With beginning of rainy season, sowing in farms has started. Even at this stage crisis in availability of fertilizer is continuing in Raisen (Madhya Pradesh). Fertilizers & seeds are not available at private shops in sufficient quantities. Whereas, farmers are not availing certified seeds of soyabean, paddy & other crops. It is said that before sowing of soyabean farmers spread super phosphate fertilizer in their farms. After that they spread DAP with seeds. At present the farmers's work of sowing is delayed due to non availability of fertilizers.

For the first time in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's history, cattle owners will have to obtain a licence from the civic agency. The new cattle policy of MCD is in offing in compliance with the high court order.Right from 1958, the year of implementation of the Delhi Municipal Act, not even a single licence of dairy has been issued. But now with the new licence policy of cattle, it would be binding on each cattle owner to obtain a licence

Naxalites have intensified their efforts to control economy of Bastar region (Chhattisgarh). Within days of imposing a 2-day economic blockade in parts of Chhattisgarh—the blockade was held on June 26 and 27—the Naxals have issued a warning to tribal villagers to stop all farming activities in region. The diktat was passed in pamphlets that were pasted in villages. The villagers have been instructed to desist from farming. They have even been asked to stay away from the fields.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee hit New Delhi with a bhookha michhil in her Ist-ever rally outside the state, organised to protest against the acquisition of farmland for industry in West Bengal. A day after meeting President A P J Abdul Kalam with her grievances, Mamata met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Mamta Banerjee said that the Prime Minister is feeling sorry about the whole incident. He said he will do whatever he can to resolve the issue.

Declaring war on the Tatas, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan led an eviction task force in Munnar during a heavy downpour, personally pulling down boards of Tata Tea Ltd and replacing them with State Government boards. Promising to “reclaim every bit of government land” from the company in the hill resort, Achuthanandan said he would “stop at nothing” until his government took back over 50,000 acres. The land, he alleged, had been grabbed by the Tatas.

The holy cow is not being properly looked after at the cowshed owned and maintained by the Guruvayoor Temple, say devotees and saffron organisations. The neglect by temple authorities has claimed over a hundred cattle in the past year. Although temple authorities admit a cow dies every two days on average at the cowshed, they are not willing to take responsibility for the deaths.

The Centre has agreed in principle to the Bihar government's demand for subsidy on diesel and hybrid seeds for farmers. Bihar is among the eastern states identified by the Centre from where the next big agricultural growth push during the 11th Five Year Plan would come. The National Development Commission (NDC) has set the target of four percent per annum agricultural growth rate fo the next four years.

The rehabilitation and resettlement policy mooted by the Centre could be delayed inordinately with the GOM deciding to consult the States afresh. The policy piloted by the Union Rural Development Ministry, faced new challenge as the members in GOM did not agree on the basic tenets of the policy. The policy prepared by the Rural Development Minister called for exclusive fixing of responsibility on the industries concerned to buy land for any project.

The government will spend Rs 4,882 crore in the 11th Plan to ensure availability of rice, wheat and pulses under the new National Food Security Mission (NFSM). The National Development Council has approved the scheme aimed at ensuring adequate supply of essential commodities. The fund would be released as the Centre’s budgetary support to achieve 10 million tonne additional production of rice. Similarly, additional production of 8 million tonne wheat and 2 million tonne pulses has been envisaged under the scheme, an official said. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar would be the major beneficiaries of the scheme.

Leader of the opposition in the Legislation Council H K Patil demanded that the government stop the land acquisition process for the proposed BMRDA townships and SEZs in Bangalore Rural district as no environment impact assessment study has been done on these projects. Mr Patil said that it was a matter of serious concern that the government was going ahead with allotment of land for establishing integrated townships and SEZs.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL), in a bid to cash in on the usage of its clean development mechanism technology is looking to tap global exchanges in US or Europe which trade in clean energy. In its efforts to acquire greenhouse gas reduction credits (carbon credits), BMRCL has decided to approach the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to register the clean development mechanism (CDM) being implemented in the project—an alternate transport mechanism for Bangalore that does not run on fossil fuels.

