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GS Paper: GS3-13.Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc:

  • Kozhikode-Wayanad Tunnel Project

    Kerala CM has launched a tunnel road project that would connect Kozhikode with Wayanad.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.From the ecological point of view, which one of the following assumes importance in being a good link between the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats?

    (a) Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve

    (b) Nallamala Forest

    (c) Nagarhole National Park

    (d) Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve

    Kozhikode-Wayanad Tunnel Project

    • The 7-km tunnel, being described as the third-longest in the country, is part of an 8-km road cutting through sensitive forests and hills of the Western Ghats.
    • Its endpoints are at Maripuzha in Thiruvambady village panchayat (Kozhikode) and Kalladi in Meppadi panchayat (Wayanad).
    • The tunnel is an outcome of a decades-long campaign for an alternative road as the Thamarassery Ghat Road is congested and gets blocked by landslides during heavy monsoon.

    How will the road impact the ecology?

    • The Forest Department has identified the proposed route as a highly sensitive patch comprising evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, marshlands and shola tracts.
    • This region is part of an elephant corridor spread between Wayanad and Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu.
    • Two major rivers, Chaliyar and Kabani that flows to Karnataka, originate from these hills in Wayanad.
    • Eruvazhanjipuzha, a tributary of Chaliyar and the lifeline of settlements in Malappuram and Kozhikode, begins in the other side of the hills.
    • The region, known for torrential rain during the monsoon, has witnessed several landslides, including in 2019 at Kavalappura near Nilambur and at Puthumala, Meppadi in Wayanad.

    Environmental clearance issues

    • Proponents of the project have been stressing that the tunnel will not destroy forest (trees).
    • The MoEFCC guidelines state that the Forest Act would apply not only to surface area but the entire underground area beneath the trees.
    • For tunnel projects, conditions relating to underground mining would be applicable.
    • As the proposed tunnel is 7 km long, it will require emergency exit points and air ventilation wells among other measures, which would impact the forest further.

  • ATAL: World’s Longest Highway Tunnel

    PM Modi has inaugurated the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang at an altitude of above 3,000 metres in Himachal Pradesh.

    Refer this link to read more about Himalayan passes and rivers

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/the-northern-and-northeastern-mountains-part-1/

    Atal Tunnel

    • The 9.02 km-long-tunnel, built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), is the world’s longest highway tunnel and connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley.
    • It provides all-weather connectivity to the landlocked valley of Lahaul-Spiti, which remains cut-off for nearly six months in a year as the Rohtang Pass is usually snow-bound between November and April.
    • Before the tunnel construction, the Lahaul Valley used to remain closed for vehicular movement due to bad weather conditions.
    • It reduces the distance by 46 km between Manali and Leh and the travel time by about 4 to 5 hours. It is expected to boost tourism and winter sports in the region.
    • The tunnel, also significant from the military logistics viewpoint, will provide better connectivity to the armed forces in reaching Ladakh.

  • [pib] Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS)

    The first look of India’s first RRTS train on Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor has been unveiled.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following pairs:

    National Highway: Cities connected

    1. NH 4: Chennai and Hyderabad
    2. NH 6: Mumbai and Kolkata
    3. NH 15: Ahmedabad and Jodhpur

    Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 only

    (c) 1, 2 and 3

    (d) None

    About the RRTS train

    • The Delhi–Meerut RRTS is an 82.15 km long, under-construction, semi-high speed rail corridor connecting Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut.
    • It is one of the three rapid-rail corridors planned under Phase-I of Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) project of National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).
    • With a maximum speed of 160 km/h (99.42 mph), the distance between Delhi and Meerut will be covered in around 62 min (1.03 h).
    • With radiating stainless steel outer body, these aerodynamic RRTS trains will be lightweight and fully air-conditioned.
    • Each car will have six automatic plug-in type wide doors, three on each side for ease of access and exit.

  • [pib] Kosi Rail Mahasetu

    PM has dedicated to the nation the historic Kosi Rail Mahasetu (mega-bridge).

