‘President’s Rule’ Imposed in Uttarakhand
- President s Rule was imposed on Uttarakhand under Article-356 of Constitution of India. In this regard, Cabinet took the decision on March 26, 2016. On the recommendation of the Union Cabinet, President signed the proclamation on March 27, 2016.
- The constitutional breakdown happened in the State was due to rebellion in the ruling Congress government after its 9 MLAs rebelled and brought government in minority in the State Legislature.
- These 9 rebel MLAs were disqualified by the speaker under the anti-defection law. This disqualification had reduced the strength of the 70-member hpuse to 61..So, the final tally of Congress MLAs was 27 and BJP had 28 MLAs.
- Governor KK Paul’s report on the constitutional breakdown was discussed in the aftermath of the sting video that showed Chief Minister Rawat allegedly involved in horse-trading.
BHEL Commissioned 600 MW Power Plant in Telangana
- BHEL has “successfully commissioned a 600 MW coal-based thermal power plant in Telangana as on March 25, 2016 at the upcoming 2 X 600 MW Singareni thermal power project located in Adilabad district.
- The plant comprised of a four cylinder turbine, designed in-house With the commissioning of the unit, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has successfully diversified into the power generation business.
- BHEL has so far contracted 21 sets of 600 MW each, of which 15 have already been commissioned. It had earlier commissioned a 600 MW thermal power plant at Kakatiya in Telengana in December, 2015.
Andhra Government Inaugurated Country’s First Lift Irrigation Project
- Andhra Pradesh government inaugurated Pattiseema lift irrigation project on March 25, 2016. The State described it as the first river linking project in country, connecting Godavari with Krishna in this lower riparian State, as it has been completed in a record time of one year.
- The first pump of this Rs 1300 crore project was installed and switched on in September, 2015, about 6 months after the project contract was awarded to Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL).
- The project was designed to lift 80 tme (trillion metric cubic feet) of flood water in a span of 110 days during the flooding season between July and October from Godavari as was permitted by the GWDT from the ongoing Polavaram Multi-purpose Irrigation Project.
- The Mizoram government and Japanese International Cooperative Agency (JICA) signed an agreement on ‘Capacity Enhancement for Sustainable Agriculture and Irrigation Development’ on March 24, 2016.
- The experts of the Japanese company would, on the company’s own expense, undertake technical cooperation project in four rural development blocks in Aizawl, Kolasib, Serchhip and Champhai districts.
- Training programmes would be conducted in Japan both for officials and farmers from Mizoram for three times during the period and the expenses wpuld be borne by the Japanese government.
- The JICA had conducted development study during 2013 and 2015 and had formulated a master plan covering 20 years and the technical cooperation project would commence from October, 2016 and continue till September, 2021.
Punjab Settlement of Agricultural Indebtedness Bill, 2016 Passed
- The Punjab assembly passed the Punjab Settlement of Agricultural Indebtedness Bill, 2016 on March 22, 2016, The bill seeks to provide a framework for determination and settlement of non-institutional agricultural debt.
- The Bill, though loosely construed as a One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for debt-related disputes of farmers with arhtiyas (commission agents), is much more than that. The aim is to reduce stress on farmers and agriculture labour through fair settlement of debt-related disputes and reduce litigation in Courts,
- Once the Act is notified, district level agricultural debt settlement forums and a State-level agricultural debt settlement tribunal will be set-up to alleviate difficulties of farmers in getting their non-institutional debts agriculture reconciled and settled.
- With crop failures, falling productivity and shrinking margins, farmers, especially small and another form was been reeling under debt. The legislation in another form was adopted by Haryana in 1989.