The difference in price between European Union emission permits and United Nations credits offers EU industry a chance to make as much as $1 billion a year in profit, a Fortis analyst said. Factories and power stations in Europe need a permit for each metric ton of CO2 they emit, under the EU's carbon-emissions trading system, the world's largest. They can also use credits from United Nations-approved projects that curb emissions in developing nations.

The whole world, especially the developed economies represented by the G-8, may be animatedly discussing the alarming fallout of pollution & global warming, but carmakers are busy producing record number of vehicles. Auto manufacturers produced a record 67 million vehicles in 2006, putting more cars on the road than ever before. Global production grew 4% last year. China increased production by nearly 30%, overtaking Germany to become the third largest producer, according to Worldwatch Institute.

The delay of Assam state in adopting its water policy may prevent it from securing around Rs 15,000 crore Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan. This may also impede its efforts at asserting its rights over the inter-State and international rivers coursing through the State. Meanwhile, States like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan have adopted their water policies and the Government of India (GoI) has also approved them. But Assam’s Cabinet Memorandum for constitution of the State Water Resources Council and the State Water Board for formulating the State Water Policy has remained to be adopted.

LNJ Bhilwara group company Malana Power Company (MPCL) has won the bid to set up two hydel power projects with a combined capacity of 340 mw in Himachal Pradesh. The state government had invited bids for four hydropower projects. Other two projects of 180 mw and 108 mw have been awarded to GMR Energy and DCM Shriram Infrastructure, respectively.

Scores of Congres activists led by MLA MK Somashekar, Krishnaraja, staged a demonstration in fron of the office of the command area development authority in protest against the release of water to Tamil Nadu from the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir. The protestors threatened to intensify their agitation if the release of water was not halted immediately.

Deepender Singh Hooda, MP, has reiterated that equal distribution of canal waters for drinking and irrigational supplies in every part of Haryana state was one of the top priorities of the state government. Hooda chided the previous governments in the state for discriminating against Rohtak, Sonepat and Panipat, by diverting the share of canal water supplies in Hissar and Sirsa.

Not at all pleased with the Irrigation Department officials and also Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah on the inferior quality construction of a few ongoing irrigation projects, Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy is understood to have vented his ire at them. With some canals developing breaches in the recent rains, quality of the construction has come in for question.The understaffed Irrigation Department is hesitant to take stringent action against the officials responsible for the serious lapse.

The third phase of the Indiramma programme will be taken up in November 2007.Mr Venkateswara Rao said that about 60 per cent of the villages were selected under the scheme and development works were taken up in the first and second phases of the Indiramma programme. The minister announced that the health scheme, Arogyasri, would be sanctioned to West Godavari district shortly wherein the poor would get financial assistance upto Rs 2 lakhs for medical purposes.

Globalisation and privatisation has paved the way for more industrial activity in the State in general and in East Godavari in particular. The Peddapuram industrial area tops the list with 1,900 acres in the district. This area starts from Peddapuram town limits on the Asian Development Bank Road to Surampalem in Rangampeta area.

Asom Education Minister Ripun Bora today asked Sarba Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) Mission Director to submit him a report on the use of SSA funds during the fiscal 2006-07. It may be mentioned here that the performance of SSA fund utilization of Asom was very poor in 2006-07. The State could use only 57 per cent of SSA funds released during the fiscal, and based on the performance of utilization of funds, the State was ranked 32nd among the 35 States and Union territories in the country by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

As many as 45 lakhs people living in 23,000 villages of the State are being benefited because of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). Ananth Kumar, chairman of the Parliamentary standing committee on finance disclosed. Committee members, led by Mr Ananth Kumar, inspected the implementation of the NREGS at Chillakur in Nellore. Referring to the inspection, Mr Ananth Kumar said that it was the first time the committee visited work spots.

While Mayor Shubha Raul is an ardent supporter of the anti-plastic drive, her own backyard, the Dadar seafront, has turned into a huge dumpong ground of plastic. The Dadar beach, where the Mayor's official residence is located, has turned into an ugly palstic bed after the first monsoon showere. And things are equally bad at Juhu and Girgaum chowpatty.

