The government is getting ready to grant lease for granite mining despite strong opposition from the tribals in many areas of Palakonda in Srikakulam district. The irony is that the authorities are planning to grant these leases at the very place where they had already issued pattas to the local tribals. The tribals are already up in arms over the mining lease issue at Kannedhara Konda in Seetampeta mandal, Yelukalametta...

Tribal communities are vulnerable not only because they are poor, assetless and illiterate compared to the general population, their distinct vulnerability arises from their inability to negotiate and cope with the consequences of their forced integration with the mainstream economy, society, and cultural and political system. The repercussions for the already fragile socio-economic livelihood base of the tribals have been devastating—ranging from loss of livelihoods, land alienation on a vast...

The agitation against land acquisition for the Posco steel plant intensified in this seaside gram panchayat in Jagatsinghpur district on Sunday, with the villagers damaging an approach road to the area earmarked for the project. Led by Abhay Sahu, chairman of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, which has been spearheading the protest since July 2005, more than 150 people from different hamlets in Dhinkia went out with spades and other tools...

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has found that the Food and Civil Supplies Department of the State neither conducted any survey for identification of beneficiaries nor followed the survey conducted by the Panchayat and Rural Development Department in 1998-99, to select the beneficiaries of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) for the Public Distribution System (PDS). The status as of September 2007, as per the BPL census of 2002,...

On the fifth birth anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) last Wednesday, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi admitted discrepancies in the biggest job guarantee scheme in the world. Gandhi, who is also National Advisory Council (NAC) chief, was referring to fake job cards, forged muster rolls and funds swindled by village heads, officials, etc. She was quick to pinpoint the course correction — a strengthened social audit....