-Hindustan Times It is also important to remember that both these laws were the product of sustained, grassroots-level social movements. Consequently, perhaps the surest remedy against possible future dilution may lie not in judicial challenges (although that remains important), but in popular mobilisation. With the 2019 general election yielding a decisive mandate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), attention will soon turn to the new government’s legislative agenda. As the government is...

-Hindustan Times The CPCB itself has been given a month’s time to publish the guidelines for restoration water bodies, not presently protected by any national legislation which protects water bodies more than 2.5 acres in size. Gurugram: The National Green Tribunal (NGT), last week, instructed all states and Union territories to follow Haryana’s example and create detailed inventories of water bodies not already protected by any law, review their existing framework...

-The Indian Express “Last year, we recorded fire incidents till May 26 and the figure was 11,468. This year were are recording till May-end as the harvesting of wheat was delayed due to untimely rains,” said Anil Sood, head of the ACM Division, PRSC, Ludhiana. Jalandhar: Stubble burning incidents in Punjab have crossed the 2018 figure despite the efforts of the state government to stop farmers of burning their fields post...

-The Telegraph Call to colleges to take urgent action Two health networks on Tuesday called on medical education institutions to take steps to protect their students from caste-based discrimination that allegedly led a young doctor to commit suicide in Mumbai on May 22. The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) and the Medico Friends Circle (MFC) have labelled the suicide of Payal Tadvi, a doctor from an Adivasi community pursuing postgraduate studies in gynaecology at...

-Petition submitted by National Network of Sex Workers to NHRC, dated 28th May, 2019 The National Network of Sex Workers (NNSW) has recently submitted a petition to the Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Hon. Justice HL Dattu regarding police brutality and raids on sex workers in Mumbai on 24th-25th May 2019. According to that petition, there has been misuse of anti-trafficking provisions of SECtion 370, IPC by the police...