The monthly farmers' grievance meeting held here at the district collectorate on Friday witnessed a slew of demands from farmers ranging from early Desilting of PWD channels to release of crop loans to opposition of proposed power projects. There was a collective demand for Desilting of PWD channels before water was released from the Mettur Dam. Transparency in the number of channels listed for Desilting, along with works cost involved for...

The alarm bells are ringing right below our feet. Delhi and portions of Rajasthan falling in the National Capital Region (NCR) extract almost double the amount of groundwater than is recharged every year. The situation is equally bad in NCR portions of Haryana, particularly Gurgaon and Faridabad, which largely depend on groundwater. A status report on groundwater by the NCR Planning Board (NCRPB) reveals that the water table in Delhi...

There is a growing chorus of views - representing some very influential writers in India and elsewhere - in favour of direct cash transfer into poor people's bank accounts as a more efficient social security net than the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). Economist Arvind Panagariya has called direct cash transfer ''the least costly policy to give immediate relief to the poor". Having returned from a series of field...