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Aparna Pallavi
Aparna Pallavi
Articles by the Author
2013-5-21
CICR says it got yields as high as 25 to 30 quintals per acre using high density plantation of non-Bt cotton varieties
2013-5-21
Orange City Water Limited fails to supply 24X7 clean water; people demand cancellation of contract
2013-5-17
Sulking contractors refuse to put in auction bids; state tribal development corporation to the rescue
2013-5-31
As government fails to tackle anaemia, NGOs in Maharashtra help women increase haemoglobin by raising kitchen gardens
2013-5-13
Affected people stage boycott, administration carries on nevertheless
2013-4-8
Film>> Tuhya Dharma Koncha, directed by Satish Manwar, cast: Upendra Limaye, Vibhavari Deshpande, music by Dattaprasad Ranade
2013-3-23
Officials not clear about the fate of the project
2013-3-22
Forest department's move may be a ploy to retain control over trade in forest produce, say activists
2013-3-31
A large part of Maharashtra has been declared drought-hit. But distribution of water is quite incongruous. While the few who are politically and financially powerful take the lion’s share for sugarcane crops, thermal plants and other industries, the rest are struggling to survive. The government has failed to deal with the crisis, report Aparna Pallavi and Akshay Deshmane from the state
2013-3-14
Quarter of state budget allocated to manage water; drip irrigation on 100,000 hectares
2013-3-14
S Kumars failed to meet operation deadline; all project related activities at a stand-still
2013-3-13
Indian scientists develop a variety of coloured cotton, characterised by stability of lint colour, spinnable fibre quality and a fairly good yield
2013-2-28
Even as Bt cotton invaded Indian fields in the past few years, some farmer groups kept pushing for organic cotton. In 2009-10, production in India propelled world organic cotton production to an all-time high of 241,697 tonnes. But soon, many farmers realised that organic farming takes years of sustained efforts to get full benefits. With no support from government, that favours Bt cotton, many farmers are reverting to chemical farming.
Aparna Pallavi reports from the cotton belt of Maharasthra and Madhya Pradesh, and M Suchitra from Andhra Pradesh. Jyotika Sood writes about international non-profits that are venturing into alternative methods of sustainable cotton production
2013-1-31
Micha X Peled, US-based Israeli filmmaker, has won 22 international awards for his globalisation trilogy, the last of which was a film on farmer suicides in Vidarbha, Bitter Seeds. He was recently in Vidarbha to screen the film in the village where it was shot, Tailang Takdi in Yavatmal, the heartland of farmer suicides. He talked to Aparna Pallavi. Excerpts
2012-12-17
Irrigation scam: Maharashtra government agrees for SIT probe
2012-12-3
Activists, citizens groups enraged by silence on hyped water availability estimates, bad construction and corruption
2012-11-26
Court to monitor transition to full segregation and processing
2012-11-26
State now tells green tribunal that developer did not release sufficient funds for resettlement and rehabilitation work
2012-11-19
Sugar factories in Sangli and Kolhapur offer Rs 200 more than the earlier price
2012-11-15
Agitation spreads to six districts, procurement near standstill
2012-11-14
Challenge to popularising these stores is to get doctors to prescribe low-cost generic drugs
2012-11-30
People of Bengaluru pitch a battle against civic body which has neglected mounting piles of garbage
2012-11-30
Government tries to begin work on the 1,400 MW plant in Madhya Pradesh
2012-11-15
Karnataka government’s survey to estimate the scale of endosulfan tragedy is a half-hearted attempt
2012-10-31
How irrigation projects in Maharashtra harnessed money, not water
2012-10-1
Aparna Pallavi finds out why residents of Goa’s prettiest village cannot wish away mining which they hate
2012-9-27
Over 100,000 people in the state affected by suspension of mining activity
2012-10-15
Fluoride levels in drinking water in 196 districts of 19 Indian states are much higher than the maximum concentration of 1.5 parts per million (ppm) deemed safe. Poor people in these areas do not need expensive gadgets to get rid of the contaminant anymore. All they need is a tulsi plant. Rahul Kamble, assistant professor of Environment Sciences at Sardar Patel Mahavidyalaya at Chandrapur, Maharashtra, explains to Aparna Pallavi how
2012-10-15
Gramdoots, or village volunteers, mobilise people to get government machinery moving
2012-9-21
People affected by Omkareshwar and Indira Sagar dams had staged jal satyagraha to demand rehabilitation rights
2012-9-19
Government health insurance schemes have made life more difficult for the rural poor, finds Aparna Pallavi
2012-9-30
The country’s planners are debating how to provide healthcare to all. In a drastic shift from the 65-year-old public health system, the Planning Commission in the 12th Five Year Plan considers introducing an insurance scheme, which will allow a major role to private players. Will it work?
