Briefs

 
Published: Tuesday 15 May 2001

Elephant deaths are being frequently reported from many parts of the country. Recently, an elephant carcass was discovered in Jharkhand's Palamau Tiger Reserve and two elephants, including a cub, were found dead in the Rajaji and Badapur parks of Uttaranchal. The death of a female elephant was also reported from Bijnaur district of Uttar Pradesh.

The Union government will soon start a project to make a digital record of economically important plant resources for purposes other than medicinal, aromatic and timber uses.

To ensure adequate supply of fodder, the Madhya Pradesh government has banned the export of fodder. Grass for fodder will be cut only by the van samitis (forest committees), which have been constituted under the joint forest management programme.

The Union government has sanctioned Rs 10 crore for solving the problem of salinity and water logging in Sirsa and Sonepat districts of Haryana.

The Punjab government has decided to set up a Harike wetland authority comprising senior army personnel and officials from the state departments of tourism, forest, science and technology.

The Union government's department of biotechnology has set up a Fast Track Committee (FTC) for a single window clearance of all biotechnology-based mega projects costing Rs 100 crore or more.

The Union ministry of health and family welfare has issued two notifications for amending the prevention of food adulteration provisions related to food labelling, mineral water standards and drinking-water packaging. Packaged food will now be labelled as vegetarian or non-vegetarian to provide correct information to consumers. Food containing egg will also be labelled as non-vegetarian.

A zero-waste project has been started in Tamil Nadu to make the state completely free from waste.

The Wildlife Trust of India, a wildlife protection organisation, has urged the Union ministry of environment and forests to amend the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 to clamp down on the sale of tiger and leopard skins.

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