-The Hindu Though they are Scheduled Tribes (STs) in northern Andhra Pradesh, just across the Sileru River in southern Odisha, the Konda Reddi community is not recognised as tribal. Warning that Maoists are taking advantage of their grievances, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has recommended that their claims - which he feels are genuine - be examined soon. In a letter to Union Tribal Affairs Minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo on Monday,...

-The Times of India JORHAT: Kaziranga National Park authorities on Sunday launched a rhino census for a headcount. The two-day exercise will be conducted in all the five ranges of the park - Kohora, Bagori, Burapahar, Agoratoli and Biswanathghat. More than 250 personnel from the state forest department, NGOs and media groups have been engaged in the operation. Park director Sanjiv Kumar Bora said the census operation is a scheduled one. "The headcount...

-The Hindu Mumbai: Sloppy implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) has resulted in large tracts of forests being cut down and claimed as cultivated land in Maharashtra, according to a study. Data shows that in Jalgaon district alone, more than 79 per cent claims over cultivated forest land were apparently on ineligible lands and about 25 per cent had forest cover. In Thane, adjacent to Mumbai with a high land...

-The Hindustan Times A UN report has described India’s water pollution situation as a “time-bomb” while praising social activist Anna Hazare’s village Ralegan Siddhi for using the scarce commodity in a rationale manner. In a stinging remark on water administration in India, the report says India is able to treat just 10 % of its city sewage and industrial waste discharge, the most polluting source for Rivers and water bodies. “Presently, only...

-The Hindu   Efforts by the Pollution Control Board to improve groundwater quality in Ghaziabad have proved futile so far The contamination of groundwater in and around Ghaziabad's industrial areas has become a cause of concern, apart from reports of its fast deteriorating air quality. All remediation efforts to improve the groundwater quality have so far been futile, say residents of the area. Efforts by an expert committee set up by the Uttar Pradesh...