Recognition of title subject to final orders THE High Court of Andhra Pradesh on May 1 gave permission to the state government to issue pattas (title deeds) against forestland to 114,000 tribals and forest dwellers who depend on forests for livelihood. They had filed claims under the Forest Rights Act over the past two years but the state was not issuing pattas because a petition in the
Floods feared in Arunachal and Assam; governments least prepared a landslide on the Indo-Tibetan border has blocked the course of the river Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) resulting in the formation of a reservoir. This may cause flood in downstream areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam if the barrier of mud and debris bursts under pressure from water accumulating on the other side. The
Anyone can appeal against a project, says high court THE Delhi High Court recently ruled that any person concerned about the environmental impacts of a project could challenge it even if the person is not directly affected by the project. The court passed this order in a case related to a Vedanta Aluminium Ltd smelter in Jharsuguda, Orissa. Its environmental clearance was challenged by an
Give forest guards the slip to hunt deer on festival day heavy barricades and forest guards did not deter tribals of Jharkhand from celebrating their annual hunting festival, Sendra. The festival is an old ritual where tribals from the state and bordering areas of Orissa, Bihar and Bengal, join to hunt in the forests of Dalma hills on the outskirts of Jamshedpur. The tribals offer wild
Deliver at home with trained midwives and avoid caesarean section A belly dancer, tarot-card readers and yoga therapists, people not associated with childbirth, tea
