Forest conservation is too complex an issue to be resolved by executive fiat
The condition of India's forest and her forest dwellers is extremely grave. A fresh round of police attacks on tribal people -- four dead in Dewas,…
Just dump it
Acids of arsenic. Organo-mercury compounds. Batteries. Bristles of boars or hogs. More potent stuff: asbestos; slag dross; ash and residues of …
Everyone is stealing germplasm
When agronomist Ralladoddi Hampaiah was advisor to the Russian government, he discovered how easy it was to take genetic resources out of India. …
Power the people
For the country where only 15 per cent of its population have access to electricity, Nepal has come a long way. It took 84 years to achieve power …
Logjam
Whenever the Supreme Court pulls the trigger, why does it miss the target? Because governments like those of the seven Northeast states work …
There's nothing august about Mumbai
July 26, 2005: It began raining at 11 am. In the next 24 hours, India's most populous city received 944 mm of rainfall. The resultant flood …
Who is watching GM crops?
As India gets ready to unleash a vast number of genetically modified (GM) food crops, politicians have joined activists in opposing engineered …
FIGHTING FOR AIR
Weighed down by extremely high levels of particles in the air, some Indian cities seem to be coming of age with regard to vehicular air pollution.…
Forest war
Naxalism started as a movement against land alienation. Today it has become a popular movement against natural resource alienation, …
Elementary failure
Since the Right To Education Act came into force on April 1, 2010, India has been witnessing an experiment that involves parents in enforcing a …
Bill will push PDS reform
Development economist JEAN DREZE, known for his work on issues such as hunger, famine, social and human development in India, child health and …
‘Forest department is the encroacher’
When V Kishore Chandra Deo became the Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Tribal Affairs three months ago, both the ministries were in inertia.…
The panchayat outrage
It was a vote for self-governance, not self-determination. No panchayat election in the country ever created as much hype as that of Jammu and …
The small big polluter
Small-scale industries: Where regulations are meaningless and pollution control an unaffordable luxury. Can they leapfrog to cost-effective …
Tribunal on trial
It has been four years since the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Act was passed by Parliament for effective and expeditious disposal of cases …
Treasure in troubled land
International aid has supported the economy of Afghanistan for 12 years. With aid flow gradually declining, the war-torn country will now have to …
Clash of the cyberworlds
In an increasingly digital world, the issue of Internet freedom and governance has become hugely contested. Censorship and denial of access occur …
Battle for the Internet
As the Internet becomes the public square and the marketplace of our world, it is increasingly becoming a contested terrain. Its potential for …
Universal health scare
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 …
Troubled Beautiful Minds
They are there—each residential area has its mentally disturbed people; each family has anecdotes of crazy relatives. Nobody wants to …
Deafening Noise
Constant exposure to noise can make one deaf. The major culprit is road traffic. Can one avoid noise? It’s difficult. Checking it, however, …
The hunt for benefits
India is hailed as a pioneer in implementing the third objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity—fair and equitable sharing of …
Secretive tribunals, hidden damages
Canadian academic Gus Van Harten is well known for his efforts to reform the global investment treaty regime through his research papers, …
India’s many investment treaties make it vulnerable
Senior international lawyer Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, who heads the investment programme of the International Institute on Sustainable …
Road to disaster
Fertile land is up for grabs in western Uttar Pradesh. Private developers are acquiring it to build apartments, industries, IT institutes, and …