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.
In April this year, Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra made history. One of its villages became the country’s first to win the right to sell and harvest bamboo. Down To Earth reports how India's largest paper manufacturing company Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT) is using most of the bamboo in Maharashtra, leaving little for residents.
Five per cent of the clinical trials conducted across the world will be in India by 2012. They are vital for confirming the efficacy of a new drug, but compromise on ethics. While doctors and organisations conducting trials make big bucks, the rights and safety of the subjects are often overlooked.
Uttar Pradesh's land acquisition has set farmers on the warpath. Projects like Yamuna Expressway will engulf thousands of villages. Down to Earth probes discontent among farmers & examines amendments to Land Acquisition Act & resettlement bill awaiting Centre’s nod.
Centre approves field trials of 14 GM crops. But some states refuse trials, saying safety regulations are too lax. With politicians joining activists, the issue is likely to take a politically volatile turn. This special report in DTE uncovers the mess in GM crops.
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.
In Sri Lanka, organic farmers draw inspiration from endemic practices such as home gardens or analog forestry, and have also adapted ‘imported’ ideas, such as zero-budget farming from India.