Following a Supreme Court directive, environmental education has been made part of the school curriculum from the first standard to SSC to create awareness on environment among school children.To translate environmental awareness into concrete action, the Andhra Pradesh National Green Corps (APNGC) is involving students in the form of National Green Corps Eco Clubs.

A three-member team of agriculture scientists from Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, visited the world heritage Mahabodhi Mahavihara campus and collected samples of bark, leaves and branches of the holy Bodhi tree to ascertain the period when a branch had been cut off. The Bodhi tree has been in controversy for the last one year following reports that one of its branches was cut off.

The plantation drive of the Noida Authority (NA) was inaugurated by the Chief Executive Officer, Monica Garg of the authority by planting a neem sapling in the green belt area of sector 100. The green belt is being developed in an area of 9.5 acre to plant 3,750 plants. To increase greenery in Noida, the authority is planning to plant 1.5 lakh plants in this monsoon season out of total target of two lakhs for the year 2007-08. The main areas of focus are sector 83, 88, 100 and 121.

Bhairabkunda - the place widely known in the state for it’s natural scenic beauty is still lacking behind in all spheres of development. For long the area has been hit by drinking water crisis as well as severe drawbacks in the health care sector. The people here use the flowing water directly from the river and farming canals to quench their thirst.The BTC government has proposed several schemes for the development of this beautiful tourist spot but no headway in this regard can be seen.

Heritage sites in Bihar maybe turned into location shooting destinations to give a boost to the tourism industry. Though some Bhojpuri filmakers have already been capturing beauty of green zones in and around Patna, shots of the heritage locations would add glamour to the spots.

The West Bengal Heritage Commission will soon start functioning as an independent body, which means it will not have to wait for the government’s consent to declare a building a “heritage structure”. The West Bengal Heritage Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2007, passed by the Assembly seeks to make the panel independent. The bill had proposed some changes to the West Bengal Heritage Commission Act, 2001. The bill clarifies that the commission’s activities will not remain restricted to giving suggestions to the government. Instead, it will be entitled to take its own decisions and will have the power to implement them.

In a positive step aimed to combat the stigma against HIV/AIDS, the Department of Internal Medicine at PGI in Chandigarh has encouraged HIV-positive individuals to apply for 2 posts advertised recently. The advertisement mentions posts of a staff nurse &care coordinator. The advertisement also clearly mentions “HIV+ individuals are encouraged to apply”. The advertisement was put forth by the State AIDS Control Society (SACS), Chandigarh, on behalf of PGI. This is in tandem with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) policy to encourage HIV-positive people to join the workforce.

A mother and child health mission launched by Maharashtra in 2005 has met remarkable success, with the number of malnourished children in the state estimated to be down by six lakh. The deaths of 14 children due to malnutrition in Bhaduli of Aurangabad in 2000 had promoted the Maharashtra state Government to launch the Rajmata Jijau Mother-Child Health and Nutrition Mission, targeted at fighting malnutrition among children in the 0-6 age group.

One Jintu Hajong, a six-and-a-half- year-old child of Muktiar Chapari Hajong gaon under Sissiborgaon block in Dhemaji (Assam), died of encephalitis on June 30 at Dhemaji civil hospital.According to official sources, eight other children of Dhemaji district including five of Sissiborgaon block have been suffering from encephalitis.

Making rapid strides in clinical research, the Sawai Man Singh Medical College here has embarked on an ambitious project for stem cell therapy to undertake clinical trials for treatment of serious diseases and joined the global efforts to develop the frontier science to achieve the “miracle cure” offering new hope to patients.

People of Kidathirukai and adjoining villages in the district are in a state of panic about a mysterious fever which claimed two lives recently.As many as 50 persons have been undergoing treatment at the Paramakudi and Mudukulathur hospitals.According to sources the Paramakudi Health Department, the reason for the fever was that the villagers had consumed contaminated drinking water.

The good bacteria are flavour of the season with a huge increase in number of probiotic drugs & food supplements in market. Probiotics, the new generation biotic drugs & dietary supplements developed from yeast or lactic acid bacteria, has seen a spurt in last 5 years. Although lacto bacilli, the good bacteria in abdomen, has been available in form of capsule for years, last 5 years has seen more & more pharma companies come out with probiotic capsules of various combinations.

