Order of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Romila Thapar & Others Vs Union of India & Others dated 29/08/2018 regarding arrest of activists for their alleged Maoist links. Apex Court directs that the activists be kept under house arrest at their own homes. The next date …
Around July every year, Laxman Nag, a resident of Kolang village on the outskirts of Kanger National Park in Chhattisgarh, sees crows in his dreams. He sees the birds attacking silk cocoons to pick the larvae inside and wakes up in a sweat. Cocoons in the wild are his main …
Activists said forest dwellers get a raw deal in trade in nationalised MFP items. “Collection of forest produce is hard work. Women trudge through forests for long hours collecting mahua and lac and lug heavy loads, but have to sell their produce at a fraction of the market price,” said …
Can MFP help people break the cycle of poverty in the Naxal–affected districts? There are instances that offer hope. Subelal Markam, a Baiga tribal of Korka village in Madhya Pradesh used to get just Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 per bamboo piece from middlemen. In 2007, the forest department helped …
Forest people across India are being denied their legitimate right to collect and trade in minor forest produce. Down To Earth correspondents travelled to Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, MP, AP, Maharashtra & Orrisa to unravel the conspiracy.
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 …
Bhubaneswar: The Union Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) on Tuesday approved improvement of the balance 600-km of State Roads in order to develop, in a phased manner, the entire 1,632-km-long Maoist-dominated Vijayawada-Ranchi corridor at an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore. The project, which would be completed in next three …
As an expanding economy looks for fuel for further growth, India needs to raise its coal production. But Sriprakash Jaiswal, minister of state (indpendent charge) for coal, faces challenges from the Maoists as well as form environmental lobbies. In an interview, Jaiswal discusses his plans to meet these challenges and …
Ranchi, Sept. 2: Heavy presence of rebels in Saranda forest of West Singhbhum and an extensive, covert paramilitary operation to flush them out have together scuttled an ambitious state mines department plan to gauge the iron ore content of this mineral-rich belt. In 2008, Mineral Exploration Corporation of India (MECL), …
THERE is bad news for root-cause theorists in civil society. In what marks a setback for their claims that lack of growth is the principal reason for the Maoist problem, Chhattisgarh, the state which is considered the epicentre of Maoist activities, has posted the highest growth rate. What is bad …
New Delhi: The Raman Singh government just got one day from the Supreme Court on Wednesday to respond to some searching questions on mitigating the plight of poor tribals caught in the crossfire between Naxals and Salwa Judum, the state-sponsored vigilante group, in Chhattisgarh
Arindam Sinha, Arindam Sinha, Indronil RoychowdhuryRanchi: Last week top officials of the Jharkhand government tried to convince tribals just outside Ranchi to surrender land for an Indian Institute of Management campus. The yet-to-be-built IIM campus is a showcase project for the state government, which is also developing a circular road …
Two Maoist-affected districts, Gadchiroli and Gondiya in Vidarbha, will soon get a special fund of Rs580 crore for development projects.The state home department plans to implement irrigation and educational projects, along with some key infrastructural works, in an effort to win back the support of locals.Home minister RR Patil on …
Devjyot Ghoshal & Ishita Ayan Dutt / Kolkata/ Lalgarh (west Medinipur) August 10, 2010, 0:32 ISTPromises land rights for tribals, prods insurgents to give up violenceIf all roads were leading to Lalgarh early on Monday, by late afternoon there was hardly a way out of the town in the heart …
