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WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lewin Group has been named a 2006 Outstanding Contractor by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF) for its work on the Healthy Marriage Initiative. Assistant Secretary Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., presented the award to Ron Johnson, Executive Vice President of The Lewin Group, at the Assistant Secretary's Honor Awards Ceremony on Oct. 5. The Lewin Group, a leading health care and human services consulting firm, was recognized for "outstanding performance in providing technical assistance to ACF Healthy Marriage grantees, for providing ongoing support to the ACF African American and ACF Hispanic Healthy Marriage Initiatives and for exhibiting the highest degree of professionalism in responding to ACF priorities." Lewin's work with ACF included assisting 45 Healthy Marriage grantees with implementing programs, strategic planning, establishing performance measures and development of management information systems, among other things.
KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday stayed for three weeks the acquisition of certain lands for the construction of the new highway linking the proposed Vallarpadom Container Transshipment Terminal with NH 47 at Kalamassery.
The order was passed while admitting a writ petition filed by a landowner, Francis of Mulavukad, challenging the environmental clearance given to the highway project given by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.
A host of other landowners in the Chearanalloor grama panchayat have also challenged the acquisition and secured stay mainly on the grounds that the project had not obtained environmental clearance.
According to the petitioners, the Government of Kerala had formed Fast Track Authority for the construction of the 17-km highway, which passes through Mulavukad, Kadamakkudi and Cheranalloor panchayats and Kalamassery municipality, besides Bolghatty, Mullampalli and Kothad islands.
CONTRACTOR-GENERAL Greg Christie has written to the Director of Public Prosecutions seeking his advice on how to go about bringing criminal charges against public bodies which fail to comply with requisitions from the Office of the Contractor General for information. He was appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at Parliament yesterday, as he wrapped up his appearance before the House committee which is examining the contractor-general's report on the controversial Whitehouse hotel project and a forensic report on the project, which was ordered by then Prime Minister P J Patterson. Christie's letter to Kent Pantry, the DPP, dated September 28, 2006, and which was entered into the record of the PAC, read in part:
"One of the matters in respect of which I would like to seek your formal advice relates to the circumstances which would give rise to the commission of a criminal offence under Section 29 (a) & (b) of the Contractor-General's Act as well as the procedure which should be utilised by the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) to initiate formal proceedings under that section.
The recently introduced Registered Agricultural Contractor scheme has been well received with over 20 Rural Contractors signing up for the process in the first three weeks. RACF Executive Director Roger Parton said that the uptake was steady and he expected it to continue at that pace foe sometime. “This is the start of the busy season and contractors’ thoughts are elsewhere at the moment” he said. “However as the farming and lifestyle communities come to understand the benefits of engaging contractors who have been through a registration process, the rate should pick up”. Contractors seeking to become registered simply apply to the Federation, by phone (0508 787 253) email (Roger[at]rural-contractors.org.nz or download the form from www.rural-contractors.org.nz.
Panaji, Oct 17: The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court has directed authorities not to grant new licences for any construction in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) in the state.
The direction was given yesterday by a bench comprising justices R M S Khandeparkar and N A Britto on a petition filed by a north Goa organisation seeking restriction on new constructions to protect the environment in coastal areas.
The court said the order will remain in force till a survey and an inquiry is completed into the number of dwelling units and other constructions existing in the CRZ as on February 19, 1991, and the increase in their number thereafter.
It also asked authorities in the state to identify open plots in the CRZ for building hotels and to frame appropriate policy for their use before allowing any constructions in future.
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