Vibha Varshney in Delhi, Alok Gupta in Bihar and Aparna Pallavi in Andhra Pradesh examine how the existing health insurance schemes are faring. They find there is a lot to learn from their shortcomings and successes before a new model of healthcare delivery is prescribed
2012-9-12
They are to be immersed only in artificial tanks
2012-9-12
They were staging jal satyagraha to demand land compensation and reduction in reservoir water level
2012-9-11
People affected by Omkareshwar dam to get land in lieu of land; water level of reservoir reduced
2012-9-6
Municipal corporation rapped for delaying ban on plaster of Paris idols that pollute the city's water bodies
2012-9-15
Tribals of central India vouch for the taste and health benefits of neglected wild vegetables
2012-9-15
Tribals in Madhya Pradesh celebrate festival to reclaim forests; officials say they are encroaching land
2012-8-28
Garbage piles in city as two other landfills close operations due to public protests
2012-8-20
Orders Madhya Pradesh to constitute grievance redressal authorities in tribal districts
2012-8-10
Move follows complaints against the company of providing inferior seeds, cheating and creating shortages
2012-8-10
Improved claim formats; no unfair caveats
2012-7-12
Protest against police violence; administration blames mining, Naxals
2012-7-9
Chief Minister Prithvi Raj Chavan says agreement with Ballarpur Industries predates the Act
2012-7-6
'Forest officials and administration guilty of contempt of court for denying rehabilitation benefits, fishing rights'
2012-7-5
These men have been attending meetings and issuing instructions in place of their wives
2012-6-21
Farmers accuse power company of registering bogus speakers, question timing of public hearing with sowing season
2012-6-30
Maharashtra to finally give JFM villages their due, but the share is bigger, say activists
2012-6-12
Irrigation potential of 125,000 ha unused since 1950
10 Maharashtra villages to finally get Rs 74.5 lakh as benefits under joint forest management scheme
2012-6-7
Detailed accounts of revenue earned from each village forest should be made public, says activist
2012-6-5
Farmers stall ground levelling work at site; fear police reprisal
2012-5-29
Current tendu leaf collection wages seven times less than state minimum wage
2012-5-5
25,000 farmers await compensation from firms that supplied soy seeds with very low germination rate
2012-5-15
Decisions by Maharashtra’s top forest official can empower gram sabhas prepare plans to revive their forests, but a policy is awaited
2012-4-30
Nagpur orange’s survival hinges precariously on its return to sustainable cultivation. Farmers have woken up to this, but will the government?
