1. Orissa continues to attract investors, says survey
2. Investors protest Madras Aluminium delisting proposal
3. Granite mining on ignoring govt guidelines
4. Coal India Limited awarded 2 blocks in Mozambique
5. Wheels India to enter steel fabrication for power sector
6. Anti-mining petition presented to NSW Parliament
7. Dragon Energy eyes new mining projects
8. Asarco sells assets to Sterlite for $1.7 billion
9. Uracan Doubles Uranium Resource
10. Bolivia plans to acquire land for JSPL El Mutun project
11. Caterpillar orders show 18-month turn in mining
12. Medusa Mining expansion project on track
13. US digs deep to clean up polluted mines
14. World Bank to fund Rs 303cr water project
15. PIL seeking closure of hazardous industries
16. 33% more funds likely for rural jobs
17. Poor to suffer more due to climate change–NSCB
18. Bujagali power project under threat over compensation
Mining – India
Orissa continues to attract investors, says survey
Staff Reporter
Aiming to have a good insight about business climate prevailing in Orissa, UNIDO interviewed 309 establishments, including micro and small to large industrial units across 14 districts. The survey report was released recently.
The UNIDO has found overall satisfaction level on investment facilitation in clearance process. However, there was relative dissatisfaction in the overall land allotment clearance processes, for example, in water connection, pollution control and electricity clearances, says the UN agency.
Around 93 per cent of the respondents expressed satisfaction over the facilities available in the State. Maharastra leads the table with 94 per cent satisfaction level against the national average of 76 per cent.
About 52 per cent establishments are of the view that they will definitely continue business in the State whereas 43 per cent said they ‘probably will’.
Importantly in respond to a question on their expansion plans 30 per cent answered in affirmative while 36 per cent said ‘they probably will’. Interestingly 40 per cent of the surveyed units said they would go on to recommend Orissa as an investment destination, T. Tilhan, coordinator, the UNIDO survey team, said.He said the main sources of dissatisfaction appeared to be lack of adherence to timelines, unavailability and ineffectiveness of computerised process for clearance system and unavailability of modern communication.
Alejandro Vera Casso of investment promotion unit for Asia-Latin America under UNIDO said Industrial Policy Resolution-2001 of Orissa was a major turning point in attracting investments.
Orissa has been a land of rich mineral resources. During last 50 years, there have been steel booms on three occasions.
But, never before the State had capitalised on that. But this time the case was different, Mr. Casso said.
Commenting on progress of South Korean Steel major POSCO’s project in Orissa, he said although there had been not much development in ground level, the company had made good development in policy matters.
The company was gearing up to start the project, Mr. Casso said.
Orissa has a per capita income about 250
http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/11/stories/2009031157001400.htm
Investors protest |
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| Arun Kumar / |
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After the failed attempt to restructure Madras Aluminium Company Ltd (MALCO) by merging it with Sterlite Industries in September 2008, its proposed delisting is set to attract a fresh round of investor ire.
Investors have alleged that the maximum price offered of Rs 105 per share, under the delisting proposal, is against the spirit and intent of the Reverse Book Building (RRB) guidelines of the Securities and Exchange board of
In the public announcement, dated February 25, 2009, the company stated, “The board of directors of MALCO approved a price not exceeding Rs 105 per share for delisting the company.”
According to clause 8(2) of the guidelines, the offer price shall have a floor price and no ceiling price, says Anil Jindal, director of Jindal Securities. The company has filed complaints with ICICI Securities, advisor for the delisting.
Kishor Ostwal, managing director of CNI Research, said that for delisting, the acquirer might give an indicating price band but not a ceiling. “If the company has already fixed the price ceiling, then what is the price discovery mechanism?”
However, the public announcement states that the board approval of Rs 105 per share should in no way be construed as any restriction on the ability of the board of directors of the acquirer to modify the resolution.
In the delisting guidelines, there is mention of only floor price, discovered price and the exit price. This price of Rs105 is none of these and cannot be a part of the public announcement, said Jindal. Even in the notice to the shareholder, there was no mention of Rs 105, said Jindal.
In the case of iFlex Solutions, acquired by Oracle in 2005, the acquirer couldn’t delist the share as the
The share price of MALCO had dropped from Rs 250 to Rs 40 after Vedanta, the group holding company for Sterlite, cancelled the proposal to merge MALCO.
Granite mining on ignoring govt guidelines
Statesman News Service
PARALAKHEMUNDI, March 10: The government has set down stringent guidelines for granite mining in order to keep a check on the ecological balance of the concerned area. But most of these guidelines are being violated with impunity, of course with the help of some officials.
The iron ore lobby holds sway in Keonjhar district while the coal lobby reigns supreme in the Angul area and here the granite mining operators rule the roost.
