Odisha, is struggling to cope with floods of horrendous magnitude. This state which recorded deficient rains of 40 per cent, is now in surplus. Experts and the public attribute the current flood in Orissa entirely to the mismanagement of the Hirakud dam. This special report by Down to Earth Online, calls for adopting a new strategy based on the present rainfall pattern both upstream and downstream of this dam.
Government and non-government groups have not always been on the best of terms
and this relationship has been redefined over the years with changing social and political
scenario. The showdown over the Lokpal bill marks a new low. Read this analysis by
Down to Earth.
Tribals continue to be at the highest risk of eviction as their regions have the largest number of pending development programmes. And tbey suffer the most even when it comes to land-to-land compensation package. But the new land acquisition bill won’t bring relief to tribals says Richard Mohapatra.
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.
30 villages in Andhra Pradesh are up against a coal-based thermal power plant being built by East Coast Energy Pvt Ltd on Kakarapalli swamp. The contested site is a marshy land with at least 40 middle-sized ponds and a vast area used as salt farms. About 30,000 people depend on it for survival.
Read this special report by Down To Earth on the iconic Paan losing its appeal. Its trade has dipped 40-50 per cent in the past decade, while consumption of chewing tobacco, especially gutkha, increased during the period. Farmers now prefer other crops.
The government has a plan to reach welfare to the poor without wasting money. It wants to put hard cash in their hands instead of spending on welfare programmes. Down To Earth finds out how cash transfer works and how ready is India for the shift in the delivery of welfare schemes.
Unique features of MNREGA, the public wage programme turn it into a magnet for women. More women than men work under the national programme that guarantees employment to rural people. Increasing women’s participation in MGNREGA can be used for local ecological revival, according to Richard Mohapatra
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.
