Nitin Gadkari. For the past six years, he has been advocating the benefits of electric vehicles and alternative fuels. Now, taking a step further, Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari has decided to shun his bulletproof government car in his constituency Nagpur, and only use an EV whenever he is there. This is a public awareness message, officials said.
Early Warning
BJP leader and former Union Minister Uma Bharti on Sunday took to social media to express grief over the Chamoli glacier calamity and recounted how she had made repeated requests to other ministries not to go ahead with dam projects there. “In the affidavit given by my ministry about the dam projects of Himalayan Uttarakhand, I had requested that Himalaya is a very sensitive place, so power projects should not be built on Ganga and its main tributaries.” At the time, BJP circles would be abuzz with how Bharti had frequent arguments with fellow ministers over power projects in the region.
Temple Donation
Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad who has played a key role in the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid case made a personal donation of Rs 11 lakh to the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Prasad had represented Ram Lalla, the deity, in the civil suit before the Allahabad High Court.
Rare Occasion
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Jairam Ramesh on Sunday sought inputs from members on the Demands for Grants in Budget 2021-22. While calling for such a feedback on Demand for Grants and discussions on the Budget falls within the purview of standing committees, this is rarely done, with Committees keeping to their primary mandate of discussing legislation. The committee will now discuss the Demands for Grants under the Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, MoEFCC, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and Department of Space. Members are to submit their views for discussion by February 15.
