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Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava
Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava
Articles by the Author
2013-6-20
Central agency has failed to carry out most of its functions in past 7 years
2013-6-6
State's population of 100 bustards crucial for recovery of the critically endangered bird in India
2013-5-31
Hornbills, the awkward-looking birds with over-sized beaks, are important for the regeneration of Himalayan forests in north-east India. They are intricately connected to the myths and cultures of tribes in the region. However, over-hunting and habitat destruction has made it difficult for the birds to breed and survive in their natural abode. For the past decade, Aparajita Datta, scientist at the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and a team of researchers from the foundation, have been working with the forest department and communities to protect the birds through innovative programmes. She was recently awarded the Whitley Award, also known as Green Oscar, by the Whitley Fund for Nature to expand her project. She responded to Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava's questions on ongoing efforts to protect the birds, the tribal people who have turned from hunters to guardians, and her own concerns regarding conservation and the hornbills. Excerpts from the e-mail interview:
2013-6-15
Environment ministry recognises religious rights, pushes ecological concerns behind
2013-5-29
Developer Maruthi Power Gen had fudged facts to show one project as two to circumvent clearances from Centre
2013-5-27
State invites forest rights claims from only a dozen villages on Niyamgiri hill slope
2013-5-21
Environment ministry says dolphins are ‘non-human persons’; morally unacceptable to capture them for entertainment
2013-5-17
Land alloted to Rungta Mines is home to elephants, tribals and Maoists
2013-5-10
Appeal to Supreme Court says Assam government responsible for implementing notification on no-development zone around national park
2013-5-2
Odisha government gets a slew of orders to ensure the order is properly implemented
2013-5-1
They were found carrying a rifle and a fake rhino horn, say forest officials
2013-5-15
Maldharis resort to Forest Rights Act as forest department plans to restrict grazing on Banni grassland
2013-5-15
Supreme Court asks gram sabhas to see if Vedanta’s bauxite mine harms religious rights
2013-4-18
Apex court gives Sterlite, OMCL three months to submit project proposal to affected gram sabhas
2013-4-17
Environment ministry's expert committee seeks new layout plan; fresh studies on environmental and social impact
2013-4-15
Supreme Court orders shifting of some lions to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno-Palpur sanctuary to protect their gene pool
2013-4-30
As the demand-supply gap for timber widens in India, it is time to exploit the potential of private plantations and government-managed forests in a sustainable manner
2013-4-15
A camel breed that can swim struggles for survival as its food source dwindles
2013-3-12
Yamuna Muktikaran Padayatra protests waste water discharge into the river from Delhi; police prevent them from proceeding to Jantar Mantar
2013-2-20
Stand taken by environment ministry in Supreme Court affidavit gives opponents chance to press for mining in Niyamgiri hills
2013-2-19
It is the last opportunity for states, warns ministry official
2013-2-17
Affidavit filed in Vedanta case says government can acquire forests in public interest by ‘extinguishing’ tribal rights
2013-2-7
Approval given without waiting for wildlife management plan for elephant reserve
2013-2-6
MoEF waives requirement of obtaining gram sabha certificates for linear projects. Will it dilute forest rights of people?
2013-2-15
Two Central government arms fight over de-linking of forest, environment clearances
2013-1-25
Haryana Pollution Control Board directed to submit air quality analysis to determine extent of pollution caused by illegal development activities
2013-1-31
Five years after it was implemented, the Forest Rights Act finally takes root. Communities across the country rush to claim rights over forests and their produce, particularly bamboo. But they face a double challenge: the forest bureaucracy refuses to help communities prepare forest management plans, and contractors manipulate the market for their benefit. Is this the new battle in implementation of the Act? Richard Mahapatra from Odisha and Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava from Maharashtra unfold the plot
2013-1-9
Environment ministry wants to tag jumbos to track their movements and avert rail accidents
2013-1-15
Forest bureaucracy contended that clearance by the Centre can’t be challenged
2012-12-18
Companies acquired prime agricultural land in countries suffering high levels of hunger to grow crops for export
2012-12-17
Enforcement and strengthening of laws that protect land rights of tribals and forest dwellers recommended
2012-12-4
Is it the upcoming elections that are prompting states to focus on FRA and win hearts of the tribal people? wonders Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava
2012-12-15
Central Empowered Committee wants to reduce eco-sensitive zones around protected areas
2012-11-26
Jayanthi Natarajan releases action plan to conserve bear species at international conference on bear research and management in Delhi
2012-11-23
Says Union environment ministry does not have powers to overrule Supreme Court which cleared the project
2012-11-17
Says its recommendation to reduce the size of safety zones for wildlife unscientific
2012-11-30
Andaman administration to remove legal hurdles to allow small commercial activities
2012-11-15
CoP-11 fails to finalise guidelines to safeguard forest biodiversity
2012-10-14
