Latest news with #FGG
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
FGG flags building convention centres near Hyderabad's Gandipet in violation of GO 111; municipality claims no records, forum urges CM Revanth Reddy to act
The Forum for Good Governance has raised concerns over the construction of convention centers near Gandipet lake in Hyderabad, alleging violations of GO 111 HYDERABAD: In apparently a breach of govt order (GO) 111 prohibiting construction around catchment area of Gandipet lake, many convention centres are being built in the area. The issue has been flagged by the Forum for Good Governance (FGG), which said that the Narsingi Municipality has been giving evasive replies to Right to Information (RTI) application seeking information on permission status for these convention centres. "Records do not exist" was the cryptic response by the municipality on whether Neo Convention, Aarya Convention and K Convention applied for or received permission for construction, the FGG said. In its written reply, the Narsingi Municipality stated: "It is to inform that as per the available records, the said constructions were completed way back in the then gram panchayaths and the building permission details are not handed over to Narsingi Municipality during the merging." FGG flags violations In a letter addressed to chief minister A Revanth Reddy, the FGG raised serious objections to the construction of these facilities within 500 metres of the Gandipet lake in violation of GO 111. The letter signed by FGG president M Padmanabha Reddy pointed out that while some of the convention centres were already operational for over a year, others were still under construction. The forum also included maps and photographs of the sites located in Zanwada village of Shankarpally mandal. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo "The gram panchayat of Zanwada has said that nobody approached them and no permission to any construction of convention centres was given," the letter to the CM read. FGG also questioned the absence of house numbers or property tax records for the buildings. "If they were constructed long back, there should have been proper house numbers and regular property tax should have been collected," the letter stated. CM intervention sought FGG urged the CM to initiate a detailed inquiry into the matter, identify officials who allowed the construction to proceed without due process and demolish all illegal structures near the lake. The forum stressed the need to protect Gandipet lake ecosystem and uphold the norms set out in GO 111.
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Telangana govt urged to impose total ban on single-use plastics
1 2 Hyderabad: The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) has urged the state govt to impose a total ban on single-use plastics (SUP), citing severe environmental damage and health risks. In a detailed representation, FGG highlighted the widespread littering of plastic carry bags, plates and other disposable items, which choke drains, pollute water bodies, endanger wildlife and compromise soil and groundwater quality. Drawing attention to successful bans in Karnataka and Maharashtra, the forum stressed that enforcement of existing rules was ineffective and called for comprehensive action. FGG president Padmanabha Reddy said, "Even with the slightest rain, the roads get flooded, leading to traffic chaos, particularly in metropolitan cities such as Hyderabad, besides damaging property and sometimes claiming human life. Domesticated animals consuming leftover food and other waste thrown in plastic bags die a painful death. Burning of plastics leads to the emission of highly toxic gases, particularly dioxins and furans. " He added, "In Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, less than 50 micron thickness carry bags were banned, but it is impossible to control and regulate the manufacturing and use of such plastic carry bags as public are not in a position to know the exact thickness." FGG said the National Green Tribunal (NGT) upheld the legal validity of the total ban on plastics imposed by Karnataka. The plastic industry filed an appeal against the NGT order before the SC, which refused to stay the NGT order, he said. "The govt of Karnataka has taken into account the environmental concern and protection of public interest, which is of much greater cause than the economic interest sought by the manufacturers of single-use plastic items. Telangana should follow the footsteps of Karnataka," he said.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Carla Walker Act: Bill to fund cold-case tech introduced in U.S. Senate