A bright example of this is the issuing of quarrying rights to a private granite company to dig up 18 hectares of mountain range near the Parsurampur village which is located only 5 km from here. During the winter session of the Assembly, Ramagiri MLA Mr Bharat Paik had asked for details over the granite mining rights in Orissa and the concerned Minister who had given a detailed report had also emphasised on the fact that protection of the environment received priority while issuing rights for digging.
It was found a quarry was located at less than 100 meters from the nearest village and despite there being abundant jungle prevalent at the site trees were being cut down to make way for heavy vehicles to reach the mine.
“We were extremely surprised after learning that the hills adjoining our village will be dug up in search of granite. We had initially protested against this but as the company officials approached us assuring jobs and good payment we have stopped protesting” admitted Sriramulu a resident of the nearby village.
The private company which has received permission for this quarry recently is actually run with the support of local vendors who liaison on behalf of the company and keep the local politicians and officers happy. Efforts by this correspondent to talk with any of the people in charge of the operations failed, as they said that their owner was out of station.
This is just one issue where the granite lobby has been doing things its own way irrespective of the guidelines and clear cut policies set down by the Centre as well as the local Pollution Control Board. In Gajapati 18 clearance has been issued to various companies and individuals namely in the blocks of Gumma, R Udayagiri and Rayagada.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=246563
Coal India Limited awarded 2 blocks in Mozambique
Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009
BL reported that Coal India Limited has finally tasted success in
http://www.yourindustrynews.com/coal+india+limited+awarded+2+blocks+in+mozambique_26298.html
Wheels India
It is reported that the Wheels India Ltd wants to make steel structural components for power plants specially made steel products such as girders, columns and beams that support a boiler.
According to Mr Srivats Ram MD of Wheels India, they are planning to invest INR 40 crore in setting up a factory at Deoli near
The plant is coming up in the 30 acre plot in Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and will be operational in the second half of 2009.
Mr Ram told Business Line that initially, the plant will be able to process 1,000 tonnes of steel a month. When it reaches steady-state in three years, its capacity will be four times as much.
He said that “This is a marriage between our inherent welding competence and demand from power sector observing that the new venture would give Wheels India the necessary contra cyclic support. “It will buffer us from the volatility of our automotive market.”
He added that an added advantage is that the power sector bears with flexible pricing mechanism for the prime raw material steel, a highly volatile commodity, as was seen in 2008.
The current market size of power plant structural components is estimated at INR 4,000 crore and is set to grow in double digits in the next 10 years due to capacity expansion in energy sector under 11th and 12th five-year plans. The 11th Plan target is to add 78,000 MW; and the 12 Plan’s is 82,000 MW or about 16,000 MW annually for the next ten years. A lot of steel will be consumed.
Mining – International
Anti-mining petition presented to NSW Parliament
Wednesday, 11/03/2009
A petition with 1000 signatures opposing the renewal of three mining exploration licences in northern
Residents in
The Nationals' Member for the Upper Hunter, George Souris, believes the licences should be cancelled, not renewed.
"I don't like to see a company suddenly do some exploration work, so that they can keep their licence alive and get it renewed," he says.
"If that's their motivation, then once again the community is being put through an agonising process, but worse than, the spectre that such close proximity of coal mining to the township of Gloucester is somewhere out there on the horizon is not a good prospect."
Both Mr Souris, and the ABC, have requested a response from the Minister for Mineral Resources, Ian Macdonald.
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200903/s2513132.htm
Dragon Energy eyes new mining projects
Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:36am EDT
By Fayen Wong
PERTH (Reuters) - China-linked Dragon Energy Ltd (DLE.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is eyeing investments in new mining projects and would be comfortable with deals of up to A$100 million ($64.2 million), the head of the Australian phosphate explorer said on Wednesday.
Perth-based Dragon, backed by
"Shandong Group, our cornerstone investor, sees
"We may be a small company, but through our cornerstone investor, we'll be comfortable with deals of up to A$100 million."
Dragon was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange last month and has a market capitalization of A$10.9 million.
It has sealed a deal with
Despite the global economic downturn, Dragon said Chinese firms have not lost their appetite for investments in the commodity sector and many potential investors are looking beyond the current price collapse in the commodity cycle.
"This is the perfect buyers' market. The stars are now aligned for buyers," said Anthony Ho, executive director and company secretary of Dragon.
Dragon has looked at about 10 projects in the past two months and is in early discussions on a coal miner owner in the
Dragon's involvement in these new investments would range from being a key shareholder to taking a minority stake for areas it does not have technical skills.
"We will choose the club when we get to the ball. Until we find a life project, we can't decide on the parameters of our investments," Ho said.
Dragon plans to spend A$3.8 million over the next two years to explore phosphate, used mainly in fertilizers, in
Xu said old drilling data from the 1960s showed that the two primary phosphate projects, Babbling Brooke Hill and Riversleigh, have a combined tonnage of about 50 million tonnes.
