JK, Ladakh is to come under the jurisdiction of CAT
Context :
The Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh will soon be covered by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). The announcement was made by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh at the annual conference of the CAT in New Delhi.
CAT in J&K :
- The CAT tribunal which will be set up will have jurisdiction to handle disputes and other issues related to the UT services.
- So far, the CAT had jurisdiction only over central services issues in J&K.
- Until an exclusive bench of CAT will be set up in Jammu and Kashmir, the Chandigarh bench of the tribunal may attend to the service disputes and other cases from the Union territory.
GISAT-1 — Geo Imaging Satellite
Context :
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to launch GISAT-1, a new earth observation satellite, in the first week of March.
- It will be the first of two planned Indian EO spacecraft to be placed in a geostationary orbit of around 36,000 km.
- It will apparently be in a fixed spot looking over the Indian continent at all times.
- It will have high-resolution cameraswhich will help to monitor any changes in borders and the overall geographical condition of the country, etc.
Background:
Earth Observation Satellites of ISRO has been successfully able to establish many operational applications in the country. Both at Central and State level, there are large number of users who utilise space based inputs for various purposes. Some of the important missions of ISRO, in terms of IRS series of satellites, that has enabled unique applications of space based imaging are, Cartosat-1 & 2, Resourcesat-1 & 2, Oceansat-1 & 2, Risat-1, Megha-Tropiques, SARAL, Scatsat, INSAT series, and host of other satellites.
Wildfires in the Mukurthi National Park
Context :
Ahead of summer and peak fire season, ‘fire lines’ or ‘fire breaks’, in the Mukurthi National Park (MNP) are being constructed by the Tamil Nadu government.
Key Points :
- Fire line is an artificially formed break in foliage or forest cover to control the spread of wildfires by limiting the amount of combustible vegetation available.
- Other Measures Being Taken to Control Wildfires in the Park :
- Cool Burning : Cool burning is done in a controlled manner by artificially creating small, localised fires to limit the amount of vegetation available in any given area. It means that any fires will not have any build-up of “vegetative fuel” to use to become a large, uncontrollable fire.
- Removal of invasive trees such as wattle is also being done in the Park in order to reduce the fuel for wildfires.
Wildfires
- Wildfire is a general term which includes any uncontrolled, unplanned forest fires, grassland fires, bushfires, brush fires and any other vegetation fire in countryside areas.
- Wildfires occur in every continent except Antarctica.
Mukurthi National Park :
- Extent: Mukurthi National Park (MNP) is located in the northwest corner of Tamil Nadu in the Western Ghats.
- It is a part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO World Heritage Site) along with Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole National Park, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Silent Valley.
- Keystone Species : The park was created to protect its keystone species, the Nilgiri Tahr.
- There has been almost a 27% increase in the population of the Tahr in the Nilgiris over the last few years.
- Forest Type: The park is characterised by montane grasslands and shrublands interspersed with sholas in a high altitude area of high rainfall, near-freezing temperatures and high winds.
- Peaks: The Park is also home to Mukurthi Peak, one of the highest peaks in the Nilgiri Hills.
- Tribes Living Inside: Todas
- Todas are a pastoral tribe of the Nīlgiri Hills.
New Species of Urban Lizard
In news :
- A new species of lizard, the urban bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus urbanus) was discovered in Guwahati, Assam.
- The bent-toed gecko was earlier thought to be the same as the Khasi Hills lizard.
- All bent-toed geckos in Northeast India were thought to be a single species, the Cyrtodactylus khasiensis found primarily in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya.
- Although the urban bent-toed gecko falls within the khasiensis group, it differs from other members of this group in mitochondrial sequence data and aspects of morphology (Branch of biology that deals with form and structure of plants and animals).
- Markedly Different: The new species of lizard is also markedly different in molecular structure, blotch and colour from the Cyrtodactylus guwahatiensis, or the Guwahati bent-toed gecko, that was discovered two years ago.
- Urbanization is a major threat to the survival of geckos.
- Guwahati is home to numerous important species. The city provides an edge for urban biodiversity to thrive because it encompasses 18 hills, 8 reserve forests, 2 wildlife sanctuaries and a Ramsar Site (Deepor Beel) besides the Brahmaputra river.
NH 66 expansion hit more lives, ecology than estimated
In news:
- The expansion of National Highway 66 (NH 66) from Karwar to Kundapura has impacted many more lives and livelihoods of coastal families of Uttara Kannada
- It was argued that the construction of the highway would bring development in all areas it passed through and led to economic growth of the region
- The project Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report did not estimate the population that would be affected by environmental impacts, instead giving only the estimate of people who would be affected by land acquisition for the project.
From Prelims Point of View :
NH 66 :
- Runs roughly north–south along the western coast of India
- Connects Panvel (a city south of Mumbai) to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari),
- Passing through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.