-Scroll.in The Forest Rights Act recognises the rights of forest dwelling communities and entrusts them with the responsibility for conservation. The residents of Gunehar village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district are attempting to use the Forest Rights Act to challenge the state Forest Department’s decision to hand over two hectares of local forest land to the Wildlife Department to construct an office complex. At the end of December, the Gunehar panchayat...

-Hindustan Times Wealthier candidates were far more likely to win their constituency than their less wealthy competitors, according to an analysis of election data and candidate Affidavits by the Hindustan Times. Across 689 constituencies in the assembly elections in Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, the wealthiest candidate won 33.5% of the time, compared to just 24.6% for the second wealthiest candidate and 17% for the third wealthiest. The odds were heavily...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The government has told the Supreme Court it is against granting of permission to community radio channels and FM radio stations to broadcast news programmes because of a "possible security risk" in the absence of a proper mechanism to monitor such content. In a sworn Affidavit filed in the court recently, the ministry of information and broadcasting cited views expressed by the home ministry that there were several...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court observed on Thursday that the statements of some witnesses and the recovery of women's undergarments indicate that rapes had taken place at Murthal during the Jat quota protests in February 2016. The court asked the state police special investigation team to find the culprits to instill confidence in the public. A division bench made these observations in open court. The judges also...

-The Hindu Anger and frustration dominate discussions on demonetisation at a jan sunwai in Beawar, Rajasthan About five-six hundred people are crowded in and around a small shamiana-covered triangle, like the apex of the letter A. The two arms of the A are busy streets typical of small-town India, a press of pedestrians and two-wheelers punctuated with foraging cows, goats and impatient cars and tempos. Including the shopkeepers and hangers-on across the...