Dragon said its nearby Big Toby project was chasing larger volumes of phosphate.
(For summit blog: blogs.reuters.com/summits/)
($1=A$1.558)
(Editing by Ben Tan)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GlobalMiningandSteel09/idUSTRE52A1EH20090311
Asarco sells assets to Sterlite for $1.7 billion
AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — Copper producer Asarco LLC plans to sell its Amarillo refinery and other operating assets to Sterlite Inc. for $1.7 billion.
The other assets being sold include three copper mines, associated mills and SX-EW plants in
Asarco, formerly known as American Smelting and Refining Company, is the third largest copper producer in the
Sterlite, a subsidiary of Indian metals and mining company Sterlite Industries Ltd. and London-based Vedanta Resources PLC, would not take on asbestos and environmental claims from previous Asarco operations in the
A federal bankruptcy judge in
No immediate changes were expected at Amarillo's copper refinery, which has about 350 workers, said Mary Coyne, a spokeswoman for Asarco's Amarillo operations.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gu3Zml7pXAuQy18SiBQ-GGMAjGBwD96RGVP80
Uracan Doubles Uranium Resource
Uranium Price Seen Improving Over Next 48 Months
By James West
MidasLetter.com
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Raymond James mining analyst Bart Jaworski thinks the spot price of Uranium is on its way to US$80 a pound – a scenario many in the Uranium business think is likely. That’s very good news to uranium explorers like Uracan Resources Ltd (TSX.V:URC), who recently announced the doubling of its in situ inferred resource to 40.7 million pounds of Uranium.
Uracan now has three zones with resource calculations on its North Shore Property in Quebec , all within a couple kilometers, and all right at surface:
· At the TJ Zone , a total of 7.0 million pounds of U3O8 has been outlined grading an average 0,011% U3O8
· At the MZ zone, 13.7 million pounds of U3O8 has been outlined at 0.012% U3O8
Management used a 0.009-per-cent cut-off, the same as they used in July last year when they announced their initial NI 43-101-compliant inferred resource of 74.2 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.012 per cent U3O8, containing 19.96 million pounds of uranium at the Double S zone. This inferred resource estimate was based on diamond drilling completed during 2007.
The wholly owned North Shore property covers approximately 1,000 square kilometres, 285 kilometres east of Sept-Iles, Québec. Infrastructure is excellent with paved highways, power lines, and deep water potential within the project area.
While the grade is low relative to its Athabasca Basin peers in Saskatchewan, it’s actually a very common grade in the rest of the world. Many of the new Namibian production and development projects are the same grade as Uracan.
Its near surface orientation and growing size could see it as either a producer or acquisition target should uranium consumption increase worldwide. There are plenty of arguments in support of that.
According to report issued by Canaccord Capital Corp in January this year,
“In the long term, fundamentals in the uranium market appear extremely positive. The nuclear renaissance and the build out of new reactors, while no doubt slowed by the credit crisis and the global recession, is forecast to significantly increase U308 demand, particularly in China and India. Advancing new production to meet this demand is likely to be a very significant challenge for the industry.”
The global excess of processed uranium is being drawn down, and annual global demand for nuclear fuel runs about double the amount of currently produced new supply, so that dynamic seems to point to sharply rising prices over time, as a lot of new reactors will come online soon.
Uranium is a defensive investment in a similar way to thermal coal, which has also performed better than most other commodities. Both are used by utilities to provide baseload power.
In terms of supply, there are risks to continued market stability from disruptions in supply caused by expansion delays and mine integrity at the world’s largest producer, the Cigar Lake mine in Saskatchewan where flooding has damaged much of the operation and continues to impede operations.
The same Canaccord report had this to say in regards to future supply:
"Despite the massive price spike and ample financing opportunities during the boom of the 2006 to mid 2008 period, growth in primary uranium supply has been relatively anemic this decade. This is largely because advancing new production has proven to be significantly more challenging than anticipated.
The massive wave of new production capacity forecast by many market observers has yet to materialize. This was somewhat due to constraints in major construction equipment and operating inputs such as specialty steels, sulphuric acid, and experienced staff. We note that at the beginning of 2008, U308 production expectations were set at about 125.0 million lbs, well above the actual figure of around 107.9 million lbs.
Going forward, we anticipate that new production capacity will continue to disappoint expectations. Our supply model, which uses Ux Consulting data as a starting deck, is based on the following key assumptions:
- That one third of all planned new capacity beyond 2008 never materializes due to issues relating to financing, permitting, political risk, acid availability, etc;
- Annual production allowance losses of 5.0% based on a 2008 base production level of 110.0 million lbs U308;
- The start-up of Cigar Lake and the Olympic Dam expansion are delayed to 2015 and 2016, respectively. We have assumed a multi-year ramp up thereafter.