After being outlawed for almost four decades, DDT is making a comeback in the world as one of the most effective agents of malaria control — and this has translated to good business for India. Not only is India seen as a success story using DDT to control malaria deaths — its use as a fertilizer was banned in 1972 — it’s today the largest producer of DDT and the second-largest exporter after China.

Altogether eight children of forest dwellers have died due to malnutrition in the Similipal National Park in north Orissa between April and June in 2007.Commenting on the situation in Similipal, collector-incharge of Mayurbhanj district Sushil Kumar Das said, they are aware of the deaths. The people don't starve,but their food lacks nutrition making them easy prey to various diseasesa. Children are the worst sufferers.

As many as 100 Komarulu villagers were severely affected by diarrhoea. District collector K. Devanand visited the village and suspended the MPDO Nageswar Rao, who is also the in-charge sarpanch of Komarulu, for negligence of duties.People of Islampet are suffering from diarrhoea for the past two days. Many people suffering with the disease are reportedly taking treatment at private hospitals as there is scarcity of medical staff at the Primary Health Centre (PHC).

Attitudinal change is the need of the hour to curb female foeticide and more representation from medical fraternity should be made, speakers said at a seminar on female foeticide.Hosted jointly by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Tiruchi Branch, Tiruchi Obstetric and Gynaecological Society (TRIOGS) and People’s Development Initiative, the seminar was in tune with the objective of slashing the female foeticide rate, which is high in rural areas.

Sixteen cases of cholera were reported from the city in the last one month, mainly caused by consumption of contaminated water. The mixing up of old drainage pipes with drinking water pipelines in the old city and leakages are reported to be causing faecal contamination of water. Health minister Sambani Chandrasekhar has asked water officials to check pipelines every week for leaks. Health officials will test food and water samples from 3,500 hotels and close those found to be unhygienic.

Research showing that 750,000 people die prematurely in China each year from pollution was cut from a World Bank report following pressure from Beijing. China's State Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and health ministry asked the World Bank to remove the figures from a draft of the report finished last year that stated about 750,000 people die prematurely each year from pollution. China also successfully pushed for the removal of a detailed map showing which parts of the country suffered the most deaths

The Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecologtical Societies of India (FOGSI) and Bihar Obstetric Gynaecological Society(BOGS) orgainsed a march past and a car rally to create mass awareness against female foeticide to mark the Doctors' Day as well as the birth anniversary of the first woman astronaut of India Kalpana Chawla.

It seems that Bihar has been making rapid strides in eradicating polio from the state. Only 17 polio cases have been registered in the state up to June 2007. In 2006, around 61 cases had come to light in 25 districts of the state.WHO consultant claimed this at a workshop on polio eradication programme.

Voluntary organizations have launched a campaign to prevent female foeticide by tracking sex ratio through birth registration. The drive is on in 12 blocks of 12 districts of Bihar. Ms Asitha of Adithi, an NGO, alleged that birth registration did not come in the priority list of the state government. Adithi, supported by the Plan India and the UNICEF, has launched awareness drive against female foeticide in these blocks.

Some of the nastiest bacteria that thrive in the human gut and make us sick may have evolved from hardy ancestors living deep under the sea, a group of Japanese scientists found. Writing in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists said they had analysed the genetic sequences of two well-known diseasecausing gut bugs and compared them to two closely related but harmless bacteria found deep on the ocean bed.

A large population of grey-shanked douc monkeys has been found in central Vietnam, raising hopes that the endangered species could be saved from extinction, wildlife scientists announced. At least 116 animals were observed in recent surveys in the central province of Quang Nam, experts from the environmental group WWF and Conservation International (CI) said in a statement.

