No major investment in dam projects before land acquisition, relief and rehabilitation sorted out Project should be cleared only after distribution network is provided For years, it has been felt that engineers of the Irrigation and Water Resources Departments are far removed from human considerations while planning and executing a project. This is why concerns at displacement and rehabilitation of project-affected people and farmers for whom the water is meant are not...

Village Panchayat, Kaluana in district Sirsa figures among the best 11 panchayats in the country selected for their better performance in the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) Scheme in 2009-10. While stating this here on Wednesday, an official spokesman said UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh honoured the panchayat in a function organised in New Delhi to mark the fifth anniversary of the scheme. MGNREGA...

With a significant improvement in levels of major irrigation reservoirs in the state, thanks to a robust north-east monsoon, Tamil Nadu can look forward to a decent production of summer crops that can potentially arrest the rising prices of vegetables, pulses and food grains. And despite the power woes of farmers and shrinking area of farm lands in the wake of real estate growth, the state's agricultural yield seems to...

Agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan called on Wednesday for documenting indigenous farming knowledge which coped with monsoon vagaries. In earlier days when there was no irrigation, farmers were prepared for floods and droughts. The climate-resilient farming was a way of life in those days, and people went in for mixed cropping. Dr. Swaminathan said a publication could be brought out on procedures adopted by farmers and how effective they were in coping with...

The Centre today announced doubling of funds allocation under a special plan for Bihar to Rs 2,000 crore for the current fiscal, a move that should please Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has been seeking greater central assistance. Effectively, the increase in central allocation would mean that the NDA-ruled state can spend extra Rs 1,000 crore on power, roads and irrigation within the three months ending March 31, 2011. The decision to...