Based on these assumptions, we forecast primary uranium production to grow by an average of 4.4% in the 2009-2020 periods, reaching 179.2 million lbs by 2020 (from only 107.9 million lbs in 2008).
All this bodes extremely well for Uracan. Since closing a CA$5.7 million private placement in November last year, the company continues to aggressively explore both its Quebec properties, and its more recent discovery at at its 100% owned Pipewrench Lake property in Saskatchewan, located about 120 km south of the Athabasca Basin.
Drilling in 2008 intersected 1 - 3 pounds uranium per ton over widths up to 19.5 metres. Pipewrench Lake is hosted in the same Wollaston domain geology that forms the basement rock to many of the rich underground uranium mines in the Athabasca Basin -- but here the domain is at surface.
With such a low entry point, Uracan could be considered an “heirloom” investment. Just put it on the shelf until Uranium’s day in the sun returns.
http://www.midasletter.com/news/09031006_Uracan-doubles-uranium-resource.php
Bolivia plans to acquire land for JSPL El Mutun project
Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009
Bloomberg quoted Mr Luis Alberto Echazu Mining minister as saying that Bolivia plans to take 243 hectares of private land that contains part of the El Mutun iron ore deposit and deliver it to India’s Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. The Regional Superintendent’s Office of Santa Cruz issued a resolution to expropriate two properties, covering 112 hectares and 131 hectares, owned by Osvaldo Monasterios. Mr Echazu said that a dispute over the land delayed the mining project, which may produce as much as 2 million tonne of iron ore in its first full year of output. He added that Monasterios will be paid. Mr Echazu said that “We had to move to expropriate via the mining code, and this is a positive result. This property owner is impeding the realization of the biggest industrial project in the history of our country.
http://www.yourindustrynews.com/bolivia+plans+to+acquire+land+for+jspl+el+mutun+project_26301.html
Caterpillar orders show 18-month turn in mining
Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:44pm EDT
By Carole Vaporean
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday its largest customers are looking for a return to growth in the mining industry in the next 18 months and view the price of copper as a key indicator of a turnaround.
U.S. copper futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division have risen from $1.38 per lb at the start of 2009 to current levels above $1.65 a lb.
When copper sinks below $1.10 a lb, more miners shut some operations completely, and copper at $1.40 serves as a break-even level for many producers.
"It's really the copper price that we watch," Chris Curfman, president of Caterpillar's global mining division, told the Reuters Global Mining and Steel Summit. "At $2.00 (a lb), I'd go on a camping trip. But it's got to get up to $1.80. Once I see that level I'll feel really comfortable."
Curfman said Caterpillar is close enough to the big copper producers to see at what price level they would become active again, and $1.60 a lb seemed a threshold prompting some miners to put idle equipment back to work.
"When copper went to $1.65 (per lb) last week, (Freeport's) Baghdad copper mine put their trucks, which were parked, back in the dirt." He said copper at $1.65 "isn't all bad, depending on the ore quality."
While some mining customers seem convinced that copper will slide as low as 90 cents, Curfman thinks demand from China and other infrastructure-building countries will keep the price from falling much further than its recent four-year low around $1.27 a lb.
"If you talk to the copper producers, they think that because of China and India and the urbanization process, copper is going to come back. It's just a matter of how quickly," he said.
Given the rapid downturn in metals mining recently, the Peoria, Illinois-based heavy equipment manufacturer was hit with an onslaught of delays and cancellations.
Though he declined to put a number on cancellations, Curfman said they were substantial in North America and Australia as well as emerging markets where greenfield projects were not being funded over the next year to 18 months.
But he said Caterpillar has several thousand delayed customer orders. Where possible, customers opted to delay rather than cancel for fear of losing their place in the queue when the industry does turns around.
"It's simply a delay, because a lot of people think this thing is going to bounce right back up," Curfman said.
With mine plans running 10 to 20 years, some of Caterpillar's largest customers, like BHP Billiton (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Newmont Mining (NEM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), are expecting 18-month delays on some mine projects and remain optimistic longer-term.
"We are seeing some cancellations. We are seeing a clump of orders still being sat on by most of our big alliances. They are reluctant to cancel for fear of losing their position on the order board, which are out 2010, 2011, 2012," he said.
"We're still negotiating with the big guys and still doing deals, but for delayed activity."
Still other customers are adding new orders, mostly among gold miners in Latin American, he said.
(Additional reporting by Matt Daily, Cameron French, James Kelleher, Steve James, editing by Matthew Lewis)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GlobalMiningandSteel09/idUSTRE52969420090311
Medusa Mining expansion project on track
MANILA, Philippines — Medusa Mining Ltd. of Australia said it was proceeding as scheduled with the expansion of its Co-O gold mine in the southern province of Surigao del Sur.