2012-4-7
Tribal village Pachgaon to follow Mendha Lekha; to hold bamboo sale as protest to gain community forest rights
2012-4-15
At a time when climate change is emerging as a reality, indigenous people are eager to give-up their low-carbon lifestyle and join the bandwagon of consumerism. Is their traditional lifestyle destined to die a natural death in the development process as some anthropologists predict? Veteran forest rights activist, scholar and historian Sanjay Basu Mullik, who heads Jharkhand Jangal Bachao Andolan, discusses emerging challenges of forest rights movement with Aparna Pallavi. Edited excerpts:
2012-3-21
Aparna Pallavi travels to Gadchiroli district to find out why villages relinquished forest rights
2012-3-20
Bhamb Raja rues Bt seed major Monsanto and farmers activists exploit its plight to achieve their own goals
2012-3-13
Gets an official letter saying no to iron-ore mining
2012-3-10
Flawed forestland titles to be re-examined, says top forest official
2012-3-6
Madhya Pradesh village given rights over agricultural and residential land instead of forestland
2012-3-3
Nine gram sewaks have committed suicide in past one year due to work stress
2012-3-15
Residents protest iron mining in Maharashtra tehsil; authorities blame murder for boycott
2012-2-10
To relax rules to lure tendu contractors
2012-2-10
The report was to be submitted on January 9
2012-2-3
Census figures do not show whether tiger population in the state is rising or falling
2012-2-1
Tendu contractors and gram panchayats to be responsible for prevention and extinguishing of fires
2012-2-15
Stubborn weed selni was once a favourite among central India farmers for its cooling effect
2012-1-31
Once parched, Dewas in Madhya Pradesh is now a lush green district
2012-1-31
Apart from fitness there is another good reason one should walk: charging mobile phone. Mandar Tulankar, an engineering student in Nagpur, has designed a charger that fits into a sports shoe and charges cell phones simply by the energy generated by walking. He talks to Aparna Pallavi about his innovation
2012-1-10
They were fishing in reservoir inside the Pench Tiger Reserve, where fishing has been banned by high court
2011-9-15
Forest departments across the country owe millions of rupees to communities. For 20 years communities toiled under the Joint Forest Management programme in the hope of getting shares in revenue from timber and bamboo sales. As forests mature for harvesting, forest departments apply mathematical tricks to bring down monetary share to almost nothing; a few states do away with giving cash to communities. Disillusioned, people are now abandoning the programme. One school of experts questions carrying on with the programme of joint management when Acts giving communities legal rights to manage forests on their own have come into existence.
Sayantan Bera, Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava, Aparna Pallavi, Ankur Paliwal and Sumana Narayanan travel to West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh respectively—five states with substantial forests under the programme—to find out how joint management of forests has fared
2011-4-30
It was once associated with the rich and urban. Today, hypertension is fast spreading in rural India. This is a cause for concern because hypertension, if not checked, can lead to heart and kidney diseases. Healthcare facilities are already poor in villages, where nearly three-fourths of Indians live. For the poor the cost of treatment itself can add to stress, a trigger for high blood pressure. Vibha Varshney, along with Aparna Pallavi in Maharashtra, investigates the reasons behind rising hypertension
2010-12-31
Rice is at the heart of a fierce strategy debate as the country prepares to launch the second Green Revolution in the eastern states. Policymakers and scientists have drawn up ambitious plans to increase the productivity of this cereal which feeds two-thirds of Indians.
Enormous funds are being poured into research aimed at improving seed varieties, with a heavy focus on developing hybrid rice. Is it the right option for millions of small rice farmers who are already battling high input costs and increasingly unpredictable weather? Or does part of the solution lie in efficient methods of cultivation that will cut down water use and improve yield?
Latha Jishnu analyses these varied strands as she visits research institutes and gets down into the paddy fields of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to understand what might work. She discovers that traditional rice varieties are making a significant comeback in Odisha—as in Karnataka, where Aparna Pallavi finds some farmers have abandoned high-yielding varieties in favour of indigenous varieties and organic farming to meet the challenges of climate change.
From West Bengal, Sayantan Bera reports that the largest rice producing state has a different set of problems to contend with if it has to reap the promise of the new Green Revolution.
