All steel to be allowed to be used for Highway construction

All lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways will be declared as FASTag lane from Monday midnight.  Road, Transport and Highways Ministry said, this has been done to further promote fee payment through digital mode, reduce waiting time and fuel consumption, and provide for a seamless passage through the fee plazas. As per NH Fee Rules 2008, any vehicle not fitted with FASTag or vehicle without valid, functional FASTag entering into the FASTag lane of the fee plaza will pay a fee equivalent to two times of the fee applicable to that category.The Ministry had mandated fitment of FASTag in M and N categories of motor vehicles with effect from 1st January this year. Category - M stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying passengers. While Category - N stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying goods, which may also carry persons in addition to goods.

-Government has said  that all steel be allowed to be used for National Highway construction as long as it meets the standards required for specific grades of steel. Whether produced from ore, billets, pellets or melting of scrap, the steel proposed to be used will  be tested in NABL-accredited laboratories as a third party check before approval. The Road Transport and Highways  Ministry has issued orders in this regard.  The move is based on the analysis and discussions with stakeholders and also technical opinion.
Earlier, the contract provisions required use of steel produced by primary or integrated steel producers only. In view of the increase in steel prices, which can impact the cost of building national highways,  Road Transport and  Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had suggested the need to re-look at all conditions which could be restrictive, without impacting the quality of material used for highway construction.

-Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora has informed that assembly  election schedule for Kerala will be finalized taking into account upcoming festivals like Vishu, Easter, Ramzan. The polls will also be finalized in such a manner that it does not interfere with the CBSE and State Board exams. Arora was speaking at the press conference in Thiruvananthapuram after the detailed discussions with various sections, in last  two days taking stock of the preparedness of the State for upcoming assembly polls.The  LDF Government has requested that,the elections be conducted before the second week of April. The opposition  UDF too demanded the same. However BJP's poll preference is during the month of May. Chief Election Commissioner also informed that the elections will be held adhering to strict covid guidelines. The State Government has communicated that it is well equipped for the conduct of polls. Additional 15,000 polling booths will be arranged in the State in the context of Covid pandemic. CEC also added that all the political coalitions has requested the Central team, that the elections for all the 140 constituencies to be conducted on the same day.

-In Punjab, the 70 to 80 percent polling reported in most of the local bodies while some of the municipal corporations and municipal councils witnessed low polling where the incidents of violence were reported.Former Punjab minister and SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said, "Despite warnings, state election commission took no concrete steps to control the situation and ensure free and fair polling". He has also demanded "countermanding of elections at all places where there were large scale booth capturing and violent incidents.

-In Uttarakhand, after 7 days since the flash flood hit the raini village and tapovan NTPC project in chamoli district bodies of the missing people are being recovered from the debris. Rescue teams have managed to recover 13 bodies on Sunday. 7 bodies were recovered near Raini village and 6 from the tunnel at the Tapowan.Till date 51 bodies have been recovered and around 153 people are still missing.

-In Spain, Catalonia voted on Sunday in an election overshadowed by the pandemic and which Madrid hopes will unseat the region's ruling separatists more than three years after a failed bid to break away from Spain.The vote in the wealthy northeastern region could see a high level of abstentions as Spain battles a third wave of coronavirus infections.Polls suggest turnout could be around just 60 percent, compared to roughly 80 percent during the last regional election in December 2017. Some 5.5 million people are eligible to vote.