-The Hindu Madurai: Fast urbanisation, unmindful quarrying, real estate boom, fragmentation of land and agriculture becoming highly unreliable are some of the major reasons cited that have led to the reduction in area under cultivation in Madurai district. According to statistics available with the district administration, the net area cultivated in the district which was 1.48 lakh hectares in 2000-01 had come down to 1.36 lakh hectares in 2010-11. However, the number...

-PTI NEW DELHI: India's economic development has led to the worsening of air quality in major Indian cities, according to the results of a survey by The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. The transport sector was ranked the highest followed by factories in and around the city as the second highest contributor towards air pollution in Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. While respondents from Bangalore...

-Economic and Political Weekly   A report on the 2013 deliberation of the Kolkata Group at its 10th workshop which focused on healthcare, the status of women and social justice in India. A K Shiva Kumar (akshivakumar@gmail.com) is convener of the Kolkata Group workshops which are organised by Pratichi (India) Trust, the Harvard Global Equity Initiative and UNICEF India. At the 10th annual Kolkata Group workshop in February this year, 40 policymakers, development practitioners,...

-Tehelka.com There are few figures from the adivasi community in India who have made a bigger dent in the collective imagination of the country than Dayamani Barla. The "iron lady of Jharkhand" has been instrumental in articulating adivasi struggles against displacement and deprivation on national and international platforms. Dayamani, who was recently imprisoned in Jharkhand for her involvement in the Nagri people's movement, has won the first Ellen L Lutz Indigenous...

-The Times of India JAIPUR: A local RTI activist has accused the Ashok Gehlot government of favouring a firm in allotting tender for the Kalisindh dam project in Jhalawar district. The activist has demanded a CBI probe into the matter and said that he will also file a public interest litigation in this regard. Ashok Pathak, the activist, addressing a press conference on Sunday said that the tender issued by the Vasundhara...