-Live Mint MoEF notification on 5 February says linear projects such as roads, canals wouldn't require gram sabha consent A move by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to exempt promoters of so-called linear projects such as roads, pipelines and canals from seeking the consent of village councils in forest areas will likely be a non-starter unless the government moves to amend the forest rights Act (FRA). MoEF issued a notification on...

-The Hindustan Times Women hold up half the sky. But evidence suggests that more than half the sky is crushing women, particularly poor women. These days, women struggling to retain their lives and livelihoods against POSCO's proposed plant, in Jagathsingpur, Orissa, are experiencing this first hand. They get beaten and threatened, their demands ignored. In Govindpur village, the tension is palpable, as the confrontation has been violent for some time now. So angry are...

-The Indian Express Kolkata: West Bengal's notification for the panchayat elections marks a flash point in an ongoing tussle between the Mamata Banerjee government and the state election commission. The government notification, issued last week independently of the election authorities, has declared polls in two phases, on April 26 and 30. The election commission, headed by Meera Pandey, has been insisting on three phases. On Monday, the commission wrote to the government...

-The Hindu As the world observed World Water Day last week, Bolivian water activist Pablo Solon narrates how his countrymen forced the repeal of a water privatisation attempt by the government What began as an ordinary citizen’s protest against water privatisation laid out the path for a bigger revolution that eventually paved way for Bolivia’s first indigenously elected government. With worldwide discussions for sustainable management of fresh water resources gaining ground in a...

-The Hindustan Times A UN report has described India’s water pollution situation as a “time-bomb” while praising social activist Anna Hazare’s village Ralegan Siddhi for using the scarce commodity in a rationale manner. In a stinging remark on water administration in India, the report says India is able to treat just 10 % of its city sewage and industrial waste discharge, the most polluting source for rivers and Water bodies. “Presently, only...