In essence, the notion of benefit sharing is recognition of the natural rights of affected communities over mineral resources in their traditional and historical homelands. Communities have a right to benefit first—culturally, economically and politically. These rights can be seen from the prism of both immediate as well as long-term …
Harare has announced it will discontinue support to new black commercial farmers when the next summer season commences. The decision comes in the face of an economic meltdown. According to a statement issued by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono, the decision came after the government discovered a significant …
Kundan Lal and his master struck a deal. Lal, the master agreed, could go home to see his ailing wife in Dehradun's Bhatad village. In exchange, he demanded the services of Lal's son and daughter-in-law. Lal explains that someone has to compensate for his absence at his malik's (master's) field. …
the Union budget for 2007-08 is big on illusions, small on vision. Despite the hype about its tilt towards the agriculture sector, the budget has failed to put together a package to bail out the ailing sector. Also, despite being the first budget of the 11th Five-Year Plan, it has …
For the past 15 years or so, Rabindranath Das has been watching the ground slip away from beneath his feet. Back in the 1990s, his family had about 3.5 hectares (ha) of paddy fields along Ghoramara island's northwestern shores. But every year, especially during the monsoons, the Hooghly's strong undercurrents …
Public discourse on the Singur imbroglio by and large revolves around how many landholders have handed over, or not handed over, their land to the government for the proposed Tata motorcar factory. It is as if the number of landowners is the sole indicator of the extent of
parliament in Nepal is now determined to find out how much property King Gyanendra owns. The government is already preparing a huge tax bill for the king and his family. "We are collecting details of the land and property owned by the king and members of his family and if …
function table() { var popurl="image/20060831/8-table.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=320,height=550,scrollbars=yes") } ever since the West Bengal government cleared, in May 2006, Tata Motor's proposal of setting up a 426 hectares (ha) small car plant in Singur in Hooghly district, farmers' protests have been relentless. Their protests forced the government to redraw its land acquisition …
three decades ago, the Left Front government in West Bengal started its rule by distributing land to the landless through its famous land reform programme. Now, the political grouping is preparing to grab 17,200 hectares (ha) of mostly agricultural land for industry
The Bundelkhand region of India is a semi-arid plateau, which consists of twelve districts of northern Madhya Pradesh and five districts of southern Uttar Pradesh. The region suffers from severe ecological degradation induced primarily by the factors such as soil degradation and deforestation. Temporary and long-term migration of villagers from …
after 48 days of struggle by the Adivasi-Dalit Samara Samithi, the Kerala government agreed to assign around two hectares of land in the estate areas of Sugandhagiri and Pookot to each tribal family on October 16, 2001. In other areas, 0.4-2 hectares of land was to be given, depending on …
AS FAR AS the eye can see, it is a mass of horns in a desiccated, semi-arid landscape. The horns emerge sideways from the head, turn up, and then arch back at the tips, as if swept back by the wind. Kankrej, native to northern Gujarat, is quite a regal-looking …
after the abolition of the zamindari system in Uttar Pradesh in 1954, land consolidation has been one of the mammoth administrative exercises conducted to put in place land reforms. Begun in the early sixties, its main objective was to consolidate the small agricultural plots into one or two large holdings, …
Indira Gandhi Canal Project has come to my desert land They say it will bring greenery all over Oh! the sisters have come Yes, the sisters have come The rich got land deeds to command (irrigated) land The poor souls all reached atop the sand dunes . Oh! the sisters …
THIS documentary tries to bring out the individuality and identity of each woman: Mitkibai, Gorabai, Kamakshi and Sarladi as the four peasant women, representing different regions ofthe country. Except for Mitkibai, these women have never been before the camera. All of them are landless labourers working on land over which …
