Down to Earth Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla city has been battered following three days of heavy rainfall — there have been three major landslides in the last four days and the bodies of over 22 people have been recovered so far. Over two dozen people are missing and suspected to be buried under the debris. According to experts, the city has long crossed its carrying capacity, which is leading to regular landslides...

Carbon Copy A freshly passed amendment to the Forest Conservation Act has created a stir among ecologists, parliamentarians and stakeholders. With several contentious provisions, the amendment reveals an afforestation push where rights and justice take a backseat to commercial interests. This week, amidst a raucous monsoon session, the Indian Parliament saw the passage of several consequential pieces of legislation in quick succession. Among them was the contentious amendment to the Forest Conservation...

Scroll.in Since making headlines in January, Joshimath town in Uttarakhand continues to sink while the massive development projects, which locals insist are causing the subsidence, also continue. New cracks are appearing in the houses and roads of Joshimath town, along with deep cavities in the fields. But people who are affected, wait for rehabilitation, with only a few having received meagre compensation, that too for their houses alone. The government has neither come...

KEY TRENDS   • Oxfam India's 2023 India Supplement report on poverty and inequality in India reveals that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Following the pandemic in 2019, the bottom 50 per cent of the population have continued to see their wealth chipped away. By 2020, their income share was estimated to have fallen to only 13 per cent of the national income and have less than 3...

The National Sample Survey Organization's Multiple Indicator Survey - part of the 78th round - has revealed that only 39.1 percent of all Indian households have access to drinking water within the  dwelling. When it come to cooking, 46.7% of rural households use firewood.  These are some of the findings of the survey whose purpose was to collect data about the indicators of Sustainable Development Goals. Data was collected for households...