The Centre is planning to give a 26 per cent share in mining profits to tribal people and to set up a regulatory body to check illegal mining, Union Minister of Mines B.K. Handique informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The draft of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill — prepared on the basis of the policy directions set forth in the 2008 National Mineral Policy and the recommendations...
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Forest Rights Act losing steam as officials play with rules by Mahim Pratap Singh
The implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act in Madhya Pradesh faces a host of problems due to a strange interpretation of the Act by the Forest Department. While the department's opposition to the Act is no secret — several petitions have been filed against it in the Supreme Court by retired forest officials or organisations run by them — new information obtained...
More »Communal violence bill: activists, government at loggerheads by Smita Gupta
From the framing of its first draft in 2005 to the heated debates that have followed it, the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill has been mired in controversy. The government feels that civil society organisations want to take over its powers; civil society organisations believe the government is simply not prepared to go far enough. Now, after five years of back and forth, the National Advisory Council...
More »Why you must read this censored chapter by Raman Kirpal
A RESEARCHER WORKING on the State of Panchayats Report (SOPR) 2008-09 met Mahangu Madiya in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, a dangerous place for gathering data. Madiya’s story was startling. In January, he was given Rs 55 lakh compensation for his land, but the amount is sitting in his bank account. He does not even own a mobile phone. “I am concerned with farming. My land is important to me. What will I...
More »Forest rights violation: Panel to review Vedanta
The Union Environment Ministry has formed a fresh panel to look into the alleged violation of forest rights of tribals in Niyamgiri hills, where it has held up clearance to the bauxite mining project of Vedanta Resources. The Ministry, in a notification on Tuesday, announced a four-member panel to be headed by NC Saxena from National Advisory Council (NAC). S Parasuraman from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Promode Kant and Amita...
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