After its pioneering efforts in universal literacy, Kerala has scored another first with Cheriyanad gram panchayat in Alappuzha district being declared the country's maiden litigation controlled and legal literate panchayat.

This manual attempts to set out the systems and standard processes that could be followed for decentralised planning. It aims to provide guidance on how the considerable capacities of line departments and experts can from now on, subserve this process of empowered planning by local governance. This manual comprises two volumes.

Maharashtra village places demands under forest rights act Managing forest resources comes easy to people of Mendha Lekha. The people of this forest village in Maharashtra

Maharashtra preparing to relocate people but without groundwork

SAVVY SOUMYA MISRA State players in Chhattisgarh

Nidhi Jamwal Six months past the fra implementation deadline, Maharashtra is struggling to understand the Act and its provisions. The central issue in the state revolves around the local body employed to initiate the implementation procedure. The state government is going by gram panchayats and group gram panchayats, and villagers are demanding pada (hamlet)-based committees, saying it

Ashutosh Mishra

The traditional forest dweller has had very few entitlements down centuries. Guardian of the forest, he has been regarded as encroacher by the State. All that is changing now as the Forest Rights Act of 2006 is being implemented across the country since January this year. Down To Earth tracks the progress of the new law

Goans who are up in arms against mega projects in the villages are using gram sabha (village council) to oppose such projects. But questions have been raised by politicians and some intellectuals too, whether the gram sabhas have the powers to stop mega projects. In the light of this, it becomes important to understand the real meaning of gram panchayat and the gram sabha and more importantly to make people aware of their rights in a panchayat set-up.

The South Goa Zilla Panchayat has resolved to ask the government not to allow mega projects in the State's countryside without taking into account the infrastructure. It was also resolved that all mega projects should be mandatorily placed before the gram sabha meetings before granting approval. Initiating the discussion on the burning issue, Chinchinim Zilla member, Joe Dias said the villages suffered from inadequate infrastructure such as water and power and wondered what would be the situation once these big housing projects takes concrete shape.

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