-Down to Earth Industrial houses use tribals as fronts to amass tribal land in Chhattisgarh Ram Singh’s neighbours tease him by calling him Crorepati Singh. The 40-year-old Gond tribal from Parsada village in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh has hardly any landholding and depends on the government’s employment guarantee schemes to feed his family. But according to official documents, Singh has recently purchased land worth Rs 1.5 crore from a dozen of tribals...

-The Pioneer The land rights given under Forest Rights Act should be used to make these lands so productive that the people become self-sufficient for their daily needs. Government departments must facilitate the change, says VK Bahuguna Land-based resources in areas affected by Maoist violence are the backbone of tribal livelihood. But, population pressure and degradation coupled with poor investment has led to the gradual reduction in the income of the people...

-The United Nations The world's forests have a major role to play in the transition to a greener economy, but governments need to do more to ensure they are sustainably managed, according to a new report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), issued today. “Forests and trees on farms are a direct source of food, energy, and cash income for more than a billion of the world's poorest people,”...

In Maharashtra’s drought-hit Satara district, a cattle camp has come to the rescue of women and their cattle, writes Sameena Dalwai. Mann taluka in Satara district is ground zero for the drought now ravaging interior Maharashtra. The only cattle camp in the vicinity, being run by the Mann Deshi Mahila Bank and Foundation, provides a snap distress. This region, known as ‘Manndesh’ in Marathi folklore, falls in the rain shadow area...

-The Hindustan Times Indian high courts were supposed to deliver justice in Right To Information (RTI) cases. But, they have themselves enforced rules that make implementation of the transparency law --- RTI Act --- difficult.     A study done by a government institute ---- Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration --- aimed at evaluating efficacy and reasonableness of rules prescribed under RTI Act finds that many high courts have prescribed rules to...