Some countries noncommittal about identifying ecologically and biologically sensitive marine areas in high seas and territorial waters
2012-10-12
Around 370 million ha of forests across the world are conserved by communities with little support from governments
2012-10-10
Negotiations progress smoothly
2012-10-9
Contact group to now fix individual financial targets for countries
2012-10-8
CoP 11 will decide future course of action plans to meet Aichi Targets
2012-10-2
Request minister’s intervention on eve of hearing in Supreme Court
2012-10-15
Non-profits develop web application to monitor haphazard development along Indian coastline
2012-9-26
Presents the new guidelines in Supreme Court; next hearing on October 3
2012-9-24
MoEF panel recommends opening up to 20 per cent of core tiger habitats in reserves for tourism; earlier guidelines proposed only community-based tourism in such areas
2012-9-30
Green tribunal fines state, Centre for allowing stone crushers, brick kilns near Assam park
2012-9-12
Allows tourism in core tiger habitats and areas in reserves from where villages were uprooted
2012-9-8
Forest department’s role in managing forest resources curtailed
2012-9-7
Green tribunal orders closure of all industries that began operations after the zone was notified in 1996; others to use clean fuel
2012-9-6
The island in Andaman Nicobar is the only abode for the highly endangered bird
2012-9-6
Several elephant habitats and forest corridors used by wildlife fall outside sanctuaries and parks
2012-9-15
Controversy over non-official members; one appointee to advisory committee quits
2012-9-15
Displaced from Kuno wildlife sanctuary earlier, the tribe is being evicted again for a dam
2012-8-30
Till then ban on tourism in core tiger habitats will prevail
2012-8-22
Government more worried about commercial activities being hit than safety of tigers: Supreme Court
2012-8-21
Will file an affidavit in Supreme Court, seeking review of guidelines that call for phasing out tourism from core tiger habitats
2012-8-14
Apex court order may create problems for the already understaffed and overworked tribunal
2012-8-13
Process of consulting gram sabhas bypassed to notify buffer areas around tiger habitats within time limit set by court, allege activists
2012-8-8
71 more thermal power plants are in various stages of approval in the region
2012-8-1
Virtually all new coal fields and planned power plants are in states that have India’s largest contiguous tiger landscape
2012-8-15
First Asiatic lion, then cheetah: officials struggle to decide which animal to introduce, and when, in Kuno-Palpur sanctuary. But they evict tribal residents with poor compensation
2012-7-24
Court slaps fine of Rs 10,000 each on states that have not notified buffer zone around tiger reserves even after the deadline for it was extended by two weeks
2012-7-21
Tribal affairs ministry's draft rules under Forest Rights Act give more authority to the community in the process of settling forest rights
2012-7-31
Tiger tourism booms without proper regulation; new guidelines attempt to contain damage
2012-7-13
Tribals and forest dwellers don’t need to obtain transit passes to cart away the produce; minimum support price scheme for MFPs to be in place by January 2013
2012-7-11
Fund so collected will be spent on conserving forests, managing human-wildlife conflict and generating livelihood for local communities
2012-7-4
Turns down plea of Andaman administration to allow limited tourism and small government guest houses in buffer zone
2012-7-2
It is recognised as one of the world’s eight hottest hot spots of biological diversity
2012-6-30
Report by non-profits highlights gender disparity in Forest Rights Act implementation
2012-6-15
Where titles have been granted, average size of land holdings much smaller than what the Forest Rights Act provides for, says status report on implementation of the Act
2012-6-30
Most successful court on environmental matters lacks amenities, infrastructure
2012-6-2
Environment ministry yet to set up committee to supervise lowering of dam gates and partial filling of reservoir
2012-6-2
Mangar development plan proposes universities, mega tourism projects and quarries in one of the last patches of forests having trees native to Aravallis
2012-5-31
Cabinet approves regulation declaring five km reserved area inhabited by the aboriginal tribe as buffer zone
2012-5-18
Parliamentary panel says that not involving people living on the banks of the river is the reason for it
2012-5-17
International community, activists say move will undo tiger conservation efforts
2012-5-15
Says will help in conservation efforts
2012-5-31
Supreme Court order to notify buffer zones around reserves raises both hope and fear
2012-5-31
Parliament committee says serious inadequacies in afforestation, biodiversity programmes
2012-5-10
Defies Information Commission’s order and obtains stay from Delhi High Court to keep the report out of public domain
2012-5-8
Project to bring African cheetahs in Kuno-Palpur sanctuary was initiated in 2010
2012-5-8
Most rapid decline in vulture populations recorded in Asia
2012-5-5
Forest cover of India is just 21 per cent against the target of 33 per cent set by Planning Commission for 2012
2012-4-27
Clarifies that forest diversions will be allowed only if forest rights of affected people are settled and their consent obtained
2012-5-15
Parliamentary standing committee reiterates its demand to bring Jarawas into mainstream
2012-4-30
Where there is a river, there is sand. Called a minor mineral, it fulfils a major requirement of the booming construction industry. No wonder, many senior bureaucrats and politicians in power are hand-in-glove with local contractors to make huge gains from illegal sand mining. Even as the exchequer suffers, little attention is given to the long-lasting scars sand mining leaves on ecology. Communities fight on the river banks and in courts to keep sand reserves from getting exhausted.
Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava travelled to Madhya Pradesh, Anupam Chakravartty to Punjab, M Suchitra to Andhra Pradesh and Ashwin Aghor to Karnataka to examine the murky business of sand mining
2012-4-2
Supreme Court asks environment ministry to clarify stand after Gujarat opposes translocation of Gir lions to Madhya Pradesh
2012-3-30
The South Korean giant will now have to apply for a fresh environmental clearance
2012-4-15
Have an aggressive government and an overreaching judiciary curbed dissent?
2012-3-14
Misuse Letter of Permit scheme, says Greenpeace report
2012-3-9
Survival International launches 'Freakshow TV' to challenge Channel 7's portrayal of the Suruwaha as savages
2012-3-7
Forest bench expresses concern over environmental damage caused by stone and sand mining
2012-3-15
People shifted from Sariska tiger reserve allege they have been deprived of forest rights
2012-2-16
Says environmental and social impacts too few as compared to potential for generating clean energy
2012-2-13
Environment ministry granted clearance even though mandatory public consultations were not held
2012-2-9
Gujarat forest department's working plan denies pastoral community their customary grazing rights over Banni
2012-2-8
North-eastern states and tribal districts witness unprecedented forest loss
2012-1-31
Wildlife board in its report had pointed that the project will affect ecology in the area
2012-2-15
Government’s expert panel against bringing the tribe into the mainstream
2012-1-11
MoEF says its decision to grant clearance cannot be challenged
2012-1-9
Will MoEF plan save the rare birds endemic to Indian grasslands?
2011-8-31
Karnataka’s Lokayukta Santosh Hegde’s report is a sordid story on the rise of India’s mining poster boy, Bellary. The protagonists of the script, the Reddy brothers, used muscle and money to grease their way through government departments. Initially, it was all gold. But Hegde’s report exposed the dingy substrate of Bellary’s mining operations. Heads have rolled, and the political establishment of Karnataka has been shaken up. BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa was made to quit the chief minister’s post. The Supreme Court has stepped in to ban mining on the basis of a report by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
The biggest losers have been the environment and the people living in the area. M Suchitra reports from Bellary and Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava analyses the CEC report
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
2011-4-15
By its looks, the place could be mistaken for Portofino, a fishing village-cum-resort in Italy—multi-coloured buildings crowd a waterfront and cafes flank a cobbled promenade. But the under-construction town is just an hour’s drive from Pune in Maharashtra and is independent India’s first hill city—Lavasa.
Planned on the principles of new urbanism where shops, homes, workplace and recreational facilities are within walking distance of each other, Lavasa is touted as a place that would offer quality life to its projected 300,000 residents and attract tourists. What the postcard images of the hill city hide is that its promoters, Lavasa Corporation Limited, bent rules, overlooked regulations and ignored environmental statutes while building it. This has jeopardised the ecology of the Sahyadri hills where Lavasa is located. The resultant landslides could pose a risk for Lavasa, too.