“The company is starting to see the benefits of its development and expansion programs,” managing director Geoffrey Davis said in the company’s performance report for the second half of 2008. “Being an unhedged, high margin gold producer, we are well positioned for an exciting future.”
Medusa said it was “on schedule to increase its gold production” to 60,000 ounces by the third quarter of 2009 and then to 100,000 ounces in 2010.
Medusa reported an after-tax profit of A$12 million for the second half of 2008. It said it produced 19,144 ounces of gold, up 119 percent from 8,736 ounces in the second half of 2007. It reported a 40-percent increase in Co-O resources to over 1.2 million ounces.
The company also issued 20.3 million in fully paid ordinary shares to “institutional and sophisticated investors” on March 5 at an issue price of $1.21. The proceeds of A$24.56 million will be used to boost general working capital and fund intensive drilling at the Co-O mine.
The drilling is designed to increase resources from the current 1.2 million ounces to about 1.5 million, it said.
Underground development aims to increase reserves to 500,000 ounces by August 2009, the company said.
Medusa said it was also building a 16-bed hospital at the Co-O mine site and six classrooms for the Manobo village serving the mine site. Both are expected to be completed by the middle of the year, it said.
Medusa operates the Co-O gold mine in partnership with local firm Philsaga Mining Corp. It owns 40 percent of the project and the local partner, 60 percent. With editing by INQUIRER.net
US digs deep to clean up polluted mines
The US government is ploughing millions of dollars into the clean up of abandoned mines as part of a massive national economic recovery package.
President Barack Obama's $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes $3 billion for the Department of the Interior, which is set to funnel millions into the remediation of thousands of abandoned mines via three agencies - the National Park Service (NPS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service.
Ken Salazar, secretary of the interior, said last Tuesday: "With this bold initiative, we are making an investment in conserving America's timeless treasures, our stunning natural landscapes, our monuments to liberty, the icons of our culture and heritage, while helping working families and their communities prosper again."
Of the $3 billion total, $750 million is going to the NPS and $320 million to the BLM, with portions from each to be directed to polluted mine clean up.
Mr Salazar says work could begin soon.
"BLM, by itself, has a huge number of mines across the country that are already shovel ready to go and mines that could be remediated as soon as we give them the go-ahead," he said.
"We will be moving forward on that agenda as quickly as we can."
Supporters say the clean up programme will create hundreds of new jobs as workers, including contractors, engineers, are hired to clean up thousands of abandoned mines.
Daniel Esty, environmental advisor to Obama's presidential transition team and a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official, said: "There is real value in putting people to work in ways that not only produce a paycheck but also long term value for the American public."
But others question if it is the best use of stimulus cash.
Jeff Holmstead, a former EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation, said: "There are some environmental cleanups that clearly have long-term value, but others that clearly don't. Abandoned mines tend to be in pretty isolated areas where there's little human exposure to contaminants. My gut feeling is it's probably not a great investment."
Some 250,000 abandoned mines dot the American landscape, many former hardrock mines in the rural west.
Where once they drove regional economies, they have become eyesores and a massive environmental headache.
Wind and rain leaches toxic heavy metals from the leftover waste rock, contaminating waterways.
Estimates suggest some 12,000 miles of rivers in the West are contaminated with mining operation metals, with some fish stocks decimated as a result.
Cleaned up mines could then be put to use as renewable energy sites, including solar and wind facilities, being brownfield, away from population centres and already linked by roads and electricity lines.
For more details on the progress of the economic recovery plan visit the website www.recovery.gov
David Gibbs
Other News – India
World Bank to fund Rs 303cr water project |
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| BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Berhampur March 11, 2009, 0:59 IST |
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The World Bank is likely to fund the Rs 303 crore drinking water project for Berhampur in South Orissa. The scheme envisages bringing water from Surada reservoir, located about 100-km from here.
The detailed project report (DPR) was submitted to the World Bank team which had visited the city recently to study the feasibility of the project.
"We have already submitted the DPR and it is now under the active consideration of the World Bank", said a senior official of the Urban Water Supply department.
The implementation of the scheme is necessary as the city reels under acute scarcity of drinking water during the peak summer season.
With a population of over 3.5 lakh, the city needs 45 million litres of water daily. However, the city gets only 33 million litres per day, which goes down to 20-24 million litres during the peak summer, sources said.
The water to the city is being supplied from the Rushikulya water supply system at Madhapur, about 30 km from here and the Dakhinapur Impounding Reservoir located on the outskirts of the city.
The water supply was disrupted for about four to five hours from the Rushikulya water supply system on Sunday due to the power failure, said an engineer.