The Brief "The Carla Walker Act," aims to boost funding for advanced DNA analysis in cold case investigations. Co-authored by Sen. John Cornyn, the bill would support advanced technology to close previously unsolvable cold cases. The bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate and has companion legislation in the House, but has not yet passed. WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bill co-authored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) would increase funding for advanced DNA analysis with the hope of helping to solve cold cases. The Carla Walker Act, introduced to the U.S. Senate on Thursday, is named for a 17-year-old Fort Worth native who was killed in 1974, but whose case went unsolved for more than four decades due to a lack of analysis technology. According to Cornyn's office, the bill, coauthored by Peter Welch (D-Vermont), would use current federal funding to support advanced technology called forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) DNA analysis. The goal of the funding is to help solve previously unsolvable cold cases like Walker's. According to the release, the advanced FGG technology that would be funded by the bill enables investigators to build family trees leading back to cold case suspects. Traditional technology examines far fewer DNA profiles than is possible through FGG, the release says. The backstory Walker went missing 46 years before her case was solved. The 17-year-old was abducted from a bowling alley in Fort Worth after going to a Valentine's Day dance with her boyfriend. Three days after her disappearance, Walker's body was found in a drainage ditch 30 minutes away from Forth Worth. While officials were able to find DNA evidence on her body, a lack of forensic technology prevented them from finding a suspect. Nearly half a century later, investigators in 2020 were able to find and match the DNA found on Walker to Glen McCurley, who was 77 at the time of his arrest. McCurley had been a minor suspect in the 1976 crime, but investigators could not find compelling enough evidence to connect him to the offense. McCurley later confessed to the murder and received a sentence of life in prison. Why you should care Walker's case was eventually solved with FGG analysis, but only after most of her remains passed away without ever learning what happened to the murdered 17-year-old. If passed, Cornyn's bill aims to bring swifter justice for cold-case victims and answers for their loved ones. What they're saying "Fort Worth native Carla Walker was abducted in a bowling alley and tragically murdered in 1974, but it took more than four decades and the advent of forensic genetic genealogy DNA analysis for her killer to be identified and brought to justice," said Cornyn. "I am proud to have authored this legislation, which would make this cutting-edge DNA testing technology more widely available to law enforcement so they can better identify and prosecute offenders, solve cold cases, and bring closure to victims' families." "Advancements in forensic DNA technology have revolutionized our ability to combat crime. In Vermont, detectives were able to use forensic genetic genealogy analysis to help provide answers to a family who thought they might never come. We've also seen how this technology can be a powerful tool in giving those wrongly accused a chance to clear their names," said coauthor Welch. "Our bipartisan bill will help investigators across the country harness the incredible power of FGG technology to crack cold cases and deliver justice to countless victims and families, and I'm thankful for Senator Cornyn's leadership on it." What's next The bill has yet to be passed by the U.S. Senate. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives. The Source Information in this article came from the office of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and previous Fox 4 reporting.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cornyn, Welch introduce the Carla Walker Act to help solve cold cases
May 22—WASHINGTON U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Peter Welch (D-VT) on Thursday introduced the Carla Walker Act, which would dedicate existing federal grant funds to support forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) DNA analysis and help solve previously unsolvable cold cases. The bill is named for Carla Walker, a Fort Worth native whose murderer was finally identified 46 years after her death with the help of this advanced technology. "Fort Worth native Carla Walker was abducted in a bowling alley and tragically murdered in 1974, but it took more than four decades and the advent of forensic genetic genealogy DNA analysis for her killer to be identified and brought to justice," said Sen. Cornyn. "I am proud to have authored this legislation, which would make this cutting-edge DNA testing technology more widely available to law enforcement so they can better identify and prosecute offenders, solve cold cases, and bring closure to victims' families." "Advancements in forensic DNA technology have revolutionized our ability to combat crime. In Vermont, detectives were able to use forensic genetic genealogy analysis to help provide answers to a family who thought they might never come. We've also seen how this technology can be a powerful tool in giving those wrongly accused a chance to clear their names," said Sen. Welch. "Our bipartisan bill will help investigators across the country harness the incredible power of FGG technology to crack cold cases