-Down to Earth Devansh Mehta believes that people can be sensitised through incentives, be it as small as mobile top-ups In 2016, when Devansh Mehta was asked to sensitise tribal people about the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA), he came up with a simple solution: “Give them an incentive. They will come on their own.” Raipur-based non-profit CGnet Swara, where Mehta heads sustainability initiatives, implemented his proposal on an experimental basis and...

-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...

-Business Standard Every day before 5 am and after 10 pm, 40-year-old K Kasturi and her husband leave their home in Mylapore, Central Chennai, in search of water with eight vessels. If they are lucky, they may be able to fetch water from hand pumps or taps in five vessels after walking 1-1.5 km. This is the only source of water to drink, cook, wash, clean and bathe for them. This is...

-The Times of India Panaji (Goa): Citizens will no longer have to shell out Rs 51 per page when seeking documents under Right To Information (RTI) Act pertaining to the revenue department. An order passed by the appellate authority and additional collector Dasharath Redkar in an appeal has ended the controversy surrounding the issue of charging exorbitant fees for documents sought under the RTI Act. Redkar has directed the public information officer...

-The Hindu Business Line Many countries have introduced Title Guarantee Acts to end uncertainty, duplication of land title deeds and endless disputes over the ownership of land holdings. Hyderabad: Farmers' unions and activists, on Tuesday, have asked the Telangana government to conduct a comprehensive survey of the land in the state before proceeding with the Title Guarantee Act. They said that the the state government should also introduce an exclusive Act to deal...