Meanwhile the government is mulling to tackle the situation with assistance from the World Bank by bringing water from the Surada reservoir through pipes. At present, the water supply is through the canal.
"We feel that sufficient water can be drawn from Surada reservoir when it comes through the pipe", sources said.
This apart, the government is also planning to implement the Ghatakeswar medium irrigation project with an investment of Rs 24 crore. National Bank for Agriculture and rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned the project.
Following the completion of this project, about 8 million litres of water would be supplied to the city every day.
Meanwhile, a project for water treatment at the Dakhinapur reservoir is underway, involving an investment of Rs 5.20 crore. The project is being executed under the Urban Infrastructure Development for Samll and Medium Towns (UIDSMT) to treat about 20 million litres of water daily.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/world-bank-to-fund-rs-303cr-water-project/351454/
PIL seeking closure of hazardous industries
9 Mar 2009, 1851 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has sought response from the Centre, city government and MCD on a PIL seeking a direction to close illegal and
polluting industries in some villages on Delhi-Haryana border.
The Court also issued notice to Haryana government besides Delhi and Haryana State Pollution Control Boards.
A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice asked them to file their response by March 18 on a PIL filed by one Mahavir Singh through counsel Sumeet Sharma alleging that illegal industries are running in the villages of Nangloi, Ghewara, Neelwal, Mundka, Kamrruddin Nagar, Tikri Kalan and Ranhaula.
"The villagers are made to bear with the pollution caused by these industries. Mundka village has become toxic dumping yard and a final destination of all plastic wastes churned out in Delhi's homes," the petitioner said.
"Some of the industrial activities which are being carried on in these areas are that of melting and shredding of rubber and plastic items, burning of used motor engine oil for the purpose of cleaning and reselling it to oil vendors, manufacturing of plastic items from recycles plastic and saw mills etc," the petitioner's counsel said and sought immediate direction to both the Centre and the two state governments to stop the industries.
Citing the Supreme court ruling banning hazardous industries, the counsel said "burning of plastics, especially PVC, releases harmful gases like dioxide which are found to cause caner."
The court would hear the PIL again on March 18.
33% more funds likely for rural jobs
11 Mar 2009, 0318 hrs IST, Gireesh Chandra Prasad, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: The government is likely to spend more on creating rural jobs than originally budgeted for in fiscal 2009-10 as layoffs in the
construction sector have fuelled rural joblessness, government officials said.
The Centre is looking at increasing the outlay of Rs 30,100 crore initially earmarked for creating rural jobs by 33%. The increased outlay is based on utilisation of money
by gram panchayats so far.
“Since jobs are guaranteed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to work, the government has to ensure the promise is fulfilled,” an official involved in executing the scheme said.
Going by the response to the scheme, the government feels allocation for the scheme should be raised by another Rs 10,000 crore when the full Budget
is presented after the Union elections later this year. The official said the job cuts in the construction sector have led to more people demanding unskilled work under the largest rural job creation project in the world.
In the interim budget for 2009-10, the government allocated funds
for rural jobs marginally higher than the Rs 30,000 crore provided for the current fiscal year. To assess the precise requirement for the next fiscal, the ministry of rural development has started preparing a labour budget with inputs from over two lakh gram panchayats in the country.
The ministry is getting details of the infrastructure projects that gram panchayats want to undertake next year. It will assess the requirement of workers assuming that a part of the project cost, say 60%, would go to labour. The ministry expects to complete the labour budget in the first week of April.
The problem before the government in scaling up infrastructure development work in rural areas is the limited availability of projects that would lead to productive assets in small gram panchayats where 8,000 people dwell on an average.
Poor to suffer more due to climate change–NSCB
Economy
Written by Cai U. Ordinario / Reporter
Tuesday, 10 March 2009 21:05
BEYOND bad storms, drought and overall inclement weather, climate change will become a major threat to a country’s development as it will make the poor suffer even more, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).
In his online column Statistically Speaking, titled “Climate Change–Will the Poor Suffer More?”, NSCB Secretary- General Romulo Virola said statistics showed that most of the provinces that are vulnerable to very strong typhoons which are accompanied by landslides and floods are also home to some of the poorest Filipinos.
The Cordillera Administrative Region, or CAR (Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and the Mountain Province); Regions IV-B, or Mimaropa (Marinduque; Mindoro Occidental; Mindoro Oriental; Palawan; Puerto Princesa; and Romblon); Region VI or Western Visayas (Aklan, Antique, Negros Occidental, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo); Region I or Ilocos region (Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan. Its regional center is San Fernando City, and La Union); and Region V or the Bicol region (Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon) are the five regions that are most vulnerable to landslides.
While the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM (Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi); Region IX or the Zamboanga Peninsula (Isabela City, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay); Mimaropa; Region VIII or Eastern Visayas (Leyte and Samar, Biliran, and minor islands); and the Bicol region are the five most vulnerable regions to a one-meter rise in sea level.
