With a growing betel vine sector as well as thriving paddy cultivation and fishing, it is no wonder that villagers in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district have resisted the state government’s forceful acquisition of land for the POSCO project. Political parties of all shades as well as the intelligentsia are increasingly coming together in support of the agitation. The future of the anti-POSCO movement looks bright, but will it put an end to POSCO’s plan?

Biofuels could help poor nations modernize, but scaling up aid supported projects to commercial operations is far from easy.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v474/n7352_supp/full/474S018a.html

Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) approach is being promoted in India with the aim to improve the performance of public irrigation schemes and ensuring equitable water distribution.

People of Orissa have been involved in the protection of some unique and endangered wildlife for their own interest or for the environmental sustainability. Rugudipalli is one of the community based conserved areas of Orissa where the arrival of Asian Open Bill Storks is believed to coincide exactly with the advent of monsoon season in Orissa.

The functions which the state governments devolved to the gram panchayats according to the 73rd constitutional amendment comprise important activities for the development of villages. One of the most important argument for decentralization-the government is more attentive and responsive to local peoples' needs-is of great importance for the development of villages, as it is the residents who are most affected by the local development measures taken.

This response to the comment “Protecting India’s Protected Areas” by Praveen Bhargav and Shekar Dattatri (23 April 2011) points out the authors’ misreading of the Forest Rights Act and also of the report of the Joint Committee on the FRA.