and deliver justice to countless victims and families, and I'm thankful for Senator Cornyn's leadership on it." U.S. Congressman Wesley Hunt (TX-38) is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Background: Typically, when a suspect's identity is unknown, a crime laboratory uploads the genetic material recovered from a crime scene into the FBI's national database to search for DNA matches between the forensic sample and any known offenders. While this traditional form of forensic DNA profiling only examines 13-20 Short tandem repeat (STR) DNA markers, forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) technology examines over half a million Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) that span the entirety of the human genome. It does so by cross-referencing shared blocks of SNP markers to identify relatives of the genetic profile by uncovering shared blocks of DNA. This enables criminal investigators to build family trees that ultimately help determine the sample's identity and solve cases. Carla Walker was abducted from a bowling alley parking lot in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 17, 1974. Her body was found three days later in a drainage ditch 30 minutes south of Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Police Department was able to collect a few forensic samples and clothing items from the crime scene, but law enforcement could not solve the murder due to limited forensic technology at the time. Carla's brother, Jim Walker, never stopped searching for answers and nearly 50 years later, FGG DNA analysis was conducted on the last remaining DNA on a piece of Walker's clothing, which led to a successful DNA match with the McCurley family and ultimately identified Glen McCurley, Jr. as the killer, who confessed in 2021 and died in prison on July 14, 2023. Sen. Cornyn's Carla Walker Act would create a pilot program to make this cutting-edge FGG DNA analysis more widely available to investigative agencies to: — Aid in resolving previously unsolvable cold cases; — Assist in the identification of criminals; — Seek justice for previously unidentified victims; — Help exonerate wrongly accused suspects; — And bring closure for the victims' loved ones.
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Hussain Sagar clean up integral to Musi rejuvenation: Forum for Good Governance
Forum for Good Governance (FGG), a civil society organisation, sent a letter to the Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy suggesting that the cleaning of Hussain Sagar lake be made an integral part of the rejuvenation of Musi river. Tracing through the failed projects towards cleaning of the lake, the letter said, 'Any attempt to clean the Musi river without cleaning up Hussain Sagar will not give the desired results'. The letter noted that Buddha Purnima, a project with an estimated cost of ₹20 crore involved the removal of floating material such as water hyacinth and plastic waste which was also abandoned without much success. Another estimate of ₹500 crore was prepared for dredging the sediment from the lake bed, but the project did not take off as there was no plan on how to dispose of the toxic sediment. Built originally as a drinking water source, the lake has been neglected over the years, and became polluted with the entry of untreated sewerage and industrial effluents through drains such as Banjara nala, Picket nala, Balkapur nala and Kukatpally nala. The first three nalas carry sewage while the Kukatpally nala carries toxic chemical effluents from the Balanagar industrial area before it drains into the Hussain Sagar. The Hussain Sagar Lake and Catchment Area Improvement Project (HCIP) was taken up by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority in 2006 with a loan of ₹310 crore from the Japan International Co-operative Agency (JICA) and state government's grant of ₹60 crore, totalling to ₹370 crore. The envisaged goals were to improve the lake's water quality, maintain water balance round the year, removing nutrient rich sediments from the lake bed, , improving the overall environment of the lake and surroundings for biodiversity enrichment, and increasing the potential of eco-tourism. The project aimed to be completed by 2013, did not achieve any of the standard objectives though all the allocated funds had been spent. 'Good amount of money was spent for study tours of our officers to Japan and other European countries, and experts from Japan to advise our officials costed a lot,' the letter alleged. Though Kukatpally nala diversion was taken up with an estimated cost of ₹50 crore, the money was spent without much result. The nala is still flowing into the Hussain Sagar lake. In the past 20 years, despite spending over ₹500 crore to clean up the Hussain Sagar, corruption, no action and lack of proper planning has affected the project the commitment of the Chief Minister to improve and rejuvenate the Musi river, the letter by FGG signed by President M. Padmanabha Reddy said work for the Musi and Hussain Sagar project should start simultaneously for the best results.
