-The Indian Express The disparity in living conditions in the capital was starkly revealed by the data released in the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2013. According to the handbook, over 30 per cent of Delhi's population lives in one-room dwellings, while three per cent resides in more five-room accommodations. As per the report, 32.2 per cent of the population - both rural and urban - stays in single-room dwellings followed by 29.6 per...

-The Hindu The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General underscoring the blatant violation of conservation laws and Supreme Court orders in the diversion of forests for destructive non-forestry use confirms what former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said about the system: it's a bit of a joke. The compensatory afforestation mechanism instituted to balance the devastating loss of natural forests has failed abysmally. The CAG's report is proof that India's...

-The Economic Times In the leaky system of welfare delivery, databases are the newest valve that governments are installing to ensure that benefits reach those-and only those -they are intended for. Since December 2012, for instance, the government of Madhya Pradesh has been appending on to the Centre's Socio Economic and Caste Census a host of household-level data: bank account numbers, NREGA card numbers, welfare entitlements, land ownership, whether their house is...

-The Hindu     The draft policy on the use of forest land is at odds with sound conservation principles and fails to plug holes in current guidelines that work to the advantage of project promoters The Supreme Court in July 2011 while delivering the Lafarge Judgment laid down guidelines on forest clearance procedures. These were to operate till a new regulatory mechanism was put in place. Two years after the judgment, the Ministry...

-DNA With 139.26% rise in rape cases as compared to last year, the national capital continues to fight with the shame of being the rape capital of India. In 2012, 433 rape cases were recorded in Delhi whereas till 15 August this year, 1,036 cases have already been registered in various police stations across the city. Similarly, cases of molestation have witnessed a rise of 495.01%. Last year, 381 cases of molestation...