The ban on certain single-use plastic (SUP) items kicks in from Friday, with state governments initiating an enforcement campaign to identify and close down units engaging in production, distribution, stocking and sale of such items, officials said. Though several manufacturers have said they are not prepared to implement the ban due to a lack of alternatives, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had on Tuesday said the government had given enough time to the industry and the general public to prepare for the ban on SUP items and it hopes for everyone's cooperation in implementing it from July 1. Violation of the ban will invite punitive action, including a fine or a jail term or both, detailed under Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) and under bylaws of respective municipal corporations, officials in the Union environment ministry said.
When there is a state government committed to development, it is important that Mumbai has a civic body that, too, shares that goal, Modi said.
Patel's elevation to the coveted post is being attributed to his closeness to former Gujarat chief minister and current Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. Both have residences in the same locality in the city.
The order that was passed less than a week ahead of the first phase of polls scheduled on October 10 throws a spanner in the election process.
Opposition parties demanded that all elections in the future be held through ballot papers.
Abdullah issued a white paper on development undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir during the rule of "Abdullah and Sons" -- as Shah referred the family in his speech at a rally in Baramulla district -- to counter the allegations of corruption.
The Supreme Court on Monday granted four more months to the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission's (TNSEC) for concluding the poll process for the urban local bodies' elections in the state.
The latest trend issued by the State Election Commission showed the BJD had already won or was leading in 762 Zilla Parishad seats, as compared to BJP's 46 and Congress's 36 seats.
The Telugu Desam Party chief picked up an argument with the police officials and demanded to know why he was being prevented from going to Tirupati and Chittoor.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday said it has approved a loan of $125 million (around Rs 938 crore) for water supply and sanitation projects in Uttarakhand. The funds will be utilised to improve access to quality water supply and sanitation services in the Himalayan state, ADB said in a release. Under this project, 136 kilometres of water pipe system will be constructed to replace defective water networks in South Dehradun. This will ensure reliable and continuous water supply, benefitting an estimated 40,000 people, including 4,000 urban poor and vulnerable groups.
As per the 2011 census, 31 per cent population in the country lives in urban areas.
For the first time in the history of Chhattisgarh, people of three urban local bodies have recalled their chairpersons after a vote, a top election official said. "As per Section 47 of the Chhattisgarh Municipality Act 1961 through recall votes three chairpersons of an equal number of urban local bodies had lost their seats on Tuesday," Chief Election Commissioner of Chhattisgarh, Dr Sushil Trivedi told reporters.
The shutdown has been complete in not only major cities like Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung, but even smaller towns such as Tuli, Jalukie, Pfutsero, CNCCI president Khekugha Muru told PTI.
Going by the strict criteria set, only Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana qualify for such extra borrowing, as of now.
The manifesto promises better drinking water facilities, better street lights, free community toilets, provision of pink toilets for women, grant of Rs 20,000 for construction of personal toilets, provision of adarsh nagar panchayat, e-tendering and provision of kanji house for stray animals.
A consensus leader will be chosen on Monday morning at Naga People's Front Legislature Party meeting.
Neither the ruling DMK nor the fractured AIADMK Opposition anticipated that an assembly by-election would put them both to test, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on Monday meet chief ministers and state finance ministers to discuss measures to attract private investments to help boost the economy. Finance secretary T V Somanathan said the meeting comes in the backdrop of strong economic recovery post the two COVID waves, and the central government has made a big push in Capex. The focus of this interaction will be on state-level issues, opportunities and challenges, which will enable us to go to a higher trajectory of investment and growth, he said.
On Thursday, violent mobs went on the rampage in the Nagaland capital vandalising and setting on fire government offices and vehicles, prompting deployment of five columns of army to bring the situation under control.
India Inc on Thursday pitched for continuation of reforms while ensuring tax and policy stability in the forthcoming Budget to prop up the economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the virtual pre-Budget consultation held with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, industry chambers said that government measures will help firmly entrench the nascent signs of recovery being currently seen in private investment. Capital expenditure by the government through enhanced infrastructure spending should in the meantime continue to support growth, CII president TV Narendran said.
The state government last week announced the schedule for holding elections to local bodies and panchayats in the state.
The former chief minister said his party was not running away from polls, but wanted the Centre to do justice with the people of Jammu and Kashmir first and take effective steps for the protection of the state's special position.
The voter turnout in the first three phases of the civic polls in the valley has been low.
The run-up to the polls, which should have been a humdrum affair, became a cause celebre after it was marred by violence, arrests, sit-ins in far-away Delhi and a Supreme Court intervention asking officials to ensure peaceful polling.
While the BJP emerged as the single largest party in 12 municipal bodies, it has majority in five of these bodies.
Existing vacant government-funded housing complexes will be converted into Affordable Rental Housing Complexes through concession agreements for 25 years.
As the Election Commission announced a single phase poll for the Karnataka assembly on May 5, the focus shifted to finalisation of candidates by principal political parties -- the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular, which have already shortlisted nominees in majority of seats.
Ramanath Rai, the district Congress chief, will be contesting from the Muslim-dominated constituency of Buntwal. Campaigning extensively in the region, the former minister is hopeful of another win.
The Bharatiya Janata Party swept urban local body elections in Uttar Pradesh winning 10 of 12 mayoral posts in municipal corporations with Congress failing to open its account.
Cyclone Phailin, which made a landfall on the southern coast of Odisha at around 8:30 pm on Saturday at a windspeed of 200 km an hour, affected a cultivable area of 0.5 million hectares and damaged 80 per cent of the power transmission infrastructure in the coastal areas.
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi has been arrested by the Bidar police for violating the election code of conduct. His party has fielded candidates for the urban local body polls in Bidar and Basavakalyan in Karnataka.
Shah had on Tuesday attended a party event in Lucknow where he said that the Opposition is spreading rumours about the CAA.
As vote-counting was in progress, the party led with a good margin in Varanasi, Kanpur and Ghaziabad whereas the state's ruling Samajwadi Party-backed candidate I S Tomar won the Mayoral election of Bareilly municipal corporation.
The Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday announced that it would contest alone in the urban civic polls slated to be held on February 19, even while asserting that its alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the state remained intact.
The going is not going to be easy for the DMK and its allies in Elections 2024. Despite the seats sweepstake in the 2021 assembly polls, the vote-share difference of 5.6% (DMK's 45.38% versus AIADMK-BJP's 39.72%) is not insurmountable on a bad day, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Bommai is everybody's man and nobody's man'
The first phase of the polls in the Kashmir Valley saw 8.3 per cent turnout on October 8 while only 3.4 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in the second phase held two days later.
With the 'bhoomi pujan' for a temple at the spot where many devout Hindus believe Lord Ram was born, priests are enlivened with the hope that their Badhi Devkaali Mandir too will get footfalls from far and wide.
Allowing the petition, the court directed that polls be held by December following issuance of a fresh notification.
Smart City Mission has unleashed an unprecedented enthusiasm and expectations both within and outside the country.
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