The Kerala Irrigation Department has sought permission for the transfer of forest land for constructing the Periyar dam. The executive engineer of the Minor Irrigation Department (MID), Kumily, has approached the Kerala Forest Department (KFD) with a request for allotting 50 hectares for the project. The KFD, however, is in a fix over the allocation of the land as it fears widespread environment and ecological imbalances in the Periyar Tiger Reserve,...

In a 12 December interview, Director-General of the J&K Police (JKP) Kuldeep Khoda was questioned by Tribune journalist Jupinderjit Singh about complaints that the JKP was ignoring RTI applications.  At one point, Mr. Khoda stated that the Police  “will not entertain [RTI applications] on investigations of any case,” explaining this information “could help the accused due to which the department generally discouraged such applications.” The DGP’s stance is problematic.  On one...

In the first reported incident of its kind since the lion poaching incidents of May 2007, a gang of suspected poachers comprising about 25 tribals from Karnataka, was busted in Kodinar, Gir (west), late on Monday night. The tribals were caught with five bags full of different lion body parts, Rs60,000 in cash and some sharp weapons. No carcass of lion has been discovered yet, but foresters believe these tribals to...

The Chhattisgarh model offers some key lessons on how to make the public distribution system deliverProbably the only thing extraordinary about Manglu is that he is the perfect example of an ordinary tribal. The 60-year-old belongs to the Pahadi Korba tribe and lives in Govindpur village of Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh. He best represents what modern India calls a below poverty line (BPL) beneficiary of various government schemes. Manglu earns...

With the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka going to get a tiger reserve status, the Soligas living there face imminent eviction.NEVER before have the tigers of the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary burned so bright, either in popular imagination or in administrative priority. With the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests approving “in principle” the status of a tiger reserve for the BRT sanctuary, the endangered cat has taken...