The CID (crime) arrested a conspirator, Kalyan Singh, in the lion poaching case from Panna in Madhya Pradesh. Meanwhile, a court in Una, Junagadh, turned down the bail pleas of the accused arrested in this case earlier. Forensic evidence helped CID fight against bail petitions of the 34 persons from MP arrested on charges of poaching eight Asiatic lions in March this year. Traces of lion blood found on metal traps recovered from the accused matched with samples taken from the lion carcasses.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has issued a stiff warning that locust (teed) swarms from Somalia's north-eastern tip near Bosanno may hit Gujarat within the next few days. State officials, closely monitoring the new danger likely to hit grasslands in Kutch, Banaskantha, Patan, Porbander, Rajkot and Jamnagar.

Three hundred and three star tortoises that were smuggled to Malaysia last month returned to Chennai as a special consignment in the cargo plane of Indian. The tortoises were intercepted by Malaysian airport authorities and while formalities for their return were underway, seven had died. The rest were then packed in six cardboard boxes that allowed for ventilation during the 3-hour flight and sent to Chennai by the cargo plane.

The managers of the country's tiger resreves want the forthcoming meeting of the National Board for Wild Life to take up the issue of disturbances created in the nature parks and protected areas by exremist elements. They have recommended deployment of anti-poaching squads of exarmy personnel and patrolling parties of home guards and local work force on an urgent basis to the affected areas to complement the efforts of the frontline staff.

Greenpeace is finding itself at the receiving end of its campaign against the Damra port project in Orissa. The North Orissa University has accused the NGO of doctoring its report to suit its agenda.The Tatas plan to build a huge deep-sea port at Damra to import and export steel. Greenpeace had called the project an "ecological blunder" saying it would adversely impact rich biodiversity in the area. The NGO's claim was based on the university report citing the impact on endangered Olive Ridley turtles.

The Karnataka government has collected about Rs 300 crore from illegal miners in Bellary district alone during last one year and another Rs 600 crore is expected from Centre which has collected penalty of about Rs 2,000 crore in Bellary region. Forest Minister C Chennigappa clarified that the Government has not softened its stand against those indulging in illegal mining while stating that stern action have been initiated against such persons, companies and also against officials who have failed to check illegal mining.

Once regarded as the saviour, the much-hyped Brahmaputra Board has today turned out to be an inefficient agency as far as erosion control in Majuli is concerned. The islanders had hoped that the Central agency would be able to deliver them from the scourge of erosion which has been eating away chunks of land mass very year. It may be mentioned here that the State Water Resources Department had earlier established a zonal office in the river island in 1987. But the people felt that the Department did not have the wherewithal to protect the geographical area of Majuli from erosion caused by the Brahmaputra river.

About 25 km from here, the residents of Neol Gaon, Bahir Kolia and 33 other villages under Dergaon Legislative Assembly Constituency in north-west Jorhat are waging a grim struggle against severe erosion which is threatening to uproot them. The Brahmaputra river, which flows close to these villages, is dangerously poised to breach the strategic Rongagora Khutiapota dyke.

The government has hired Bangalore-based Agni Aviation Consultants for Rs 20.79 crores to seed clouds in rain shadow areas in the State this monsoon. As per the terms of agreement, the company will use two aircraft and two radars. Depending on rainfall deficiency, it will seed clouds in 10 districts for 120 days. The districts of Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool, Mahbubnagar, Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda, Medak, Prakasam and Nellore fall under the rainfall-deficient rain shadow areas.

While most experts of the Amarnath cave shrine, are blaming the extended duration of the Yatra and the helicopter services to the shrine for the complete melting of the ice lingam, geologists are exploring other possibilities. The Department of Geology and Remote Sensing, University of Kashmir, is likely to study the possible effects of the destructive earthquake of October 2005 in the region as well as the melting process of the snow in the adjacent area to ascertain the causes.

A training on district level search and rescue under Disaster Risk Management Programme will be held from July 4 to July 6 at LTC Hall Wokha. ADC Tuensang HQ Alan Gonmei delivering the inaugural speech emphasized on the meaning of disaster and awareness of disaster management. He also said that the training is being conducted at the district, block and village levels.

Sailors of the nuclear-powered American aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz, visited Kanathur Reddy Kuppam Road off East Coast Road, for a glimpse of the tsunami-ravaged village.The visitors in a bid to raise the spirit of the residents, cleaned up the road, painted the primary school classrooms and fixed fluorescent lamps in them. Armed with shovels and crowbars supplied by the Kanathur Reddy Kuppam Panchayat, they planted avenue trees and picked up garbage. Spotting a local struggling to carry two pots of water, Megan came to her rescue.

