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- The Supreme Court has recently directed the Union government to submit the report prepared by the committee addressing the ongoing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka regarding the sharing of water from the Pennaiyar River.
- About the Pennaiyar River:
- The Pennaiyar River is a significant watercourse in southern India, flowing through the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It is also known by various other names, including the South Pennar River, Dakshina Pinakini in Kannada, and Thenpennai, Ponnaiyar in Tamil.
- Course of the River:
- Origin: The river originates from the Nandi Hills in the Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka.
- The river then flows southward for approximately 80 km through Karnataka before entering northwestern Tamil Nadu. From there, it changes direction and flows southeastward, covering about 320 km, ultimately emptying into the Bay of Bengal at Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu.
- The river basin is surrounded by several ranges of the Eastern Ghats, such as the Velikonda Range, Nagari Hills, Javadu Hills, Shevaroy Hills, Chitteri Hills, and Kalrayan Hills. To the east, the basin is bounded by the Bay of Bengal.
- The basin spans an area of 16,019 square kilometers, with nearly 77% of it located in Tamil Nadu.
- The river has several major tributaries, including the Chinnar, Markanda, Vaniar, and Pamban.
- Bengaluru, the largest city within the river’s catchment area, is also the primary source of pollution for the river.
- The recent riots in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, have raised concerns about the effectiveness of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which was originally enacted to prevent such communal clashes. Critics now question whether the Act has become obsolete in addressing these issues.
- About the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991:
- The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, is designed to "prohibit the conversion of any place of worship and to ensure the preservation of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August 1947, along with related matters."
- Under the Act, no individual is allowed to convert any place of worship, whether it belongs to any religious denomination or section of that denomination, into a place of worship of a different religion or sect.
- The Act also restricts judicial involvement in matters regarding the religious nature of such places of worship.
- Exemptions:
- The law exempts the disputed site at Ayodhya, allowing legal proceedings in the Ayodhya case to continue despite the Act's enforcement.
- Additionally, the Act excludes:
- Places of worship that are ancient monuments or archaeological sites covered under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
- Disputes that have been legally settled or disposed of.
- Any place of worship that has been converted with consent before the Act came into force.
- Recently, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Climate Club introduced the Global Matchmaking Platform (GMP).
- The GMP aims to accelerate the decarbonization of high-emission industries in emerging and developing economies.
- The concept of the Global Matchmaking Platform was launched in December 2023 at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), alongside the formation of the Climate Club.
- The platform connects the specific needs of countries with global technical and financial support to reduce emissions in energy-intensive and high-emission industrial sectors.
- It links countries to a network of partners offering comprehensive assistance for industrial decarbonization, including policy development, technology transfer, and investment facilitation to promote the transition to zero and low-emission industrial practices. This includes support for enhancing national emissions reduction targets.
- The GMP allows countries to customize their decarbonization strategies while simplifying access to expert guidance and resources from partner organizations to achieve substantial emissions reductions.
- The GMP, designed as a support mechanism for the Climate Club, is hosted by UNIDO, with its activities backed by the Climate Club interim Secretariat, which is jointly managed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).