There is a great push to make panchayats the fulcrum of rural development in India. But 16 years after the third tier of government was created, it has not got its due.

Jharia Coalfield in Jharkhand, India, is known for being the exclusive storehouse of prime coking coal in the country. The coalfield is also known for hosting the maximum number of known coal fires among all coalfields in India.

Ganga Action Plan

Surface and groundwater pollution in the mining and industrial area is a growing concern. Jharia Coalfield is one of the biggest coalfield and highly industrialized area in India. A study was undertaken in some of the coal mining and industrial areas in this coalfield to assess the quality of surface and groundwater.

There are a large number of indigenous rice varieties in India, which are still grown by the tribal people and small farmers of the remote areas where the modern agricultural practices, sufficient foods as well as healthcare systems are a dream. Nature has provided them some alternative ways. They have different indigenous rice varieties with its nutritional and medicinal values. The paper presents nutritional and medicinal values of some of the rice varieties identified from the distant areas of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

Newly formed states such as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are leaving no stones unturned to get the tag of "developed states'. And to get this tag, they are industrialising rapidly, putting at stake the basic livelihoods of people. The regulatory structure is, however, weak. Gautam Bandopadhyaya of the Nadi Ghati Morcha says, "Industrialisation is chaotic. Zones are coming up without any evaluation of whether the area has the required resources, like water and power, to support industries and the people living in the region.