    Kosi Rail Mahasetu

    • The Kosi Mega Bridge line project was sanctioned during 2003-04.
    • The bridge is 1.9 km long. It is of strategic importance along the India-Nepal border.
    • In 1887, a meter gauge link was built in between Nirmali and Bhaptiahi (Saraigarh).
    • During the heavy flood and severe Indo Nepal earthquake in 1934, the rail link was washed away and thereafter due to meandering nature of river Kosi no attempt was made to restore this Rail link for long period.
    • The dedication of the mega-bridge is a watershed moment in the history of Bihar and the entire region connecting to the North East.

    About Kosi River

    • The Kosi is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, Nepal and India.
    • The river crosses into northern Bihar, India where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district.
    • Its unstable nature has been attributed course changes and the heavy silt it carries during the monsoon season, and flooding in India has extreme effects.
    • It is also known as the “Sorrow of Bihar” as the annual floods affect about 21,000 km2 of fertile agricultural lands thereby disturbing the rural economy.

  • What are SAROD-Ports?

    Union Ministry of Shipping has e-launched ‘SAROD-Ports’ (Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes – Ports).

    Try this MCQ:

    Q.The term SAROD is sometimes seen in the news with context to governance is related to:

    (a) Disputes Redressal

    (b) Employment

    (c) Sustainable Development

    (d) None of the above

    SAROD Ports

    SAROD-Ports are established under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 with the following objectives:

    1. Affordable and timely resolution of disputes in a fair manner
    2. Enrichment of Dispute Resolution Mechanism with the panel of technical experts as arbitrators.
    • They consist of members from the Indian Ports Association (IPA) and Indian Private Ports and Terminals Association (IPTTA).
    • They will advise and assist in settlement of disputes through arbitrations in the maritime sector, including ports and shipping sector in Major Port Trusts, Non-major Ports, including private ports, jetties, terminals and harbours.
    • It will also cover disputes between granting authority and Licensee/Concessionaire /Contractor.

  • Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM)

    As a first step towards Greening the Indian short term power market, the  Ministry of Power and New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has launched pan-India Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) in electricity.

    About GTAM

    • GTAM is an alternative new model introduced for selling off the power by the renewable developers in the open market without getting into long term PPAs.
    • This would promote RE merchant capacity addition and help in achieving RE capacity addition targets of the country.

    Benefits of GTAM

    • It would lessen the burden on the RE-rich States and incentivize them to develop RE capacity beyond their own RPO.
    • It will benefit buyers of RE through competitive prices and transparent and flexible procurement. It will also benefit RE sellers by providing access to the pan- India market

    Key features

    • Transactions through GTAM will be bilateral in nature with clear identification of corresponding buyers and sellers, there will not be any difficulty in accounting for RPO.
    • GTAM contracts will be segregated into Solar RPO & Non-Solar RPO as RPO targets are also segregated.
    • Further, within the two segments, GTAM contracts will have Green Intraday, Day Ahead Contingency, Daily and Weekly Contracts
    • Green Intraday Contract & Day Ahead Contingency Contract – Bidding will take place on a 15-minute time-block wise MW basis.
    • Daily & Weekly Contracts – Bidding will take place on an MWh basis.
    • Price discovery will take place on a continuous basis i.e. price-time priority basis. Subsequently, looking at the market conditions open auction can be introduced for daily & weekly contracts.
    • Energy scheduled through GTAM contract shall be considered as deemed RPO compliance of the buyer.

  • AGR dues issue in Telecom Sector

    The Supreme Court has held that telecom firms will get 10 years to clear their adjusted gross revenue or AGR dues and that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) should decide whether or not spectrum can be sold under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. In India, which of the following review the independent regulators in sectors like telecommunications, insurance, electricity, etc.?

