A Bill that seeks to amend the existing law governing exploration and production of oil and gas as well as delink petroleum operations from mining operations was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (March 12, 2025). The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, is aimed at boosting investment …
Status report on implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 for the period ending 31st January 2011.
It would not be wrong to say that virtually all infrastructure and industrial projects—from mining to thermal and hydel and nuclear power to cement or steel—are under attack today from communities who fear loss of livelihoods. These communities are at the forefront of India’s environmental movement. They are its warriors.
As per this order by the Supreme Court, the transfer of village community land for private and commercial use is illegal and all state governments have been asked to prepare schemes for eviction of illegal occupants of village community land and restore them back for the purpose it was originally …
Status report on implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 [for the period ending 31st December, 2010]. As per the information collected till 31st December 2010, more than 30.31 lakh claims have been filed and more than 11.06 lakh titles have …
THE Maharashtra forest department has proposed including bamboo under minor forest produce (MFP). While the department touts the initiative as a step towards giving ownership of bamboo to gram sabhas under the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, forest rights activists say it is an attempt to dilute the …
Sand dredgers will soon be back in business along the Bankot creek bordering coastal Raigad and Ratnagiri districts in Maharashtra. They had been silent for over a month after the Bombay High Court banned sand mining in the state on September 24, after people who mine sand manually filed a …
THE Polavaram irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh could well run into trouble over nonimplementation of the Forest Rights Act. At least nine gram sabhas in Andhra Pradesh have sent written complaints challenging state government
PANJIM, NOV 10 Village group of Cansaulim have insisted notification of eco-sensitive zones and restriction of construction to 50 Floor Area Report (FAR) pending finalization of the Regional Plan (RP) 2021. This was discussed during a village level meeting at Cansaulim Panchayat, on Tuesday, which was attended by several hundred …
A new paper by Dr N C Saxena on how to improve production, access, and incomes from MFPs for forest dwellers. Whereas 70 per cent of India’s population lives in rural areas, for tribals this is as high as 90 percent. It is well established that most tribals live in …
Down to Earth reports from Naxalite-affected districts of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and expresses concern over an unwelcome change creeping into the programmes and policies of NGOs and other civil society groups working in the region. Finds that squeezed between the naxalites and the police, NGOs are abandoning community mobilisation. Squeezed …
Few committees have been as forthright as the N C Saxena Committee on the violation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) by the very authorities which are charged with upholding them—the state governments. In its report on the controversial project to mine for bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills, the four …
Involving local communities in identifying local solutions is the best way to address local water problems. Experience of MITTRA is one such example which depicts communities taking charge of developing water sources and managing them well too.
Pollution and displacement increasingly threaten the life and livelihood-indeed the very existence - of several rural communities. Panchayati Raj can play a very important role in checking this, but this potential has not been adequately realised yet. A lot of work needs to be done to realise this potential of …
The handbook seeks to serve as a quick reference for Gram Panchayats (GP) and Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSC) on how to plan, implement, operate, maintain and manage water supplies and to ensure their sustainability. The handbook is based on the National Rural Drinking Water Progam (NRDWP) guidelines. The …
