-Frontline PESA, which is seen as an enabling law for tribal self-governance, is violated brazenly by both the Union government and State governments in the name of development. SINCE October 2012, the Ministry of Rural Development of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has apparently been engaged in an exercise to evolve a "National Land Reforms Policy". Over these months, the Ministry wrote to various State governments, highlighting the importance of...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Niyamgiri mining ban to stay, SC says gram sabha will decide if project hits tribals' religious, cultural rights -Utkarsh Anand
-The Indian Express The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Vedanta Group's bauxite mining project in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa will have to get the gram sabha's clearance on whether it affects the cultural and religious rights of the tribals and forest dwellers living in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. While the gram sabha's nod is compulsory under the Forest Rights Act, the court made it clear that the Act confers...
More »2G scam: JPC clears Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram; pins Rs 40,000 crore loss on NDA
-The Times of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been given a clean chit by the Joint Parliamentary Committee on telecom which rubbished CAG's Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss calculations in the 2G scam but slammed the Vajpayee government for Rs 40,080 crore loss due to a policy shift in 1999. The committee - headed by Congress MP P C Chacko - in its draft report pinned the 2G blame on former...
More »The latest attacks on Haryana's dalits show up the state's failure to protect weaker sections
-The Times of India Several laws have been enacted and commissions set up for the protection of scheduled castes and tribes. Yet violence and discrimination against underprivileged communities go on with impunity. The latest in the long list of such incidents took place in Haryana, where over 200 dalit families were forced to migrate from Pabnawa village following attacks on them by upper caste Ror community members. The reason for...
More »In Gujarat village, wake up at 3am or go thirsty -Yagnesh Mehta
-The Times of India SURAT: If Manjuben Chaudhary of Dinbari village does not wake up at 3.30am, she will have to walk at least five km in scorching sun to fetch water. She has to reach the village well by 4am sharp or else her turn to fill water would come after four hours. Reeling under severe scarcity, this tribal hamlet in Valsad's Kaprada taluka has been forced to chalk...
More »