The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
With a growing betel vine sector as well as thriving paddy cultivation and fishing, it is no wonder that villagers in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district have resisted the state government’s forceful acquisition of land for the POSCO project. Political parties of all shades as well as the intelligentsia are increasingly coming …
Blocks not actually within the biodiversity-rich region, he says The bastion of Hasdeo-Arand has finally been broken. One year after saying that the coalfields of this heavily-forested, mineral rich region of Chhattisgarh would never be open to miners, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has finally granted a stage-I forest clearance to …
On June 12th, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh made national headlines when he "earnestly appealed" to the Odisha government to avoid force when taking people's land for the POSCO project. He called upon them to respect "dialogue and discussion" and "democratic processes." The Minister's "concern" followed the statements of national Congress …
The Union government on Sunday asked the Orissa government not to take precipitate action in the wake of a mass protest by locals against the land acquisition process launched at Govindpur village for the Posco steel plant. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said in a statement that coercion was not the …
Accusing the Odisha government of resorting to forcible land acquisition for Posco steel project in Jagatsinghpur district, five political parties have decided to stage civil disobedience agitation here on Monday. Leaders of CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc, RJD and Samajwadi Party at a meeting alleged that the state government used force …
Alleging forcible land acquisition for Posco steel project near Paradip, five political parties on Saturday resolved to go for a civil disobedience agitation in front of the state secretariat on Monday. The leaders of five parties comprising CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc, RJD and Samajwadi Party in a joint meeting condemned …
ON May 2, Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh accorded final approval to the Orissa government for the diversion of 1,253 hectares of forest land in favour of Pohang Steel Company (POSCO). Defending his decision, Jairam Ramesh said in a press release: “I believe as Minister my responsibility …
In a state such as Odisha in which Dalit and tribal groups comprise about 40 per cent of the total population, the issue of ‘access’ to land and resources has apparently been central to all conflicts. For traditional communities, ‘access’ is directly linked to civilizational paradigms and cultural ethos, which …
Taungyas have lived in Uttar Pradesh for decades but law does not recognise them. They have hope from the Forest rights Act 2006 in getting legal identity, as it recognises the traditional rights of scheduled tribes and other forest-dwellers on forest land and resources. Taungyas have lived in Uttar Pradesh …
Following the historic forest rights victory on April 27, mood in Mendha Lekha is upbeat. Gram sabha of this village in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district started felling about 90,000 bamboos a day after winning the right to harvest and sell the minor forest produce (MFP). With transit passes in hand, the …
McDonald saheb, Qureshi saheb, Jivan Singh, Aadal Singh, Udham Singh …. Eighty-yearold Lakshmi Nishad rattles off all the names she remembers of the forest officers who have served in the Gorakhpur range. The display of memory is a desperate attempt to prove that she has lived all her life in …
THE Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, or MoEF, has given final clearance to the POSCO steel project in Odisha. While doing so, it ignored the forest rights claims of people living in the project site in Jagatsinghpur district. The gram sabhas of two of the seven affected villages—Dhinkia and …
This response to the comment “Protecting India’s Protected Areas” by Praveen Bhargav and Shekar Dattatri (23 April 2011) points out the authors’ misreading of the Forest Rights Act and also of the report of the Joint Committee on the FRA.
These guidelines released by MoEF for voluntary village relocation in notified core critical tiger habitats of tiger reserves aim to ensure that in the process of conservation and protection of tigers, the rights of forest dwellers are respected. The Ministry has released a draft protocol /guidelines for voluntary village relocation …
Problems in acquiring land and delays in forest clearances hit transmission projects Problems in acquiring land and delays in forest clearances have grounded at least 120 power transmission projects in the country, a senior official with the Central Electricity Authority said. Most of these projects belong to the Power Grid …
Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh put his ‘faith’ to the test by giving forest clearance for the 12 million tonne steel plant of the South Korean major POSCO in Odisha last week. He ‘trusts’ that the state government conducted a thorough search and found that there are no tribals or …
Down To Earth senior editor Richard Mahapatra reports >> Government officials have started acquiring land in two villages in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district. The work started in villages Nugaon and Polang around 7:30 a.m. Situation is very tense as, 2,000 people from five other villages are marching towards Nugaon and Polang. …
MUMBAI: Union minister Jairam Ramesh's order notwithstanding, the state forest department is unwilling to transfer the rights over harvesting bamboos to forest dwellers. The department currently holds the right to harvest bamboo in the state. Its contention is that allowing villagers to cut bamboo will affect the sustainability of the …
The Andhra Pradesh government lied to obtain forest clearance for the Polavaram dam on the Godavari; it said there were no forest rights claimants in the dam’s submergence zone. Down To Earth visited the villages denied forest rights and found the state had indeed lied. To know more click on …
