Adrift and Isolated
A proposed blanket ban on scientific prawn culture in Chilika lake is a total let-down for the fiskerfolk
Deadlocked in Aligarh
On the one hand: potholed roads, poor sewage systems, numerous small scale industries, nightmarish working conditions. On the other: clueless …
Mission impossible?
The sheer scope of the biodiversity action plan may militate against its successful implementation
Difficult to digest
After much debate, the Cabinet cleared the food security bill. Will it really ensure food for every Indian?
Poisons we live with
Book>> What’s gotten into us? Staying healthy in a toxic world • by Mckay Jenkins, Random House • US $26
Not just water
Mineral or drinking water? Government sets new standards to reorganise the bottled water industry
Who is protected?
The Lok Sabha passed Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Bill with complete amendments on August 9, 2001, twenty months after it …
Time to act
The Madhya Pradesh government has recently sent a letter to the Prime Minister seeking changes in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The …
Ublic outcry greets uranium mining project in AP
"There is radiation everywhere on earth. Mining in Nalgonda will not increase it." This comment of S D Prasad, adviser to public sector …
Forest states want money in lieu of felling
On August 1, 2003, Madhya Pradesh made a plea in the Supreme Court seeking a fund-generating mechanism for forest protection. Earlier, in June, …
Sunil Shaunak on ethical medicine, patent laws
Sunil Shaunak of Imperial College, London, is pioneering 'ethical pharmaceuticals'. He talks to Subhra Priyadarshini about his work, evergreening …
Reform for reform’s sake
Without bottom-up rehauling National Environment Protection Agency will be more of the same
Degree of commerce
Vedanta gets tracts of thorium-rich land along the Orissa coast for a university. Allegations fly
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 …
Move to leash NGOs
Government and political parties see NGOs with suspicion. Arm-twisting has already begun
‘Energy conservation is a moving target’
A decade has passed since the Energy Conservation Act was enacted in 2001. Most provisions of the law are yet to be implemented properly. Ajay …
First birthday
Although setting up of the EPA did result in policies to control pollution, political interference has blunted its effectiveness
Plastic Unlimited
New rules to restrict the use of plastic in India may end up promoting the polymer industry
Developing countries are dumpyards for e-waste
A recent study in the US shows that by 2004, over 315 million computers will become obsolete. By 2005, for every single computer an American buys,…
Self-control for EU chemical industry
The regulations governing the European Union's chemical industry are set to undergo a drastic change, with special emphasis being laid on self-…