-Newsclick.in In the recently held 2018 Assembly elections, out of 48 tribal dominated seats BJP only won 16 while in 2013, the party had 34. Bhopal / Burhanpur: Demanding to uphold the Forest Rights Act 2006 (FRA) and withdrawal of the proposed amendment in Indian Forests Act 1927 by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, thousands of tribals carried out an ‘Adivasi Adhikar Chetavni rally’ in Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur district...

-Livemint.com * A new research paints a mixed picture on the relative merits of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication in the PDS * The research highlight there can be several ways to authenticate beneficiaries in the public distribution system Since 2017, the Indian government has mandated the use of Aadhaar-based biometrics in India’s public distribution system (PDS) to tackle the longstanding issue of leakages. Critics, however, suggest that this has excluded many beneficiaries and increased...

-IndiaWaterPortal.org Multilayered governance and involvement of forest dwellers in the decision making processes can go a long way in managing our forests better. The recent news on the forced eviction of more than 1,000,000 tribal and other forest-dwelling households from 16 states by a Supreme Court order has again brought the long-debated issue of the role of the state and the community in forest governance to the forefront. The order comes...

-The Hindu Business Line With people too busy collecting it, attendance at poll meetings is thin It’s the schedule of water tankers, and not the time and availability of political bigwigs and national leaders, that is determining the timing of election meetings and rallies in Maharashtra’s drought-affected regions. With the drought intensifying and paucity of water rising, over 3,117 water tankers, as against just 391 in March 2018, are plying in 8,000 villages...

-TheWire.in The delta has shrunk by 20% because of diversion of land and climate change. Water-intensive agriculture and industrial practices are adding to the problem. Despite being one of the oldest water-regulator structures in the world that is still functional, the Kallanai dam or the Grand Anicut looks almost empty with not much water to regulate. Located near Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, it was built across river Kaveri around 2000 years ago...