08-04-21 Daily-Punjab-PPSC Current Affairs

The and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have approved $300 million loan for canal-based drinking water schemes under Punjab Municipal Services Improvement Project.

The move aims at ensuring quality drinking water 24×7 and minimise water losses for Amritsar and Ludhiana. The two cities are currently being supplied water from tubewells. Two other canal-based water supply projects are already under execution in Jalandhar and Patiala.

As per the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) report, the groundwater has been over exploited and the quality of water has deteriorated, causing Health hazards. Therefore, it has been proposed to change water supply from ground to canal water to ensure uninterrupted potable drinking water supply in urban areas.

The project would be co-financed by IBRD (World Bank) loan of $105 million and an AIIB loan of $105 million along with $90 million government funds. For Amritsar, the source of surface water supply would be Upper Bari Doab Canal and for Ludhiana Sirhind Canal. Treatment plant in Amritsar would be of 440 MLD and in Ludhiana 580 MLD.

TheUnion cabinet approvedthere-promulgationofordinanceonair quality managementinNational Capital Region(NCR) and adjoining areas spread over four states Haryana,Punjab,RajasthanandUttar Pradesh with important changes that seek to assuage farm unions opposed to the new <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture laws.

The re-promulgated legislation has been tweaked to take care of the concerns of farmers who had objected to its substantially high penalty provision for stubble burning in neighbouring states. The multi-member statutory commission will now also have representation from farmers, and construction sectors. Penalty provisions for erring industry or other sectors remain intact with jail term up to five years or with fine up to Rs 1 crore or with both for any non-compliance or contravention of any provision or rules and order or direction of the panel.

The commission had replaced The Supreme Court-backed <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Environment-pollution”>ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION (Prevention and Control) Authority EPCA which had been taking care of the issues of Air Pollution in the NCR for last 22 years. The EPCA had successfully implemented certain measures such as relocation of polluting industries, switching over of public transport buses from diesel to CNG and restriction of entry of polluting trucks in the Capital.