A report by Kumar sambhav Shrivastava and Arnab Pratim Dutta
2010-12-15
It has been a slow and steady shift over decades. Forced by declining returns from farming in ecologically fragile areas, small farmers have been taking to goat rearing. Today, goats ensure income to five million households in India. It is now bonanza time, with demand for goat meat projected to shoot up. India will have to almost double its goat population in 10 years. Government is encouraging goat rearing. But no one considered one question: where will the goats graze? Over the past 50 years land available for grazing has shrunk by half and forests are reportedly overgrazed. If India does not secure its pastures, goats might turn from an asset to a liability, reports Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava
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
2010-7-15
A judgement by a Bhopal court has brought the worst gas tragedy into spotlight. It has galvanized the media and the government into action. A group of ministers has recommended relief measures, clean-up of the factory site and asked the government to go after Bhopal’s prime culprit, Warren Anderson. RAVLEEN KAUR, KUMAR SAMBHAV and SAVVY SOUMYA MISRA revisit the tragedy and uncover why liability has not yet been fixed, where the courts and authorities went wrong and what it will take to remove the toxic waste at the site
2012-1-15
Karnataka repeatedly refuses to declare its forests in Western Ghats inviolate
2011-12-16
State governments reject 50 per cent of the 3.15 million claims filed under Forest Rights Act
2011-12-15
Forest department directed to prepare a case for conserving Mangar Bani on Delhi outskirts and halting march of real estate
2011-11-28
They are registered as clean development mechanism projects, eligible for carbon credits
2011-11-17
Trikuta wildlife sanctuary to be denotified
2011-11-30
March of real estate threatens one of the last patches of native Aravalli forest near Delhi
2011-11-10
High level committee to monitor whether developer complies with conditions of environmental clearance
2011-11-8
Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava's take on tour operators' claim that tourism in core areas of reserves is good for tribals
2011-11-5
Wildlife board worried over the impact of public-private project on wildlife habitats
2011-11-5
US authorities investigating if stranding incidents linked to BP oil spill in Gulf of Mexico
2011-11-15
Century-old teak plantation business loses ground in India because of poor management and short-sighted policies
2011-11-15
Environment ministry wants to revoke Karnataka’s ban on night traffic in Bandipur
2011-10-21
Victims threaten rail roko agitation if government fails to correct death and injury figures in a month
2011-10-31
Staff of the tiger reserve worked hand in glove with poachers, while the state government kept its eyes tightly shut
2011-10-31
Tribals of BR Hills can now manage resources in Karnataka reserve
2011-10-14
Karnataka High Court had banned traffic in the area from 9 pm to 6 am following deaths of tigers and elephants in vehicular accidents
2011-10-10
Ignores threat from conservation activists who have vowed to disrupt the programme
2011-10-7
Decision follows Supreme Court order banning mining operations in the district
2011-10-15
When V Kishore Chandra Deo became the Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Tribal Affairs three months ago, both the ministries were in inertia. Recently, the two have gained political profile, courtesy the prime minister’s mandate to revitalise the Forest Rights Act and ensure community governance under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Deo speaks to Richard Mahapatra and Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava on the challenges ahead
2011-9-28
Central Information Commission wants a impact assessment report by November
2011-9-26
This resulted in wiping out of tiger population in the reserve in 2008
2011-9-23
16 per cent fish, plants and other freshwater species threatened; 2 per cent near threatened
2011-9-22
World Trade Organisation says US policy restricts tuna trade
2011-9-20
'Forest department is worst enemy of Forest Rights Act'
2011-9-17
Joint venture with Anglo-Australian firm to explore iron ore yielded no result
2011-9-14
Rural schemes to be more flexible; get more funds
2011-8-31
Activists, health experts are sceptical; pin hope on Supreme Court’s verdict on smokeless tobacco
2011-7-27
Land titles distributed to 651 families in six Uttar Pradesh villages
2011-7-31
SC allows French giant to mine in forest; asks Centre to set up a green regulator for projects
2011-7-15
Uttarakhand banned mining along Ganga over and again. Will it obey court order this time?
2011-5-31
Taungyas have lived in Uttar Pradesh for decades but law does not recognise them. FRA gives hope
2011-5-31
Maharashtra village India’s first to win right to harvest bamboo. Eyes now on other forest produce
2011-5-31
Environment ministry sides with Odisha government, ignores people’s forest rights
2011-5-11
But says it does not restrain the sessions court from enhancing the charges against them
2011-5-10
This despite Jairam Ramesh himself accepted rehabilitation was slow
2011-5-4
Say the claims made by Odisha government are barefaced lies
2011-5-2
Environment ministry endorses state government’s claim that there are no forest rights to be settled in the project area
2011-4-14
Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava finds how people affected by Lavasa are coping with the destruction it has caused
2011-3-31
Expert panel report denies forest dwellers this lucrative right
2011-3-4
Fresh guidelines for creating Critical wildlife Habitat to be prepared in consultation with Tribal Affairs ministry
2011-3-2
Top forest officials and National Forest Rights Act Committee engage in a war of words
2011-1-31
Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary is threatened by ceaseless loot of land, with government help
2010-12-26
Bombay high court upholds stop work order on its township project
2010-12-31
National Green Tribunal fails to start, project clearances continue
2010-11-25
Scam led to arrest of several top officials of public sector banks
2010-11-30
Pune project does not have environmental clearance from Centre
2010-9-30
The Par-Tapi Narmada Link project will earn 8 paise on a rupee
2010-9-30
State says environment ministry’s approval overreaches apex court
2010-8-15
Farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s mango belt are clear they will not allow Lucknow’s solid waste facility on their dashehari land
2010-7-31
Self-help groups making low-cost sanitary napkins are ready to supply them to rural India
2010-6-30
Seven Union Carbide officials get two-year jail term for Bhopal gas leak that has killed 20,000
