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?
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 …