    1. Ad Hoc Committees set up by the Parliament
    2. Parliamentary Department Related Standing Committees
    3. Finance Commission
    4. Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission
    5. NITI Aayog

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2

    (b) 1, 3 and 4

    (c) 3, 4 and 5

    (d) 2 and 5

    Supreme Court rule on AGR dues

    • In its judgment, the SC gave all telcos a 10-year timeline to complete the payments of AGR dues, instead of the old 20-year schedule suggested by the DoT.
    • It also directed telcos to pay 10 per cent of the total AGR dues by March 31, 2020, following which they can make payments in annual instalments between 2021 and 2031.
    • The non-payment of dues in any year would lead to the accrual of interest and invite contempt of court proceedings against such companies.
    • A crucial issue of whether the spectrum could be sold under IBC will now be decided by the National Company Law Tribunal.

    What is AGR?

    • Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) is the usage and licensing fee that telecom operators are charged by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
    • It is divided into spectrum usage charges and licensing fees, pegged between 3-5 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.

    What is the issue about?

    • All the telecom companies that operate in India pay a part of their revenues as licence fee and spectrum charges to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for using the spectrum owned by the government.
    • In its definition of AGR, the DoT had said that telcos must cover all the revenue earned by them, including from non-telecom sources such as deposit interests and sale of assets.
    • The telecom companies were opposed to this and had challenged this definition of AGR in several forums, including the Supreme Court.
    • On October 24, 2019, the SC had upheld the DoT’s definition of AGR.
    • Though the telcos sought a review of the judgment, it was dismissed by the top court which had then insisted that telcos clear all the dues by January 23, 2020.

  • Atal Tunnel at Rohtang

    The Atal Tunnel at Rohtang, near Manali, is almost complete in all respects and will be inaugurated very soon in September.

    Tap to read more about Himalayas at:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/the-northern-and-northeastern-mountains-part-1/

    Atal Tunnel

    • The 9-km-long tunnel is constructed under the Pir Panjal range.
    • It has been named after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and will be the world’s longest highway tunnel above the altitude of 10,000 feet (3000 metres).
    • It was scheduled to be completed by May 2020, in a revised estimate, but the Covid-19 pandemic pushed back the completion by a few months due to lockdown conditions.
    • Vehicles can travel at a maximum speed of 80 km per hour. Up to 1,500 trucks and 3,000 cars are expected to use it per day when the situation gets to normal.

    What is its strategic advantage?

    • Cutting through the Pir Panjal range, the tunnel will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km.
    • The tunnel will provide almost all-weather connectivity to the troops stationed in Ladakh.

  • River Ropeway over Brahmaputra

     India’s ‘longest’ river ropeway across the Brahmaputra River was unveiled in Guwahati.

    Navigate to this page for more readings on Brahmaputra River systems:

    Brahmaputra River System

    Brahmaputra Ropeway

    • The 1.82 km bi-cable jig-back ropeway connects the southern bank of the Brahmaputra and a hillock behind the Doul Govinda temple in North Guwahati on the other.
    • It passes over the mid-river Peacock Island that houses Umananda, a medieval Shiva temple.
    • It thus cuts travel time between the two banks to 8 minutes.
    • The current travel options between the two banks are by ferry (30 minutes or more, depending on current and season) or by road through a bridge that usually takes over an hour in the traffic.

  • In news: Srisailam Dam

    The major fire accident at the Srisailam hydroelectric power station has resulted in heavy loss of lives.

    Try this PYQ:

    What is common to the places known as Aliyar, Isapur and Kangsabati? (CSP 2019)

    (a) Recently discovered uranium deposits

    (b) Tropical rain forests

    (c) Underground cave systems

    (d) Water reservoirs

    About Srisailam Dam

    • The Srisailam Dam is constructed across the Krishna River in Kurnool district, AP near Srisailam temple town.
    • It is the 2nd largest capacity working hydroelectric station in the country.
    • The dam was constructed in a deep gorge in the Nallamala Hills in between Kurnool and Mahabubnagar districts, 300 m (980 ft) above sea level.
    • It has a reservoir of 616 square kilometres.