New Delhi: The Central government on Tuesday said mining activities have contaminated drinking water sources in Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya.

“The Megh-alaya government has reported that sources of some drinking water supply schemes have had to be shifted due to contamination caused by mining and some major rivers in the area have been found to be unfit for human use,” Rural Development Minister and Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Jairam Ramesh said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Gram sabha’s total control over forest produce makes ultras unhappy, reveal reports

A dedicated team of volunteers to fight for the cause of the river Ganga will be ready soon with a proposed training centre coming up at Bheekampura in Alwar district of Rajasthan offering different courses on the river protection. The “Ganga rejuvenation centre” being opened on Monday will offer five types of training ranging from that of the Ganga sevak (worker) to the Ganga Prabanthak (manager) to Ganga Rishi (saint or expert) free of charge to the aspirants.

“The Ganga now needs warriors for re-establishing the community-driven management of the river.

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet will determine if consent of landowners and higher compensation will apply to acquisition of land for special economic zones (SEZs).

The Centre has decided to release Rs 55 crore to Indi and Sindagi taluks in Bijapur district to augment drinking water supply under the National Rural Water Supply Scheme.

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh issued an order in this connection on Thursday after Bijapur Member of Parliament Ramesh Jigajinagi met him with a request.

Amid reports that Maoists are against according bamboo rights to Adivasis in Gadchiroli, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has asked the Chief Ministers of six Naxal-hit States to emulate the success of Mendha Lekha village in that Maharashtra district.

Mendha Lekha became the first village with Community Forest Rights (CFR) to be given transit passbooks to harvest and sell bamboo in April 2011. Since then other villages in Gadchiroli have applied for and got transit passbooks. Mendha Lekha collected Rs. 93.31 lakh in bamboo sales and has been putting the funds into community development.

Tamil Nadu State Rural Livelihood Mission Scheme (TNSRLM), a programme to alleviate poverty in rural areas by improving the income of the households, is to be implemented in 266 panchayats in Nagapattinam and Ariyalur district.

In Nagapattinam district, this programme would be implemented in 199 panchayats in the blocks of Semmanarkoil, Kollidam, Vedaranyam, Sirkazhi and Keezhayur during the current financial year, and in Nagapattinam and Thalainayar panchayat unions during 2013-14.

New Delhi: Toilets are raising a stink, with the Centre claiming “hera pheri” in states inflating construction figures to claim funds.

New Delhi In a major step towards women empowerment, the Centre is planning a new legislation that will make the woman of the house the chief beneficiary of the compensation for land acquired for mining projects. According to officials in the mining ministry, the move will not only ensure the compensation amount is spent wisely but also give women a bigger role in financial decision-making.

The draft new Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011 — which is currently being vetted by a parliamentary standing committee — provides for sharing of 26% of profit by coal miners and an amount equivalent to royalty by others (in case of other minerals) with project-affected people. The money is to be distributed to beneficiaries through a District Mineral Development Fund.

Union Minister for Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation Jairam Rameshs’s ‘India Dream’ to free the country – the rural populace in particular - from open defecation, seems to have faced