8 years and Rs 228 crore later, Maharashtra fails to make even one village sustainable

The state’s scheme, aimed at creating environmentally sustainable villages, saw only up to 6% funds being used for green projects

The flame of forest rages on

A bureaucrat-turned-activist who saw governance through the eyes of the tribals

Community forest rights at work: Chhattisgarh’s Chargaon reaps benefits in first year itself

Gram Sabhas, Community Forest Management Committee, non-profits join hands to streamline processes in Chargaon Naya Basti

A tale of 2 villages: How Dhinkia & Nuagaon have fared different between 2 steel projects

As the Odisha government speeds up acquiring land near Paradip for Jindal Steel, DTE visits two villages that had chosen different paths 20 …

Fighting malnutrition, 4 meals a day: Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon shows the way

Anganwadi workers cook meals and personally deliver them to homes across 3 blocks of Rajnandgaon district 

Chronic kidney disease cases rise in Cuttack district

A GASS survey highlights the plight of those suffering from chronic kidney disease in Narasingpur block of Odisha’s Cuttack and how …

Odisha JSW Steel plant controversy: Arrests, police crackdown raises the heat in Dhinkia

Protestors allege nexus between Odisha Police and JSW officials

Mewat Makeover: Female education now a prerequisite for marriage in Nuh

While parents are teaching their daughters to contest panchayat elections in Mewat, they are also looking for educated daughters-in-law

Odisha’s Ganjam district is now free of child marriages

Ganjam, known to be severely affected by child marriages, is Odisha’s first district to be declared child marriage free

Gram panchayats get more funds for Swachh Bharat activities

Mandatory for lowest tier elected bodies to use half the funds allocated under 15th Finance Commission

Implementing PESA Act in Jharkhand is not an easy task

The Act recognising the right of tribal communities in Scheduled Areas was enacted in 1996. Despite being formed 22 years ago, Jharkhand is yet …

Dhinkia on the boil: Odisha Police turn violent against protestors

The administration in Dhinkia village in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur tried to forcibly acquire betel vineyards January 14 for Jindal Steel’…

The Indian Forest Act’s proposed amendment is dangerous and fanciful

Like other policies in the recent past, this one also shows the complete unwillingness of the forest bureaucracy in accepting a different role

Patnaik seeks truce with anti-POSCO activists

Survey of project-affected villages to continue peacefully BY ASHUTOSH MISHRA Bhubaneswar

Khap panchayat bans paddy

Rice cultivation has led to waterlogging and soil salinity in Haryana’s Jhajjar district

Jhajjar's bitter harvest

Panchayati Raj institutions in Bihar submitted utilisation certificates for only 42% of grants received: CAG

Staff crunch in PRIs in the state impacted the devolution of functions, the audit highlighted

Study puts MGNREGS in Punjab under scanner

The employment scheme generated 20.23 average working days in the state against the mandated 100 days, according to a Punjabi University report

Land conflicts affect over 3.2 million people in India

Investment worth US$179 billion in over 5,000 projects is also threatened due to these conflicts

Whither freedom

Post independence, governments expanded squeezing village republics out of existence

100 panchayat members resign in tribal Korchi tehsil

Protest against police violence; administration blames mining, Naxals

Is urbanising rural Odisha sustainable and resilient?

Infrastructure development is necessary and urbanisation is a choice, but not at the cost of sustainability of rural areas

The chase and the change: Let’s look back at 15 years of MGNREGA this World Water Day

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has shown what it can achieve by putting water conservation at its core

Swachh Bharat Mission: Women take the lead in Himachal Pradesh

The state, with almost 60% of panchayats headed by women, tackled open defection by resolving the water crisis. It was declared open-defecation …

Green fund rules notified: Some hits, major misses

The rules of the Compensatory (Afforestation) Fund Act 2016 are better than the draft but not impactful