All that was discussed in the House through the day
Hydro-meteorological disasters claimed 1,224 human lives and 404,676.54 hectares of crops in India in the current fiscal as on July 26, 2023, Nityanand Rai, minister of state in the ministry of home affairs, told the Rajya Sabha.
Bihar reported the most fatalities at 502, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 97 and Gujarat with 94. Himachal Pradesh, which experienced one of its deadliest landslides and floods last month, was ranked fourth, with 88 deaths.
Hydro-meteorological disasters also resulted in the deaths of over 25,558 animals and the destruction of over 61,000 homes and huts, said Rai.
Unseasonal rains, hailstorms and pest infestation have adversely affected mango production in at least seven mango-producing states, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union minister for agriculture and farmers’ welfare, informed Lok Sabha.
The major mango-producing states like Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana saw a dip in quantity as well as quality.
Unseasonal rains and hail storms in Telangana during March-April 2023 damaged crops in an area of 62,430 acres with an estimated production loss to the tune of 1.25 lakh metric tonnes.
While a production loss of 53 per cent is estimated for Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra saw a dip of nearly 61 per cent.
A loss to the tune of Rs 1,212.50 crore in agricultural and horticultural crops was suffered by farmers in Gujarat’s cyclone-affected areas, Rai told the Rajya Sabha. Additionally, the cyclone is estimated to have affected an area spanning 0.13 million hectares.
The government has formulated the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) for mechanised cleaning of sewer and septic tanks. The scheme will be implemented by 2026, Ramdas Athawale, minister of state for social justice and empowerment, told the Rajya Sabha.
Twenty one states and two Union Territories have made provisions of 50 per cent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions, Kapil Moreshwar Patil, minister of state for Panchayati Raj, told the Rajya Sabha.
Around 1454,488 women representatives have been elected in Panchayati Raj Institutions across India, Patil added.
A local climate action plan has been prepared for Palli Gram Panchayat in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district, Giriraj Singh, Union minister of Panchayati Raj, told the Rajya Sabha.
In 2022, Palli village became the country’s first panchayat to become carbon neutral.
The 2023 edition of the Carbon Neutral Gram Panchayat Award is won by the Meenangadi panchayat in Kerala’s Wayanad district, Kanha in Rangareddi district, Telangana and Bonaigarh in Sundargarh district, Odisha. The villages were honoured for their outstanding efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, Singh said.
Indian Railways has set up solar plants to meet its energy requirements. Until June 2023, solar power plants with a capacity of 203.48 megawatts have been installed. These solar plants have helped Indian Railways in the proliferation of renewable energy, Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of railways, told the Lok Sabha.
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