Theft at Chidambaram's Chennai house
Chennai, July 8: Cash and jewellery worth around Rs 250,000 were reported stolen from former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's residence here, police said on Sunday.
According to police, the theft was noticed by Chidambaram's wife Nalini Chidambaram on Saturday night on her return to home when she noticed that one cupboard was open and cash and jewellery kept there missing.
Cash to the tune of about Rs 150,000, jewellery worth about Rs 100,000 and some silk sarees were stolen.
A police complaint was filed and on checking the closed circuit camera footage, two maids were seen entering the house. Police said the theft would have happened about 10 days ago when the Chidambaram's were not in the city.
On confirming the involvement of their maids in the theft, the Chidambaram's have made a request to withdraw the complaint.
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Centre doubles fines for stubble burning
New Delhi, Nov 7: The Centre has doubled the fine for farmers burning crop residue in view of the deteriorating air quality in the Delhi-NCR region, the penalty going up to Rs 30,000 for those with more than five acres of farmland.
According to the notification, which was published on Wednesday and comes following the Supreme Court's tough stance on the issue, farmers with less than two acres of land will now have to pay environmental compensation of Rs 5,000, up from Rs 2,500. And those with land between two and five acres will be fined Rs 10,000 instead of Rs 5,000.
Unfavourable meteorological conditions combined with vehicular emissions, paddy-straw burning, firecrackers, and other local pollution sources contribute to hazardous air quality levels in Delhi-NCR during late autumn and winters.
According to a Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) analysis, the city experiences peak pollution from November 1 to 15 when the number of stubble-burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana increases.
Major factors behind stubble burning include the paddy-wheat cropping system, cultivation of long-duration paddy varieties, mechanised harvesting that leaves standing crop stubble in the field, labour scarcity, and the lack of a viable market for crop residue.
Studies estimate that during peak burning periods, farm fires contribute up to 30 per cent of PM levels in the Delhi-NCR region and surrounding areas.
However, according to senior environmentalist Sunita Narain, the episodic burning of crop residue by farmers in winter is not the primary concern for poor air quality in Delhi-NCR. Instead, the persistent and major sources of pollution within the city, including transport and industries, are more worrisome.