“If these statistics are right, the poor will most likely suffer more from climate change. Our poverty-reduction program must, therefore, recognize the vulnerability of the poor to climate change and appropriate interventions must be designed accordingly,” Virola said.
Virola added Sulu, Palawan, Zamboanga del Sur, Northern Samar and Zamboanga Sibugay are the five provinces that are most vulnerable provinces to a one-meter rise in sea level, while the poor of Region V are exposed to heavier rainfall than the poor in the National Capital Region.
“In the most vulnerable provinces, the poor are relatively at a greater risk to a one-meter rise in sea level than the general population,” Virola said.
Climate change already has evidence in the Philippines as shown in the increase in the number of typhoons in the country. From 27 typhoons during the period 2000-03, the number ominously increased to 39 from 2004-07.
Around seven of the 20 deadliest typhoons in the Philippines covering the period 1947-2006 occurred in 1990-2006. The typhoons are getting stronger and stronger, especially since the late 1990s. In fact, typhoon Signal No. 4 has become a possible occurrence in recent years.
Between 1947-2006, three of the five strongest tropical cyclones in the Philippines occurred in the past decade. Total damages brought about by typhoons increased by 408 percent from 2003 to 2006.
“In addition, based on our work on the Philippine Happiness Index, the environment is not one of the important sources of happiness of Pinoys unfortunately, and, we are unhappiest with the government, politics, economy and the environment,” Virola said.
With this, Virola said statistical offices should get involved in the measurement of the impact of climate change to enable the government to draft better poverty-reduction programs.
He said the statistical offices and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other concerned departments must strengthen their institutional linkages in order to be able to generate timely and relevant statistics on climate change.
However, Virola said the statistical capacity of agencies, as well as users of statistics on climate change, both at the national and subnational levels, has to be strengthened.
“The PSS [Philippine Statistical System] obviously can do a lot to contribute not only to monitoring climate change but, in general, to evidence-based decision-making and informing decisions in both the government and the private sector. Toward good governance, if only the Department of Budget and Management would give us more manpower resources,” Virola said.
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/economy/7275-poor-to-suffer-more-due-to-climate-changenscb.html
Bujagali power project under threat over compensation
Wednesday, 11 March 2009 09:53 By Obed K. Katureebe
The Bujagali Interconnection Project (IP) for constructing the system of high voltage electrical transmission lines and related facilities to interconnect the Bujagali Hydropower Project (HPP) with the national electrical grid is under threat unless compensation issues are resolved.
The Bujagali HPP, which is a 250 MW hydropower project on the River Nile near Jinja in eastern Uganda, is not directly affected. But if the IP fails or delays, the Bujagali dam could end up generating power that is not transmitted.
At the centre of the dispute is the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for Wayleaves and Right of Way (ROW) acquisition component. This component is supposed to be solely financed by the government of Uganda to the tune of about Shs 33.4 billion. Its main implementer is the Uganda Electric Transmission Company Ltd (UETCL).
The rest of the Bujagali Power Project, which has two components: the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) and the IP, is financed jointly by African development Bank (AfDB), European Investment Bank, the IFC and the KFW, a German Bank to the tune of US$ 772 million. The sponsor of the HPP is Bujagali Energy Ltd (BEL), a project-specific company owned by SG Bujagali Holdings Ltd, which is a wholly owned affiliate of Sithe Global Power, LLC and IPS (Kenya) Ltd of the Aga Khan.
In an interview Click here, the Minister of state for Energy, Mr Simon D’ujanga told The Independent that the compensation issues had been resolved but our investigations confirm the contrary.
The transmission project was supposed to have begun in July 2008 and completion was expected to be in July 2010 and the hand over ceremony for the first unit of 50 MW is scheduled for October 2010.
But work to construct the steel lattice towers; including soil investigations, foundation excavation and civil works is going on only in isolated areas.
In one case, staff of Joti Services; the India-based company contracted to do the towers, were chased by angry villagers.
“We couldn’t allow them to trespass on our plots again without being compensated first,” said one of the residents.
Work has begun in Mabira Forest area where there are no people affected and Jinja. The Projects Implementation Manager UETCL, Mr Makuba Dennis blames speculators.
“The 1998 land law seems to have given land owners a lot of rights on their land and as a result they are coming out with all kinds of complications in order to make a fortune overnight,” he said.
But the Chief Government Valuer, Mr A.J Bwiragura, downplayed the crisis. “Those complaints are natural and they should not surprise anybody,” he said.
He argued that his office was studying those claims together with the consultants, the East African Surveyors and Valuers.
Delayed verification of legal documents such as letters of administration by the Justice department and verifying of land titles of the claimants is also slowing down the 
compensation exercise. The Administrator General’s office is said to be slow in verifying claims of the dead.
