The Green India Mission, part of India's plan to fight cLIMate change, proposed to double the area being taken up for afforestation and eco-restoration over the next decade. The first draft of the Mission, released on Monday, projects an ambitious target of 20 million hectares by 2020, at a cost of Rs. 44,000 crore. Public consultations will be undertaken across the country from June 11, following which the draft will be...
More »SEARCH RESULT
India embroiled in bitterly contested GM debate by Chris Morris
In the cotton fields of Vidarbha in central India, grief is a constant companion. Wherever you turn, there are heart-breaking stories of suicide. In the village of Mangi, friends and family are preparing the body of Laxman Tekam for burial. Women are wailing and men have tears streaming down their cheeks. Laxman was a cotton farmer who hanged himself from the roof beam of his small house after his debts...
More »Now, villagers will have legal aid at their doorstep by Dhananjay Mahapatra
For long, villagers have been at the wrong ends of justice being unaware of the functioning of courts and also sent on a merry-go-round while trying to procure a document -- be it a ration card, birth or castecertificate -- from panchayat or block offices. No more, for the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) is forging ahead with its plan to set up legal aid clinics (LACs) of permanent nature...
More »Environmental Challenge by Ramachandra Guha
Thirty years ago, a department of environment was set up in the Central government; 25 years ago, this was upgraded into a full-fledged ministry of environment and forests. As we mark these anniversaries, it must be said that the ministers in charge of this ministry have generally been incompetent, or malign, or both. Some might make an exception for Maneka Gandhi, who was minister of state for the environment between...
More »4000 Families in Jharkhand Covered Under Tribal Development Fund
A Tribal Development Fund (TDF) of NABARD covered 4000 families in four horticultural projects sanctioned in the state of Jharkhand during 2008-’09 and 2009-’10. Mr. K V Thomas, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture informed Rajya Sabha the other day on May 7, 2010, the last day of the budget session of the parliament in reply to an un-starred question from the member Mr. Parimal Nathwani. Mr. Nathwani had...
More »