A RESEARCHER WORKING on the State of Panchayats Report (SOPR) 2008-09 met Mahangu Madiya in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, a dangerous place for gathering data. Madiya’s story was startling. In January, he was given Rs 55 lakh compensation for his land, but the amount is sitting in his bank account. He does not even own a mobile phone. “I am concerned with farming. My land is important to me. What will I...
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The task of making the PDS work by Jean Dreze
The planned National Food Security Act represents a unique opportunity to achieve gains with respect to the public distribution system. However, the current draft is a non-starter. When I first visited Surguja district in Chhattisgarh nearly 10 years ago, it was one of those areas where the Public Distribution System (PDS) was virtually non-functional. I felt constrained to write, at that time, that “the whole system looks like it has been...
More »Compromise on ‘no-go' coal fields by Priscilla Jebaraj
The Coal and Environment Ministries have reached a compromise solution on the controversial “no-go” designation of coal Mining blocks in forested areas, following the reported intervention of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Speaking on the sidelines of a function here on Tuesday, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said that while the final “go areas” will span 30,000 hectares more than his initial proposal, it was also...
More »Permission given for projects to be probed
Approvals pertain to bauxite Mining, alumina factory, wetlands allocation for three thermal projects Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has announced a probe into all kinds of permission given so far for bauxite Mining, setting up of alumina factory and allocation of wetlands in Srikakulam for setting up three thermal power projects. He promised to withdraw all permissions if the report proved that they were given in contravention...
More »Govt loses Rs1,800 cr annually to coal mafia
The Central government suffers an annual loss of Rs1,800 crore on account of thousands of coal mafia, which involve themselves in illegal Mining across different states, an official said on Sunday. “Thousands of coal mafia (gangs) active in coal-producing belts, including that of Coal India Ltd (CIL), plunder about six million tonnes of coal annually. Going by current prices in the domestic market, this amounts to Rs 1,800 crore a year,”...
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