-The Times of India NASHIK: Kharif onion plantation has declined by 68% in Maharashtra's Nashik district as compared to last year. Delayed monsoon and a fall in prices of summer onions have caused the decline. The total area under kharif onion plantation in the district was projected at 20,584 hectares (ha) but the plantation has been done on only 3,434ha (17%) so far. Last year, the area under kharif onion plantation was...
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Rural Development Trust helps harness solar energy -Ravi P Benjamin
-TheHansIndia.com Kothacheruvu (Anantapur): SC, ST farmers in several mandals in the district are opting for solar pump sets to enjoy uninterrupted power for seven hours at a stretch for their horticulture and vegetable plantations, thanks to the Rural Development Trust (RDT) which is giving a huge fillip to solar energy. Farmers unable to purchase pump sets or go in for borewells on their own, are being encouraged to form small groups...
More »India's forests: Whose land is it anyway? -Nitin Sethi
-Business Standard The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill was passed by Parliament amid intense debate over how best India can conserve its forests * Why were the Congress, the Left and tribal activists, including some RSS-affiliated bodies, against the Bill in its present shape? They wanted that the money not be spent on traditional forest lands without the consent of tribals and other forest dwellers. * Why did they want so? India has at least 400...
More »States rejected 8 out of every 10 claims for land by tribals last year -Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava
-Hindustan Times Eight out of 10 claims for land title by forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act were rejected last year, tribal affairs ministry data shows. The Opposition is at the crosshairs with Centre in Rajya Sabha over passage of the Compensatory Afforestation Bill, which critics say will further undercut tribal rights and harm environment by introducing government plantations in areas traditionally used by tribal communities. The Forest Rights Act (FRA), in...
More »Whose forests are these anyway? -Neera Singh
-The Indian Express The current bill does not take into account any of the criticism voiced against an earlier version, proposed under the UPA government in 2013; it continues to ignore the Forest Rights Act. A recent controversial bill that outlines a framework for the utilisation of compensatory afforestation funds is being strongly contested and challenged by civil society actors. It raises important questions that are fundamentally connected to forests: Whose...
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