Snatching someone's baby

Villagers in Rajasthan have revived a dried up river in the region with help of a NGO. Now, their fight is with the state government, which has …

How one Gram Panchayat in Himachal built a waste-free, water-surplus village

Pappla village constructed water-harvesting structures, soak pits and a plastic waste processing plant to transform itself

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

Experiments with truth

Innovative science teaching scheme relegated to supplementary status

Whither freedom

Post independence, governments expanded squeezing village republics out of existence

78% MPs yet to identify villages for development under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

With just nine months to go, Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, a scheme that is low on priority of the Lok Sabha and Rajya MPs, is way off the target …

Another world is possible

Optimism is a great friend but a bad guide. The Asian Social Forum meeting in Hyderabad, India, deliberately avoided this truism while …

Streamlining autonomy

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

Whither freedom?

Post independence, governments expanded squeezing village republics out of existence

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 …

Aaj Ka Roadshow

Liberalisation in India has not only affected humdrum life, but also popular cultural forms. This is palpable in the changing dynamics of the big …

A watershed plan

Recurrent droughts and floods coupled with mass poverty, chronic unemployment and pervasive malnutrition are the major challenges before India. …

Centre fund for rural development mismanaged

The god of ecological things

Walk the village talk

After raising the political profile of village councils, government wants to downsize them

A million opportunities lost

The ruling alliance’s flagship rural employment programme took unprecedented strides in creating water conservation structures across the …