The issue regarding the seemingly poor response to the national rural employment guarantee scheme ( NREGS) of the central government dominated the proceedings of the gram sabha of the Chandor village panchayat held on Sunday. It was pointed out that several cardholders under the UPA government's flagship project had later failed to undertake the work allotted to them, thus crippling the progress of the scheme in the village. The program officer...

Lauri Myllyvirta, the Finnish Greenpeace campaigner who visited the Jaitapur nuclear power project area in Ratnagiri district last year, has denied that he showed any Films or other material like photos to the local people agitating against the project. In an email interview from Indonesia, Mr. Myllyvirta said these claims were absurd. He visited the area on November 20, 2010 and left the next day. On Monday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan...

Recognizing the role that forests play in everything from mitigating climate change to providing wood, medicines and livelihoods for people worldwide, the United Nations today kicked off a year-long celebration to raise awareness of the value of this important resource. “Forests for People” is the main theme of the International Year of Forests, which was launched at a ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York attended by world leaders, Nobel Laureate...

Commonwealth Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmdi was today questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the conduct of the sports event. According to sources, the questioning is about alleged irregularities in the Queen Baton's Relay held in London last year besides certain contracts awarded to various firms totalling several hundred crores. The CBI summons to Kalmadi follows the interrogation of his key aide Lalit...

Bauxite Mining of the sacred hill of Adivasis in Lanjigarh, Kalahandi district, Orissa, had been stopped by a decision of the India Ministry for Environment and Forest (MoE&F) on August 24th, 2010. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had constituted an enquiry panel – which in its report recommends that bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills should not be allowed for mining unless the local Adivasi communities give their consent. According to this report,...