Women-led and women’s rights organizations are on the frontlines of today’s humanitarian crises—but many are at risk of disappearing. As global needs rise due to conflict, climate change, and displacement, deep cuts to foreign aid are threatening organizations that provide life-saving services for women and girls. In March 2025, UN …
the future of the Tawa Matsya Sangh (tms), Madhya Pradesh's highly acclaimed federation of fisherfolk cooperatives, is at stake. The Madhya Pradesh (mp) government is contemplating taking over the management of the Hoshangabad-based body. tms comprises local people who were displaced during the construction of a dam on Tawa river. …
the Supreme Court (sc) has asked the Union government to consider linking the country's rivers within 10 years, advancing the government's own deadline. Earlier, the Union ministry of water resources had filed an affidavit stating that this project, which it claimed would control flood and drought conditions, would be completed …
During the last two decades of the previous century, the magnitude of forced population displacements caused by development programs was on the order of 10 million people each year, or some 200 million people globally during that period. Thus, by their frequency, size, ad the dire consequences, development-cased displacements have …
As we begin, we must remind ourselves that of the 25 million persons displaced on account of development projects, less than 50 per cent have been rehabilitated. The rest have been
Debate on the right rehabilitation policy for those displaced by dams has been on for years. Folklore has it that the only fair and proper compensation lies in rehabilitation on the land. How did this theory develop? Multipurpose river valley projects, like Bhakra, Hirakud and the Damodar Valley Corporation were …
The problem of mining-induced displacement and resettlement (MIDR) poses major risks to societal sustainability. Unfortunately, no global survey has assessed the scale of MIDR. Available evidence suggests that the problem is significant. Mining displaced 2.55 million people in India between 1950 and 1990. The likelihood that MIDR will be a …
Water has suddenly become a favoured subject for seminars and conferences all over the world. A common trend in most of the discussions is to proceed from projections of demand to supply-side solutions in the form of ‘water resource development’ projects; estimate the massive investment funds needed; take note of …
A report compiled by the Delhi Forum, a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, on Koel Karo killings of February 2, 2001, has alleged that the police fired at unarmed protestors without any provocation. Members of the Koel Karo Jan Sangathan (KKJS), an organisation of indigenous people, had assembled at Tapkara village in …
the National Human Rights Commission (nhrc) has directed the Union rural development ministry to include provisions for the resettlement and rehabilitation of people displaced by land acquisitions for various projects in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. They could also be formulated by a separate legislation, said nhrc . In 1994, …
the Tawa dam, in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh (mp), tells a story of success where the people displaced chart their own rehabilitation by fighting for their water and land rights. A thousand people in 44 relocated villages around the Tawa reservoir are living a contented life today thanks to …
close on the heels of the Supreme Court verdict on Sardar Sarovar Project ( ssp ), a recent report by the World Commission on Dams ( wcd ) has clearly stated that dams have exacted a high price in terms of human and environmental damage. The commission is an independent …
almost 30,000 migratory birds have arrived at the Harike wetland lake at Ferozepur, Punjab, a result of a massive lake cleanup operation. In four months, at least 125,000 tonnes of water hyacinth were cleared from the lake by the army. Coot, common pochard, shoveller, brahmini duck, common teel, pintail and …
Get on with it The Supreme Court's go-ahead to the Sardar Sarovar Project ( ssp ) was long overdue. It is a good judgement. It lays down the framework within which the project can continue. This will ensure that the work on the dam moves forward swiftly. The message is …
Small is beautiful. But not to the big people. Small doesn't help siphon funds. It doesn't give huge opportunities to contractors, politicians and bureaucrats. It requires a decentralised mode of thinking, which is diametrical to the motives of India's politicians and administrators
on october 18, the Supreme Court ( sc ) cleared the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Project ( ssp ) dam on the Narmada River. Construction had been stayed in 1994 following a public interest petition by the Narmada Bachao Andolan ( nba ), which the court has now dismissed. …
The Supreme Court judgement on Sardar Sarovar Project ( ssp ) has a lesson for environmentalists: if the judiciary is asked to decide between the environment and development, it will choose development. Therefore, the judges must be presented with a case that integrates the two issues. In the case of …
the Musi river flowing through Andhra Pradesh will soon disappear due to the state government's Nandanvanam project. The government is planning to utilise the dry river bed of Musi for various purposes such as creating amusement parks, commercial complexes and construction of a road. The project is being strongly opposed …
the indigenous community of 61 villages in Melghat of Amravati district, Maharashtra, are in constant fear of being evicted from their homes and losing standing crops due to Project Tiger. Two villages falling under the Project Tiger in Dharni and Chikhaldara districts have already faced the wrath of project officials, …
The Sindh and North West Frontier Province governments of Pakistan are apprehensive about the proposed construction of the Kalabagh dam. They have asked the Union government of Pakistan to consult them before taking a decision. According to them, the dam construction may lead to large-scale dislocation of the local population. …
