Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has passed the Posco buck, nominally to the government of Orissa but, in reality, to the courts. His final clearance of the project depends on a categorical assertion by the government of Orissa that there are no 'other traditional forest dwellers' among those whose land would be diverted for the project. Three committees appointed by the Union environment and forests ministry, which do not see eye-to-eye...

There is a new “plan” for the scheduled tribes, but the adivasis themselves will have no say. Alienation from the forest and its resources, alienation from cultivable land and alienation from the State underlie the anger of the adivasis in India’s heartland. This is not a new or startling observation. Adivasi mass organisations, the more sensitive administrators, political organisations with their ears to the ground and scholars who have studied India’s...

Microcredit is losing its halo in many developing countries. Microcredit was once extolled by world leaders like Bill Clinton and Tony Blair as a powerful tool that could help eliminate poverty, through loans as small as $50 to cowherds, basket weavers and other poor people for starting or expanding businesses. But now microloans have prompted political hostility in Bangladesh, India, Nicaragua and other developing countries. In December, the prime minister of...

Two large industrial projects, one poor state, two likely different outcomes — and a long-haired, flamboyant environment minister-turned-crusader starring in both. No, this is not your latest blockbuster but it has the makings of one. As reported Monday, Posco, the South Korean steelmaker, cleared a major regulatory hurdle in its bid for a massive steel project in Orissa. An environment ministry panel gave clearance for an initial steel production capacity of...

After visits to 17 states, a committee set up in April last year to check out the implementation of India’s Forest Rights Act, meant to fix “historical injustice,” wasn’t very happy. The law, which came into full effect two years ago, was intended to assert the rights of forest dwellers more firmly. “The overall finding of the committee is that, with notable exceptions, the implementation of the FRA has been poor,...