While some sectors have witnessed the launching of cleanliness drives by the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh to ensure neat and clean surroundings, certain areas have failed to come under the attention zones of the authorities concerned. The garbage littered outside the overflowing bin shows that corporation has failed to ensure the daily lifting of garbage from the bin. Garbage is not lifted from the bin for days together . Even the sides of the road leading towards golf range was found littered.

The Kerala High Court granted 3 weeks time to Cochin corporation to settle the issue of disposal of garbage in Kochi. A division bench consisting of Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justice K T Sankaran granted time while hearing a contempt petition filed by Dijo Kappan against the "callous attitude” of the corporation.

Apparently, an underground sewerage, being built with funds from the Asian Development Bank, residents say, has become the bane for Behala (Kolkata). According to them, the open drains in the area and the non-dredged canal, Monikhali khal, are being choked with soil dug up for construction work. This results in the backflow of water and accounts for the severe waterlogging in the area. The Monikhali canal is where most of the excess water in the area in drained. Due to lack of dredging activities, the bed has risen and water is forced back.

The four incidents of CNG buses catching fire during May-June were the result of a mix of failures: poor "maintenance" of buses by DTC and "fault" in design ofthe buses of Tata Motors. The report prepared by the EPCA concluded that the buses which caught fire last month were being poorly maintained by DTC.

All properties to be developed on 60x40 sites will henceforth have to compulsorily go for rain water harvesting (RWH) and five and two percent rebate on property tax will be given for residential and commercial buildings respectively for the first five years. Similarly, the Master Plan recommends solar lighting and solar water heating for all new development/constructions.

Civic groups and environmentalists in the southern suburbs of Chennai want Tamil Nadu Government to accord priority to protection and improvement of waterbodies, so that their water retention capacity could be increased before the onset of monsoon. Their appeal comes in the backdrop of the increasing instances of dumping of garbage, discharge of sewage and shrinking of lakes and tanks due to encroachments in the suburbs.

In the face of an alarming dip in the groundwater levels in Punjab, the Union water resources ministry has asked the state government to immediately enact a law to control over-exploitation of ground water resources in the state. Punjab and the north-eastern states have so far refused to enact a law on water management in line with a model Bill already circulated by the Centre for adoption by the state assemblies.

The Tripura government has decided to draw the Prime Minister’s attention over the long pending demand of funds for supplying purified water to entire population of the state during Rural Development Minister’s two-day meeting beginning tomorrow at New Delhi.The state government had forwarded a proposal of Rs 350 crores to the Union Rural Development Ministry a few months back to ensure the supply of purified water to the people of the state, as almost one-third of villages of Tripura are not getting pure water.

Police constables using the barracks in Margao district headquarters, South of Margao literally undergo sleepless nights these days. Erratic supply of water and the mosquito menace in the barracks has made life unbearable for them. Water does not reach the second flood of the district headquarters for want of adequate pressure in the PWD pipeline.

For years, Delhi government blamed UP for not releasing the full supply of 140 MGD to Sonia Vihar plant and hence keeping the city thirsty. Now, the new Maywati regime has started sending the full quota of water & called the Delhi Jal Board’s bluff — it actually does not have the systems in place to supply that much water to distant south & southwest Delhi colonies. And it won’t be able to do so for at least another year, which means next summer also people won’t get full relief from the new plant.

The district administration has sunk 104 borewells in Dharmapuri district. Of them eight have received less water while the water level has significantly improved in the remaining. The Collector directed the Assistant Director panchayats, P. Vijayalakshmi to immediately obtain electricity connection for the borewellsand streamline water supply. The district administration will take stringent action against those who prevent officials from sinking borewells.

On a small site alongside a string of shrimp boats docked on the Brownsville ship channel stands a $2.2 million assembly of pipes, sheds, and humming machinery - Texas's entree into global efforts to make sea water suitable to drink. The plant is a pilot project for the state's $150 million, full-scale sea water desalination plant slated for construction in 2010.