VIJAYAWADA: The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) is pursuing the matter of sharing surplus Krishna water between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, said Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu. In a written reply to a question raised by YSRCP MP V Vijaya Sai Reddy in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, he said the KRMB’s River Management Committee (RMC) has been entrusted with the task of coming out with a policy for sharing the surplus water above 75 per cent of assured water in a water year between the two sibling States. He said both the States had failed to provide the information sought by the technical committee constituted by the ministry. Krishna River Water Disputes Tribunal’s tenure has been extended further to address the inter-state water disputes between both the States, the minister told the House.
Proposal to lift ban on mining beach sand
The Centre has sought advice and suggestions from various state governments for the proposal to lift the ban on mining beach sand and a few other atomic minerals, said Union Minister for Mines Prahalad Joshi. To a question from YSRC MP V Vijaya Sai Reddy in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, the minister said the proposal was for encouraging pollution-free industry and reducing the import of atomic minerals. He said various measures have been initiated to prevent illegal beach sand mining and specific laws have been enacted. However, he said his ministry has no data regarding illegal beach sand mining in the country.
Cess on fuel highest from Feb 2 to Nov 4 2021
The common man paid the highest of `31.50 and `30 as cess and surcharges between February 2 to November 4, 2021, to the centre per each litre of petrol they consumed. The excise duty and cess rates, which were `15 and `9 per litre on petrol and diesel, respectively, during October 2019, were increased later to generate resources for infrastructure and other development items of expenditure keeping in view the prevalent fiscal situation, said Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
In a reply to a question raised by Tirupati MP Maddila Gurumoorthy about the central excise duty levied during the last five years, the Minister revealed the surcharge and cess details levied by the centre and said that currently, the government collects `18.50 and `14 tax per litre on petrol and diesel, respectively.