-Down to Earth State forest officials deter Kalahandi district’s village to procure kendu leaves through gram sabha    Residents of Dhanarpur village in Odisha’s Kalahandi district have hit a roadblock in procuring kendu leaves through gram sabhas — one of the most prominent minor forest produce (MFP) in the state.   The Odisha government granted relaxation for collection and harvest of MFPs when the nationwide lockdown was extended for the second time in...

-Newsclick.in The draft notification pushed during the lockdown, in more ways than one, tries to minimise public participation in determining impacts of any particular industrial project on livelihoods and environment. New Delhi: In what could spell catastrophe for the lives and livelihoods of millions of citizens across the country, the Central government has sought to introduce new rules whereby environmental clearances can be granted to industrial projects on a post facto basis....

-The Hindu Several incidents of migrants walking on roads despite special trains facility Ahmedabad: Chaos resulting from lack of preparations continues to mark the exodus of the migrant labourers from the hubs in Gujarat. On Sunday also, several incidents of migrants walking on roads were reported despite special trains were being arranged to their native places. On Saturday, several incidents of clashes between the migrants and the police were reported from inter-State checkposts...

-The Hindu It was up to the States to decide how to fund this cost, states the national transporter. The railways on Monday said the “sending States” should pay them for transporting migrant workers on Shramik Specials and it was up to them to decide how to fund this cost. “As per the guidelines issued, the sending State will pay the consolidated fare to Railways. Sending State may decide to bear this cost...

-Newsclick.in The lockdown has got the government talking about agri ‘reforms’ again, but the exploitation of India’s weakest farmers continues unchecked. It is a cruel irony that in the sixth week of the nationwide lockdown, the government is talking up omnibus agriculture “reforms” as if they can mitigate the growing distress in rural India. Reforms, no doubt, implies stricter compliance with online registration and payment rules, more focus on market-based pricing, and...