Tawa Matsya Sangh, fishing co-operative in Madhya Pradesh, loses licence

The future of the Tawa Matsya Sangh (tms), a cooperative of fisherfolk operating in the Tawa reservoir in Madhya Pradesh's Hoshangabad district, is firmly on hold. On December 23, 2006, their licence to fish in the reservoir expired, and since then all hell has broken loose. The reservoir was created when a dam was built on the river Tawa, a tributary of the Narmada river, in 1974.

Solar units beyond people's reach in Sunderbans

A few years ago, Shaktipada Jena, a small farmer could dream of buying a home solar power system. He'd have to stretch his means to save between Rs 3,100 and Rs 4,800, the going rate. But now prices have gone through the roof and a solar unit is out of his reach. Everyday, as darkness falls, he sees electric lights come on in some of his neighbours' homes on Ghoramara island, in the Sunderbans archipelago. Meanwhile, his children do their homework by the flickering glow of kerosene lamps and his wife speaks wistfully of tv soaps that she can't watch.

Novartis exposes India's weak patent laws. Will generics be kicked out?

An ongoing case in Madras High Court has brought forth a damning revelation: the Indian government remains confused about its patent laws and the latter are now under threat. A May 2006 petition filed by Novartis, the pharmaceutical multinational, has sought changes in India's patent laws. Potent enough to restrict access to affordable medicines in developing countries, the case is pointer to the messy cluster of laws in the country's pharmaceutical sector.

New EIA process stumbles at start

A new procedure for conducting environmental impact assessment (eia), introduced in September 2006, is suffering from teething trouble. The September 2006 notification putting the new procedure in place was severely criticised by environmental groups for being a far more diluted version of the 1994 notification.

UP farmers continue protest over land acquisition by Reliance

Following farmers' protests against their displacement for land acquired for special economic zones (sezs), the central government on January 22, 2007, held up approvals for fresh sezs. So far, the total area that has been marked for land acquisition for 237 sezs across the country is about 34,509 hectare (ha) and obviously, several farmers' livelihoods are threatened.

Water woes at Allahabad's Kumbh mela

RELIGIOUS gatherings such as the Ardh Kumbh at Allahabad always test the organisational mettle of local administrative bodies. This event happens once in six years at the sangam (confluence) of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati (see map Sacred waters are dirty).

Mining giants, NGOs at Sustainability Summit Asia 2006

THE sustainability bandwagon has expanded if the recent Sustainability Summit Asia 2006, was anything to go by. Organised by the cii-itc Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (cesd), the summit saw the New Delhi-based Development Alternatives--a prominent ngo working on sustainability--hobnobbing with mining giants.

Monkeys destroy crops in Himachal, farmers fume at government apathy

ON December 23, 2006, more than 200 people gathered in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, to protest the government's inaction regarding crop depredation by wildlife, especially monkeys, in the state. Simultaneously, 48 such meetings were held in the state, in which about 9,000 farmers participated. The Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti (hgvs), a Shimla-based organisation, which has been working on the issue for the past year, was instrumental in organising the protest.

Rural people can now get <i>anganwadi</i>s on demand

GUARANTEES for social services have been kicking in of late. After guarantees for rural employment and education, people will find it easier to get an anganwadi on demand. On December 13, 2006, the Supreme Court has ordered the government to set up 8 lakh more anganwadi centres in the next two years. Currently there are 6 lakh centres.

Panchayats to get poverty alleviation funds

The Union government is about to substantially cut down the number of poverty alleviation programmes it runs. Known as the centrally-sponsored schemes (csss), these projects have long been criticised for being out-of-sync with local governments.