The National Green Tribunal has directed authorities in West Bengal to demolish a hotel constructed in Sundarbans in violation of environmental norms.
The tribunal was hearing a matter pertaining to the permissibility of a hotel construction in Sundarbans, for which the West Bengal State Coastal Zone Management Authority (WBCZMA) had raised objections.
A bench of Chairperson Justice A K Goel said Sundarbans was a critically vulnerable coastal area (CVCA) under the coastal regulation zone notifications and no construction was permissible in a CVCA.
We uphold the stand of WBCZMA and declare the constructions made by the project proponent to be illegal. A joint committee of WBSCZMA, district magistrate and senior superintendent of police (SSP) may ensure the demolition of illegal constructions and restoration of the area within three months from today, the bench also comprising Justices Sudhir Agarwal and B Amit Sthalekar along with expert member A Senthil Vel said.
The bench noted th

Ganga Vilas, India's luxury cruise

Touted as the world's longest river cruise, MV Ganga Vilas, has been docked at a Kolkata jetty and will on Monday leave for Sundarbans, a UNESCO heritage site, an official said.
The cruise vessel, flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 13, entered West Bengal early this week through Murshidabad and later reached Kolkata, he said.
The ship has been docked at the Indenture Memorial (IM) Jetty on the bank of the Hooghly river.
"The vessel will leave Kolkata on Monday and then it will be anchored at Sundarbans, one of the largest mangrove forests in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site, for two days," the official said.
Taking to Twitter, Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "The next phase of journey of MV #GangaVilas will be on the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route, as it travels through B'desh (Bangladesh) to reach Assam. All infra has been provided at IM Jetty itself for a smooth immigration process for passengers."
MV Ganga Vilas began its journey f

Mamata Banerjee

The West Bengal government is making all efforts to improve the tourism infrastructure in the Sundarbans, state tourism minister Indranil Sen told the Assembly

Islands flooded in Sunderbans

Human interference and a flawed development model are making cyclones more destructive for the ecologically fragile region, writes Namrata Acharya

sunderbans

For every island that is washed away by rising tides in the Sundarbans, a new one is created somewhere else. A women-led initiative is making sure these newly-formed islands are preserved

Tiger

The Sundarbans in south-coastal Bangladesh is the world's largest surviving mangrove ecosystem, spanning over 6,000 sq km

Born in early 1997, she was the mother of over 12 cubs of which nine survived since 2000

The latest report estimates the presence of 86 big cats

Not thinking about an IPO as of now, says chairman

Dr Krishna Ella

Higher discounts on Russian oil this month may help Indian refiners reduce crude sourcing costs and trim fuel marketing losses even as Brent crude crosses $95/barrel, weakening the country's finances

oil refinery, crude oil, oil

India's rage is misplaced and hardly serves to endear the country to those appalled by the idea that it may have had a Canadian citizen killed

India Canada

Electronics & IT Minister says India can emerge as a global leader in this category

Ashwini Vaishnaw

NABARD to issue social sector bonds on Tuesday

Bonds, Govt bond

The Booker Prize comes with a cash prize of GBP 50,000, a trophy. The winner will be unveiled on November 26 at an award ceremony in London

Books

Officials said that ministries will have to expand their capacity to support the growing number of startups in the country

startups

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking an audit of the software used in electronic voting machines (EVMs) used by the Election Commission.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said no actionable material that the poll panel acted in breach of constitutional mandate in holding polls has been placed before it.
The Election Commission is entrusted with the control over elections. Presently, the petitioner places no actionable material before this court to show that the poll panel has acted in breach of its constitutional mandate. There is no material before us which casts doubt on EVMs, the bench said.
Before filing the petition, PIL petitioner Sunil Ahya had made representations to the Election Commission seeking an independent audit of the source code of the EVMs.
The source code is the brain behind the EVM and it is about survival of democracy, Ahya said.

The VVPAT machines, which will be attached to the EVMs, will allow voters to verify if their vote has gone to the intended candidate. (Photo: pib.nic.in)

VVPAT machines, VVPAT, EC, voting, EVMs,vote

Chandrayaan-3: Isro is gearing up to wake the Vikram lander and Pragyan from 'sleep mode' to face the sun's rays after they were put into deep sleep having completed their set tasks

Chandrayaan-3 Lander, ISRO

The Supreme Court on Friday said it would list pleas on the issue of marital rape for hearing in mid-October. The pleas raise the legal question of whether a husband enjoys immunity from prosecution for the offence of rape if he forces his wife, who is not a minor, to have sex.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandarchud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of lawyer Karuna Nundy that the pleas needed to be heard.
We are in midst of constitution bench hearings. We can list this after the constitution bench matters are wrapped up, the bench said and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and other lawyers how much time they would take in advancing their arguments.
I will take two days. This (issue) has social ramifications, the law officer said. A counsel for the petitioners said they would like to argue for three days.
Then it can be listed for hearing in April next year! the CJI quipped and later said the pleas would be listed for hearing in .

Supreme Court, Manipur violence

Sharks are back with another season of Shark Tank India. Shark Tank India's official Instagram account shared the information. The show is likely to start in December or January

Shark Tank season 3 shooting begins

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Naval Academy Examination (II) and National Defence Academy 2023 result can be accessed at upsc.gov.in and upsconline.nic.in

Results, Exam results

The CBI has registered a fresh FIR against IL&FS Transportation Network Ltd and its step-down subsidiary Spain-based Elsamex SA for allegedly misappropriating credit facilities to the tune of Rs 239 crore by cheating and diverting funds, officials said on Monday.
India Exim Bank had sanctioned a credit limit of Euro 35 million to Elsamex which is also a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based ITNL International Pte Ltd in 2015 for securing and executing overseas contracts.
IL&FS Transportation is already facing a CBI probe for causing a loss of over Rs 6,524 crore to a Canara Bank-led consortium.
In 2016, a consortium of Elsamex and ITNL won the bid for an Ethiopian project to design, manage and maintain the work of the Nekemte Bure Road upgrading project under an output and performance-based road contract.
The project needed disbursal of certain mobilisation advances, which were to be secured by guarantees sanctioned by Exim Bank. So, Euro 32.60 million was allocated under

financial fraud investigation, audit and analysis

Amazon Great Indian Festival sale page is now live. The date of the festive sale is not officially announced yet. It is expected that the sale may begin on October 11, 2023

Amazon

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted raids at several locations linked to former members of the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) across the state.
Searches are underway at various places in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Wayanad districts of the state, police said.
The houses of former PFI leaders Abdul Samad and Latheef were also searched in Wayanad and Thrissur districts, they said.
According to sources, the raids were launched to ascertain the alleged source of funding for the banned outfit.
The central government had on September 28, 2022 declared the PFI as an 'unlawful association' under UAPA and imposed a ban on it for five years.

Sundarbans

NGT directs authorities to demolish hotel constructed in Sundarbans

MV Ganga Vilas cruise ship to leave Kolkata on Monday for Sundarbans

Bengal govt making efforts to improve tourism infrastructure in Sundarbans

Amphan destruction highlights Sundarbans need a different development model

How a women-led initiative are trying to preserve new islands in Sunderbans

Bangladesh Sundarbans won't have Bengal Tigers in 50 yrs over habitat loss

Sundarbans tiger population stable