asking her to vacate 4.5 acres of land she owned.

M.P. government agrees to demands of Omkareshwar Dam oustees

Oustees of the Omkareshwar Dam project called off their jal satyagraha on Monday after the Madhya Pradesh government accepted all their demands and constituted a ministerial committee to look into their grievances. On the 17th day of the protest, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced that the government had agreed to the key demands of the agitators — reducing the water level of the dam to 189 metres and providing land for land compensation to all those who had lost their land.

Environmental objections were overruled by Empowered Group of Ministers, in the face of expert concerns

The Madhya Pradesh government has said the filling of the Omkareshwar dam poses no threat to human life even as the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) directed the government to ensure the safety of the protesters.

The government’s statement comes in the wake of the ongoing jal satyagraha protest of the project affected people of the Omkareshwar dam in the East Nimaar region (Khandwa district), where oustees have been standing in the rising dam water for the last seven days.

As many as 250 people affected by the Omkareshwar dam project have been standing in waist-deep water since Saturday night, even as the water level continues to rise.

The oustees announced their jal satyagraha protest last month at Ghogalgaon village in the East Nimar region against the Madhya Pradesh government’s decision to raise the water level in the dam from 189 to 193 metres. The 520-MW Omkareshwar project is one of the several big dams on the Narmada. The current water level is 189 metres and the protesters fear that if filled beyond that level, the dam would submerge their lands spread across several villages.