Government notifies new solid waste management rules
These will replace the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, which have been in place for the past 16 years
Bonded motherhood
Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill doesn’t protect surrogate mothers’ rights: Planning Commission
Land of discord
Origin of the relentless strife in Bodoland lies in a series of blunders, right from colonial times
Old Batteries New Rules
The Indian government comes out with the draft rules for recycling lead acid batteries. Their effectiveness is questionable
A system in shambles
Weak, corrupt and ineffective implementing institutions make compliance and enforcement of environmental laws abysmally poor in India. Can …
Auto Fool Policy
The Auto Fuel Policy makes a mockery of Delhi's pollution crisis by proposing a pedestrian roadmap. Live and die with pollution. You deserve …
A mixed bag
The Bangladesh government sends thin plastic bags packing, but has Dhaka seen the last of them? Pinaki Roy on the ban's efficacy
In reverse gear
The Mashelkar Committee's interim report on the country's auto fuel policy proves to be a major setback for the CNG campaign
Arvind Netam
ARVIND NETAM was, till the mid-1990s, one of the most promising tribal politicians of India. He was deputy minister of education in 1973. He …
Jual Oram
JUAL ORAM, Union minister of tribal affairs, is in the Lok Sabha from the Sundargarh constituency in Orissa
Jayanta Rongpi
JAYANTA RONGPI is a doctor and a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). He represents Karbi-Anglong in Assam, a seat reserved …
Mansukhbhai Vasava
MANSUKHBHAI VASAVA is the only independent Scheduled Tribe member of parliament in Lok Sabha. He represents the Bharuch parliamentary constituency,…
Shibu Soren
SHIBU 'GURUJI' SOREN of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has been a prominent figure in the struggle for Jharkhand and is equally well-known for the …
Yamuna Singh
YAMUNA SINGH, Jharkhand's minister of environment and forest since the state's creation, is from the Kharwar tribe. Down To Earth spoke to him …
"Police firing will keep happening"
BABULAL MARANDI was the Union minister of state for environment when he took over as the chief minister of Jharkhand in 2000. In March 2003, he …
"I will get the Koel-Karo project reviewed"
ARJUN MUNDA, the newly sworn in chief minister of Jharkhand, spoke to Down To Earth the day he announced his cabinet
INEVITABLE TRAGEDY
SOPAN JOSHI travels through Andhra Pradesh, only to find that beyond the immediate crisis of state-wide farmers' suicide lies one decade of …
Tussle over land
Land acquisition Bill should take into account demands of those dependant on natural resources
One-sided deal
Contract farming is increasing in India, but laws are not in place to protect farmers
Strangers in their own land
The final notification of the Great Himalayan National Park has jeopardised the livelihood of a tribe of migratory pastoralists. It has also …
Shawls, an antelope and the law
The question is not just of farming chiru. It is about the policy that a country should have towards wildlife conservation, forest dwelling …
A public eyewash
The inspection and maintenance programme is nothing more than testing tailpipes of vehicles in India. The government should stop wasting …
Accountable automatically
Emission warranty and recall system have compelled the automobile manufacturers in the US and Sweden to take serious anti-pollution measures
Weed them out
The challenge is how to isolate "gross polluters" from the vehicle fleet and send them back to the manufacturers
Bridging the gap
Pressured by a highly active civil society, the Kerala state government is actually giving power to the people. The decentralisation theory has …