2010-10-15
Reaching food to people who need it the most has remained one of the most stubborn problems in India. The public distribution system (PDS) is in a shambles in most parts of the country with the poor unable to get their quota of foodgrains despite the biggest build-up of government stocks in recent times. A chunk of the grain mountain is rotting for want of storage space and effective mechanism for releasing adequate stocks in times of high food inflation.
Is it time we dismantled the largely corrupt and inefficient PDS and switched to food coupons or cash transfers as some economists suggest? Some states have introduced food coupons but there is no certainty these will work any better. On the other hand, the Food Security Bill envisages an expanded PDS to cover a larger population. Can the system be streamlined?
Latha Jishnu and Ravleen Kaur analyse the different facets of managing the food economy and find that the PDS could become highly efficient if innovation and technology are harnessed to political will, as Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu did. These states offer valuable lessons in resolving the problems of procurement, storage and allocation of basic food items.
Aparna Pallavi, Ashutosh Mishra and Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava, who travelled across large parts of the tribal belt, report on the extent of the problem that most destitute people face in getting their meagre rations, month after month. They highlight the urgent need to get food across to the large swathe of malnourished and chronically hungry people in the hinterland
2010-11-15
Does this official data betray a conspiracy? Only 1.6 per cent of the 2.9 million claims approved under the Forest Rights Act recognise community rights; the rest recognise individual rights over forest dwellings and farms in forestland. Now consider this: community rights under the Act include the right to collect minor forest produce, like bamboo and tendu leaves, which accounts for half the forest department revenue. Reason enough for states to scuttle community rights, which the Centre is trying desperately to enforce. The government of India views MFP rights as a means to curb Naxalism since the states most affected by Naxalism are also home to the maximum number of people dependent on forest produce. These states contribute more than 90 per cent of the MFP trade
Down To Earth correspondents travelled to six states to unravel the conspiracy to deprive forest people of their rights. Richard Mahapatra reports from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava from Madhya Pradesh, Sumana Narayanan from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and Aparna Pallavi from Maharashtra
2010-3-31
Biomass power generation started with a bang 10 years ago. Plant owners, Ruhi Kandhari and Aparna Pallavi met say the picture is not that rosy now
2011-12-23
Maharashtra government distributes Rs 25,000 cheques, claims relocation has resumed
2011-12-21
Madhya Pradesh High Court takes cognisance of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Boards objection
2011-12-21
Till now, the status was granted to farmers and heirs only for ten years from time of land acquisition
2011-12-17
Considering the acreage of soybean, cotton and paddy, the aid would be a paltry Rs 941 per ha
2011-12-17
Will it impact the ongoing case in the Madhya Pradesh High Court?
2011-12-12
Aparna Pallavi on what happens when farmers' innovations are brought to the notice of agriculture scientists
2011-12-7
Say it would endanger people’s their lives and environment
2011-12-7
Inquiry panel recommends looking for an alternative service provider, but ignores corruption charges
2011-12-1
Ignore report that says defence research organisation's facility not suitable for disposing of heavy metals
2011-12-1
Pleads election code of conduct to postpone minimum support price decision
2011-11-25
Company started construction work around village settlement without rehabilitating affected people
2011-11-9
Consumer organisations demand public hearing
2011-11-9
Cost escalation made Maharashtra's power generation company reconsider present site in Dhule district
2011-11-1
First phase nation-wide study finds diabetes prevalence highest in Chandigarh
2011-10-28
Satellite images and information technology will be used to check poaching, tree felling
2011-10-25
Chief minister refuses to attend bhoomi poojan following allegations of irregularities
2011-10-24
