-Down to Earth Blog The district set a record for creating 1,121 farm ponds in 30 days in September 2021, in line with the recently launched state climate mission In September 2021, Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai district set a record for creating 1,121 farm ponds in 30 days by leveraging the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The initiative’s aim was to ensure adequate water for agricultural and domestic purposes throughout the...

-Newsclick.in Bihar DAP Shortage Delays Sowing of Rabi Crops, Farmers Fear Loss in Quality Patna: Rajeshwar Mandal and Surajdeo Yadav are extremely worried as the sowing of maize, wheat, pulses and mustard has been delayed due to the acute shortage of diammonium phosphate (DAP). The marginal farmers of the flood-hit Seemanchal-Koshi region of Bihar fear that the delay in sowing the Rabi crops will affect their quality and production. Mandal and Yadav are...

-The Hindu Labourers stage protest at Kalaburagi ZP office KALABURAGI: After being denied their rightful work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), hundreds of rural labourers from different villages across Kalaburagi district staged a demonstration outside the zilla Panchayat office in Kalaburagi on November 15. Alleging denial of work by Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs) in several gram Panchayats even after submitting applications and completing all the procedures as per...

-TheWire.in Only six states have the rules necessary to operationalise the PESA Act's provisions – yet the myth that PESA is alive and kicking prevails. A quarter-century ago, on December 24, 1996, the Parliament enacted a law unlike any other in the country. This was India’s first law to actually recognise people’s powers, in the form of the gram sabha at the hamlet level. This path-breaking legislation was the Provisions of the...

-The New Indian Express More than eight decades after the Temple Entry Proclamation, the untouchables' cannot take the 18-step stairway to the temple or directly drop money in the offertory plate! SWARGA (Kasaragod): Shri Jatadhari 'Devasthanam' (abode of god) is nestled in the middle of arecanut plantations of Brahmins. There is no motorable road to reach the centuries-old place of worship and devotees have to walk around 200m along the perennial Badiyar...