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...

Monsoon seems to have reversed gear in August, with sustained dry spell in many regions of the country. What's more worrying is that meteorologists in the US are saying there is a 66 percent chance of El Nino developing into a strong event. This means, El Nino's effects could be felt in India too, weakening the monsoon further. Overall, till now, the monsoon rains in India remain in the normal...

The recently concluded Parliament session saw the passage of the highly controversial “Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023” amid wide protests and without much discussion. The bill is aimed to amend the erstwhile Forest Conservation Act, 1980. Among the changes suggested, the below preamble was inserted into the act, and the “Forest (Conservation) Act” is substituted by “Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam” in the principal Act. While the Environment Ministry claims that...

The Print More than a third of India’s poor, or 415 million people, were pushed out of multidimensional poverty between 2005 and 2021, shows analysis of the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP’s) updated poverty index data. The data of 110 developing countries, collected over varying time periods, indicates that this fall is likely to be the steepest. According to the UNDP’s updated Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report, released Tuesday, about 55 percent of...