Larvae found in sewage discovered in the water body formed by meteoric crater
2011-10-20
Declines to grant stay on environmental clearance
2011-10-31
No village in Maharashtra other than Mendha Lekha has been able to access bamboo
2011-10-13
Hike proposed is fifth in a year; people blame power distributor for not recovering dues from the powerful
2011-10-10
Chhattisgarh tigress could have been saved from mob death on September 24
2011-10-10
Farmers say developing metropolitan region a better deal
2011-9-28
Project-affected people to file petition for return of land
2011-9-27
People opposing expansion of Koradi thermal plant near Nagpur furnish evidence on high radiation from coal-fired plants
2011-9-27
Order follows Maharashtra Pollution Control Board statement that it cannot predict the impact of burning the toxic waste
2011-9-26
Earns 2.5 times more than what the highest rate received by the forest department last year
2011-9-7
Incinerator out of order since two years
2011-9-15
Latur gains from anti-encroachment drive on farm roads. State takes its cue
2011-8-19
Aparna Pallavi recounts struggles of residents of a tiny village in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra to get ownership of forest resources
2011-8-31
Two young farmers of Karnataka prosper by overcoming tiller instinct
2011-8-31
Soybean does not sprout in 40,000 hectares in Maharashtra, state blames farmers
2011-8-15
Bombay High Court stays transfer of Union Carbide waste to Maharashtra
2011-8-15
Omits crucial community rights from claim papers of Gadchiroli villages
2011-7-31
Soligas of BR Hills say litter fire is the only way to salvage the sanctuary
2011-7-31
Pollutes Irai river in Maharashtra, kills thousands of fish
2011-6-30
Largest paper manufacturer is using most of the bamboo in Maharashtra, leaving little for residents
2011-6-15
Six villages in Madhya Pradesh reject Centre’s proposal to declare their forest a wildlife sanctuary
2011-5-31
Maharashtra village India’s first to win right to harvest bamboo. Eyes now on other forest produce
2011-5-15
Agriculture gets priority over industry, farmer-friendly clauses dropped
2011-3-31
A Maharashtra village demands rights to transport and sell forest produce
2011-2-15
For 10 years Jutta Kill has monitored and critiqued EU’s climate policy and carbon trading with a focus on forests and the rights of forest dwellers. She now works with FERN, a European social and environmental justice organisation. Kill was recently in India to visit communities around CDM projects in the country. Aparna Pallavi caught up with her in Nagpur
2011-1-31
Melghat reserve has the highest concentration of giant wood spider
2010-12-31
Activists say forest department trying to dilute Forest Rights Act
2010-11-15
A masterplan soon to make Lonar lake an eco-tourism spot
2010-10-22
Centre approves buffer zone around two tiger reserves in Maharashtra
2010-10-12
Aparna Pallavi reveals her near miss with Naxals while enquiring about PDS
2010-8-31
Vidarbha’s farmers protest the Maharashtra government’s attempt to build yet another thermal power plant by depriving them of irrigation water
2010-8-31
Outsourced firms default on garbage collection and treatment
2010-7-31
People watch helplessly as the sea nibbles the Konkan coast, swallowing groves and beaches, and shallowing creeks
2010-7-15
MoEF clears projects in forests without settling land rights of people
2010-4-30
Aparna Pallavi took 20 years to understand Vidarbha’s culinary character. It lies in the staple
2010-6-15
They grow fast and their foliage blocks sunlight to weeds, farmers in Maharashtra have found
2010-4-15
Drive autorickshaws, municipality tells horse-carriage operators
2010-4-15
Drive autorickshaws, municipality tells horse-carriage operators
2010-4-15
Karnataka villages are reviving underground springs that were once their lifeline in summers
2009-12-31
Sahyadris have been documenting the changing climate for 40 years
2009-12-15
Inter-state agreement to replenish groundwater in 800,000 ha
2009-11-30
Gram sabhas resolve to get rights over community-owned land and resources registered
2009-11-30
Maharashtra district revives an old farm practice and tackles drought
Is Narmada water being made to flow in Sabarmati not supplied to city of Ahmedabad? This has furthered the idea of river...
Hello,
I have been selling glass for commercial buildings talking about light, thermal/solar heat gain etc.etc..but I...
Dear Saxena ji,
Thank you for inquiry.
West facing windows can be a big source of heat, first measure which you...