Pib

Pib

1. Shri Mansukh Mandaviya says Government to push Road Safety through amendment of Motor Vehicles Act

The Bill contains the provision of setting up of National Road Safety Traffic Management Board (NRSTMB) which will work as the lead agency for the Government of India for road safety. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has also directed all the States to frame State Road Safety Policy and establish lead agency in all States / UTs.

The Government has also made it mandatory for the fitment of speed governors on certain category of transport vehicles with maximum pre-set speed of 80 kmph and for transport vehicles like dumpers, tankers, school buses, those carrying hazardous goods with maximum speed of 60 kmph. However, keeping in view the non-availability of speed governors for certain models of motor vehicles, the Ministry has issued advisory to all the States/UTs to exempt specific models of transport vehicles from the requirement of fitment of speed governor till the time the speed governors of at-least two or three manufacturers are available at competitive rates.

To ensure the safety of passengers, the Government has issued notification for manufacturers of Motor Vehicles to comply with additional safety features like seat belt reminder, manual over-ride, speed alert system vehicle reverse gear sensor etc. for the vehicles manufactured on and after the 1st of July, 2019.

2. Generation of nuclear power

Seventy years since the constitution of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1948, the total installed capacity of nuclear power in India has reached 6,780 MWe, comprising 22 nuclear reactors.

The installed capacity is expected to increase gradually, to 22,480 MW (including PFBR, 500 MW being implemented by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited [BHAVINI]) by 2031 on progressive completion of projects under construction and accorded administrative approval & financial sanction by the Government of India.

The low installed capacity base of nuclear power in the country is mainly on account of the technology development in an international embargo regime that persisted from 1974 to 2008 and constraint of resources faced during the initial decades of the nuclear power programme, as it had to depend solely on budgetary support. The low share of nuclear power in the total installed capacity is on account of its low capacity base.

3. Protection of Majuli Island – Endeavour of Brahmaputra Board

It is noteworthy that Brahmaputra is one of the most difficult rivers to tackle as it is very dynamic with morphology changing continuously. Measures adopted elsewhere may not be applicable in this river which is 3rd largest in the world and carries highest silt amongst the rivers of its size.

In appreciation of the positive results of the works carried out by Brahmaputra Board at Majuli, Government of Assam moots to entrust several new works to Brahmaputra Board. These works include protection from erosion of Brahmaputra at Neamatighat area near Jorhat, protection of Mikirgaon area in Morigaon District and protection of 3 locations on the right bank of Brahmaputra between Bogibeel bridge and Majuli Island. The Board is in the process of preparation of the proposals and will finalize the same through the Expert Committee for obtaining approval. Once techno-economically approved, Board will seek a funding agency to execute these works.

Majuli District with an area of 1245 sq km, includes main the Majuli Island with an area of 522 sq km, a large number of smaller islands some of which are inhabited and the Brahmaputra River upto its south bank touching Jorhat and Sibsagar Districts. The area of the island was 734 sq km in 1914 whereas, the minimum area was recorded to be 502 sq km in 2004. Geomorphologically, the entire Majuli island is a part of the alluvial flood plains of the Brahmaputra river. The Island is formed of soil consisting mainly of silt deposits. The soil is without cohesion and thus, susceptible to erosion. The problem of erosion has been severe after the disastrous earthquake of 1950. As per Survey of India topo-sheets and satellite imagery data, area lost by the Island is 206.7 sqkm from the year 1949 upto the year 2004. Although some measures were taken in the form of embankment and anti-erosion work by Government of Assam, the problem of erosion and flood remained mostly uncontained. The embankments built during the 60s were in poor condition.

4. Opening new world for business & employment opportunities in North-East through inland waterways

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation will flag off the first movement of cement cargo through National Waterway (NW) 2 on River Brahmaputra in Assam tomorrow, under the Shipping Ministry’s flagship programme Sagarmala.

Transportation of cargo through NW 2 from Pandu to Dhubri will help save 150,000 tonne km of road transportation per trip and 300 km of road travel while reducing the logistics costs. Notably, where one Horse Power can move 150 kg on road and 500 kg on rail, it can move 4000 kg on waterways.

Pandu, due to its geographical location, is one of the key terminals on NW2. Both high & low level RCC jetties have been constructed for round the year loading and unloading of cargo and railway BG siding. The port has been developed as a multi-modal modern Inland Water Transport Terminal, equipped with cargo handling facilities, transit sheds, and appropriate open space facilities/hard stands.

There has been a renewed focus in the last three years to promote IWT in North East Region (NER). Of the 106 new National Waterways that were notified in April 2016, under the National Waterways Act, 2016, 19 are in NER. Some of these are NW-16 (river Barak), NW-95 (river Subansiri), NW-39 (river Ganol), NW-93 (river Simsang), NW-101 (river Tizu and Zungki), NW-31 (Dhansiri), NW-62 (river Lohit), NW-106 (river Umngot), NW-18 (river Beki), among others.