The promise of the FRA remains largely unfulfilled, says a committee set up by the Ministries of Environment and Forests and Tribal Affairs. IT seems hard for a government used to controlling most of India's common lands to let go of them. Even though it has passed a law mandating more decentralised governance of forests, the government itself is proving to be the biggest obstacle in its implementation. Other than in...

Activists on Wednesday welcomed the government's decision to review the cases against members of the alleged Maoist-backed Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangha (CMAS) outfit and take steps for their early release from prison. The tribal outfit has forcibly occupied over 3,000 acres of non-tribal land in Koraput's Narayanpatna block between 2009 and 2010. On November 20, 2009, CMAS activists had attacked the Narayanpatna police station. Two activists were killed in subsequent...

Forest dept. can now declare an area wildlife habitat without gram sabha's nod “A mockery of the Forest Rights Act” Claims of 5 lakh acres rejected in A.P. alone Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member and MP Brinda Karat came down heavily on the Centre, accusing it of issuing an illegal circular that defeated the very spirit of the Forest Rights Act and jeopardised tribals' interests. Ms. Karat, who is also the...

The central government had diverted Rs 20,000 crore of funds meant for tribal people’s welfare to other departments in the past two years, CPM Politburo member and Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch president Brinda Karat alleged here on Monday. Speaking at a dharna organised by the AP Girijana Sangham in front of the office of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) here to seek release of more funds for the welfare of...

India’s rulers have found a new vocation – maligning environmentalists and questioning the very idea of regulating industry for pollution. Thus, faced with criticism of Lavasa, an artificial gated city of the super-rich near Pune, in which his family has invested crores, Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, lashed out at well-known activist Medha Patkar and other “vested interests” for obstructing this “pioneering” project. Lavasa’s promoters built the project without seeking environmental clearance...