‘No room left for the car’

Australian environmental activist and professor of sustainability at Curtin University in Perth, Peter Newman loves Indian streets. He shares his …

Car Control

Cities all over the world are trying to ease congestion on roads. Not the choked Indian cities, though. Time to make cars in India pay the real …

'Development in Telangana should be participatory'

Eminent economist and former Planning Commission member, C H Hanumantha Rao, speaks to M Suchitra on the aspirations of people of Telangana. Rao …

Urbanisation in India: We must reimagine how our cities are planned

The recent floods in North India serve as a stark reminder to prioritise sustainable urban planning and drainage infrastructure

Global South water-sensitive cities: Framing the discourse

Simply copy-pasting the concepts from the Global North will lead to sub-optimal solutions 

Population populism: UP draft population bill will impact the vulnerable, especially women

The focus must be on safeguarding women and girls’ reproductive health. Smaller families can be achieved by ensuring gender equality, …

Green fund rules must be withdrawn, Ramesh tells Vardhan

The ex-environment minister writes to the current one saying the new rules make for a fit case to move a privilege motion against Vardhan

People's cure to climate woes

Ecologically vulnerable Nepal has framed its climate change adaptation plan with the help of communities

How to make citywide sanitation plans: Bangladesh man shows the way

City sanitation planning provides a sound data base for practical decision-making on city sanitation 

Win some, lose some: States miffed with Centre for seeking afforestation land to 'develop' Andamans

States give the cold shoulder to Andamans & Nicobar Islands that wants them to compensate for development in its territory

Court digest: Major environment hearings (Jan 25-Feb 1)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal

Climate smart agriculture proposed at COP 22 raises concerns

Climate smart agriculture has not been defined, giving way for industrial agriculture to be promoted under its name

Two for tangle

Development takes backseat in Northeast as two Central agencies try to outcompete each other

Faridabad administration moves to save sacred grove

Forest department directed to prepare a case for conserving Mangar Bani on Delhi outskirts and halting march of real estate

The legendary Gandhian

Pakistani social scientist Akhtar Hameed Khan, is remembered, on his first death anniversary, for his achievements in the field of urban management

People's initiatives

Orissa and UP villages once again prove that people are better managers of natural resources than today's obdurate governments

THE FOUNTAINHEAD DONGRIPARA, DHAMTARI DISTRICT, CHATTISGARH

Spark came from non-recognition as a village • Integrated management of forest and water • Sees self-governance as a matter of …

THE SECOND INDEPENDENCE

Tiny forgotten villages teach India a firsthand lesson in governance. Down To Earth reporters and photographers fan out to six states to discover …

A memo to the government

To be a truly participatory republic, India must take tutorials from these tiny republics

In Birsa's Land: Horomocho (Hazaribagh, Jharkhand)

A coal mine to own and manage • Sustainability not profit as a principle • Revival of an ancient Santhal system of governance

Unshakable: Nimalapedu (Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh)

Reminded India of its constitutional mandate for village autonomy • Fought bauxite companies for not getting gram sabha consent • Has …

A Republican Paradise: Mendha (Gadchirolli, Maharashtra)

Defied the Forest Act ÔÇó Every resident contributes part of annual income for community works ÔÇó If somebody bribes a …

Push to include access to energy in UN development goals

Speakers at a consultative meeting in Delhi call for finding sustainable and affordable technological solutions for making energy accessible to …

Eucalyptus, acacia and teak, not Sal: Why CAG is critical of Odisha’s afforestation efforts

There was an ‘acute shortfall’ in achieving plantation targets in Odisha due to lack of coordination, working plan, improper …

Why social health activists in India live a life of uncertainty

More than 0.87 million ASHAs in India are facing salary issues, lack of incentives and exclusion from social safety schemes