-The Hindu Nearly 53 lakh adivasi families have not yet received land rights, says tribal leader Khamman (Hyderabad): The Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch (AARM) national convener Jiten Chowdhury charged the BJP-led Central government with infringing on the hard won rights of tribal communities by attempting to dilute the landmark Forest Rights Act (FRA) enacted in 2006. Mr Chowdhury was addressing a public meeting held here on Monday evening to mark the beginning of...

-The Hindu Among this year’s Padma Shri awardees are a father and daughter who turned a barren wasteland into a riot of trees and crops Furrowed with deep gullies, its topsoil all but gone, this degraded patch of land near Odagaon in Odisha’s Nayagarh district was once a dense forest. Whenever nature tried to reclaim it, the little shoots would be nibbled away by goats and sheep. The villagers who owned the...

-Press release by Food and Land Use Coalition dated 10 January 2020 India can ensure healthy diets for its growing population, improve livelihoods and plug waste by adopting better food and land use practices New Delhi, January 10, 2020 – With a population projected to reach 1.5 billion people by 2030, and climate risks threatening food security, livelihoods, water supply and human health, India needs to urgently shift to sustainable food...

-The Indian Express State of Forest Report 2019 has shown a 1,275 sq km gain in very dense forest, but what this statistic masks is the fact that the country continues to lose its best natural forests. A look at what was gained and lost. India’s forest cover has increased by 3,976 sq km or 0.56% since 2017. For the second successive time since 2007, the biennial State of Forest Report (SFR)...

-Down to Earth State government misused Article 371 (G) to revoke FRA in Mizoram, critics allege The Mizoram government passed a resolution revoking the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) in its assembly session on November 19, 2019. Under Article 371 (G) of the Constitution, Mizoram has a special provision which makes it mandatory for all legislations of Parliament pertaining to land...