-The Hindu The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employee Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) has generated more rural employment than any other government scheme or private initiative in the history of independent India. At the same time, it has also generated a great deal of controversy over its merits and demerits. It would be fair to say that the policy establishment in the country right now is not favourably disposed towards the MGNREGA, with the...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: Nothing encapsulates all that’s wrong with Delhi’s air than Kaushambi, the 600-acre swathe of concrete on the edge of the National Capital Region. A garbage landfill, two inter state bus depots, a state highway, a national highway and two industrial estates: 30 years after work began on this integrated township on the edge of Delhi, Kaushambi is today a cauldron of toxic air housing at least 25,000...

-The Indian Express Adopt more stringent fuel quality and emission standards — and push for the national automobile pollution and fuel authority Approximately 20 years ago, in 1995, a process was started that held great promise for ameliorating the serious air pollution problem in Delhi. Under a provision of the Indian Constitution, environmental lawyer M.C. Mehta filed a public interest litigation with the Supreme Court, seeking relief from the serious health risks...

-India Today "The butterflies will show you the way to the farm." Farmer Sunil Gupta is not talking of mythical butterflies that will appear to guide me to the organic farm I am trying to locate amidst swathes of farmland, some lush with the standing paddy, some damaged in parts from last week's strong winds, others dotted with vegetable patches or freshly ploughed for the next crop. Can one tell an organic...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: You might not know it, but the next time you park your diesel vehicle at the shopping mall and answer that ringing phone, you would have done your bit to release a small portion of poison into Delhi's air. Not once, but thrice. From the exhaust fumes of your car to the generator sets that keep the mall alive, and the mobile tower active. So much so,...