Large estates such as Sugar Corporation of Uganda Ltd, Uganda Tea Corporation, and Kampala City Council, are demanding higher rates than those approved by the government valuer. Ironically, most of these estates government of Uganda has 50 percent shareholding.
The Buganda kingdom has also rejected the government valuer’s price.
Even the National Association of Professional Environmentalists has a Shs 11 trillion case.
So far, the government has paid off 56 percent of the claimants and 46 percent who now number 107 people have refused the valuers figure and some are already in court. A total of 169 disputes remain unresolved and are threatening to blow out of proportion.
As a result, the government is considering creating a suspense account for unresolved cases and going ahead with the project.
UETCL is also mooting plan B. According to Mr Bakuba, UETCL is moving in to connect some megawatts on the national grid on the Nalubale switchboard via the Tororo power line which is only five kilometres from the Bujagali dam.
Under the IP, UETCL is supposed to build and operate a new 70km-long high voltage 220kv line to move power from Bujagali to a sub-station at Kawanda, a 5km-long high voltage 132kv line from Bujagali to the Owen Falls dam, and another 17.5km-long 132kv line from Kawanda to a sub-station in Mutundwe.
In total, the new line will pass through 55 villages in Kampala, Wakiso, Mpigi and Mukono districts.
The main impact in these villages will be displacement of people and property to create a corridor ranging between 30 metres-wide (for the 132kv) and 40 metres wide (for the 220kv) in which no houses or farming activity will be permitted.
At the centre of the corridor will be five-metre wide corridor called the right-of-way (ROW). UETCL is supposed to buy this land from its owner, compensate for loss of property and disturbance.
In case of the wider area, called the “wayleaves”, UETCL will not buy the land but merely compensate for loss of property.
Where the corridor will impact on a residence, the owner/tenant will have the option of receiving cash or be resettled in a new home at a different location.
However, disputes have erupted between the Chief government Valuer and persons affected by the wayleaves acquisition regarding the value of land and houses.
Prossy Namalwa’s house was valued at only Shs 9 million by the East African Valuers, a company hired by UETCL. But the same property was valued at Shs 50 million by an independent valuer. Shaban Kabali claims his plot was bought at Shs 12 million and it was valued at Shs 3 million by the East African Valuers. Kabali says he even provided the valuing officials with his purchase agreements but they did not reconsider.
Affected residents suspect someone wants to cheat them.
“People are forced to sign documents whose content they don’t know. When you decline to sign you are reminded of how you can’t win a court case against the government,” said Nsubuga.
Part of the problem has been a disagreement between the World Bank’s requirements and the government valuer’s methods. The Ugandan law, on which the government valuer approval is based, uses the depreciated cost while the lenders require replacement Cost. Depreciated cost is where the valuer values the object in its present depreciated form while the replacement cost seeks to value the object as it was when it was put up. UETCL project implementers have indicated to the government valuer that replacement is funding requirement for the project as outlined in the safeguard policies of the World Bank (O.P 4.12). Compensation and resettlement should aim at restoring project affected persons livelihoods or making them better. But the government valuer insists on compensation on the depreciation cost.
There are also claims that BEL has failed its contractual obligations to provide adequate staff for design approval and routine supervision.
BEL has allegedly provided only one engineer, Mr. John Berry.
However, a senior BEL official who preferred anonymity said that claim was false.
“We have enough engineers on the ground,” he said, “those claims must be coming from UETCL but it is not correct at all.”
The delayed handover of the wayleaves corridor to the contractor to carry out works is causing concern among project implementers.
In some areas, like part of the 17.5 Km Kawanda – Mutundwe 132 KV line stretch, it has not been possible to access the line corridor at all.
UETCL has established consulting committees in Mutundwe, Nsangi, Nabweru, Nangabo, Kira, Kawega, Mukono, Nagojje, Najemba, Wakiso and Njeru.
Compensation options include, either a plot with a model house at Namusera in Wakiso district or building materials worth Shs 25 million or Shs five million as cost of labour, and Shs 300,000 for transport plus 30% of the value of a person’s property as disturbance fee.
Many affected families have rejected relocation to Namusera as too rural, without running water and electricity.
“We are not refugees to be relocated,” said Douglas Nsubuga, chairman of the disgruntled residents, “let them compensate us (with cash) and we get plots of our choice.” He said that those who preferred to be compensated with houses signed while those who wanted a monetary compensation declined to sign.
But Nsubuga said he has heard complaints from those who chose houses that the prices of the construction materials were inflated and the houses are of poor quality.
But UETCL is equally determined to compensate in kind. It claims that experience shows that once affected people are paid cash, they use the money to cater for personal expenses and forget its purpose.
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