Power to the people

Heads of panchayats arrived in the Capital to demand the power to effectively run the traditional self-government

On a strong wicket

Perumatty panchayat's case is statutorily sound

Cola major gets a taste of panchayat power

A multi-billion-dollar transnational corporation has had to blink first in an eyeball-to-eyeball dispute with an obscure panchayat of Kerala. On …

Climate is changing, and the Sundarban residents can feel it

The Sundarban delta region in the Bay of Bengal, with 10,000 square kilometres of estuarine mangrove forest and 102 islands, is the world's …

Why only panchayats?

Other local associations can also manage watersheds effectively

Working Group on Environment releases report in Kerala

Rural employment guarantee scheme does not work as envisaged

A smile for the camera

At the capitals of three mining hotbeds, AVINASH KUMAR finds a battle to capture public imagination  

Streamlining autonomy

Panchayati raj ministry suggests amendments to local governance in north-eastern states

Andhra in a fix over quota

Cancels local body polls as court says reservation can’t exceed 50%

The Bharat Nirman outpour

Rs 174,000 crore sanctioned for new scheme to build rural infrastructure

Karnataka legislature amends state Panchayati Raj Act

People's victory over IFFCO thermal plant

The rift valley

With no income options, Ghangharia residents want forestland for hotels

Where are rural courts?

The Gram Nyayalaya Act was passed in 2008 to make the judicial process participatory, inexpensive and accessible to rural India. But rural courts …

Giant snail invasion

People in Kerala village spend nights battling large snails that devour plants and nibble at walls  

Maharashtra forest department backtracks on forest fire guidelines

To relax rules to lure tendu contractors

Corporate wastelands

Tamil Nadu seems set to gift community land to corporates under the name of wasteland regeneration

Forest rights rules inconsonant with act

Machiavellian moves

Rajasthan's decision to bar illiterate people from contesting elections to panchayats is one more example of a state government dominating …

Development is not a road

Rajasthan mine workers form cooperatives

Not being kept in loop: Odisha’s sarpanches on CM’s power decentralisation move

Several sarpanches who were given powers of district collectors alleged their administrative or financial roles were not spelt out clearly 

How tribal leadership in Chhattisgarh is helping people access rights

The civil society’s intervention in the tribal regions began in early 1980s on two issues-sustainable livelihood, particularly in forest …

We plan to involve panchayats in monitoring pollution levels

Sheila Rani Chunkat has recently been appointed chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). She spoke to Binayak Das on how …