Sure cure: how to tackle India's undernutrition crisis in 10 steps
The finance ministry and the planning department can play an overarching role by ensuring health programmes get sufficient resources
Swachh Bharat cess: A few states may not agree on it
Except Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand, no other state has directly agreed to the central proposal
Curse of limestone
Farmers from 12 Rajasthan villages refuse to part with fertile land for cement companies
Churu says yes to hygiene
The district is all set to become the first in Rajasthan to completely stop open defecation. Will others follow?
Saving city lakes
To counter the rapid decline of its lakes, Karnataka is creating a new authority with powers to fine and imprison encroachers and polluters. Will …
Rural development schemes up for overhaul
Ministry of panchayati raj plans to develop model panchayats in different states through integrated development
Pawns in conservation
Maharashtra forest department’s conservation model puts Madia tribals in Naxals’ line of fire
Channels of change
Two villages in Uttar Pradesh have reversed the trend of migration by digging six kilometres of channels to bring water to drought-hit farms
INEVITABLE TRAGEDY
SOPAN JOSHI travels through Andhra Pradesh, only to find that beyond the immediate crisis of state-wide farmers' suicide lies one decade of …
Democracy under surveillance
West Bengal bureaucrats to monitor panchayat institutions, implement their decisions
Bridging the gap
Pressured by a highly active civil society, the Kerala state government is actually giving power to the people. The decentralisation theory has …
Public hearing for Bhushan steel plant ends in fracas
Company did not consult village council or obtain its consent as mandated by law for scheduled areas, complain residents
Nobody's waste
Kerala's capital wants a solid waste treatment plant in a nearby village. This has created a rural-urban conflict
Jharkhand
Most politicians and activists see the Forest Conservation Act as a hurdle towards empowering the tribal population. They want the act amended
Uttaranchal
The process of alienating people from natural resources has not stopped, even with the attainment of statehood
Chattisgarh
Fighting the drought preoccupies the new government. Charting a mining policy to explore the rich mineral deposits is next on the agenda
Chipping away
Time was, when the Saranda forest cover was so dense that even the sun's rays couldn't penetrate it. Ironically, denudation has driven the region …
Poor little rich states
Rich in natural resources but extremely poor, the three new states are in need of a new strategy for development. But no blueprints have been …
Panchayat Raj Half a cheer for democracy
There is a great push to make panchayats the fulcrum of rural development in India. But 16 years after the third tier of government was created, …
Under threat
A proposed dam is set to change the landscape in the Pindar ghati--host to the last free flowing tributary of the Alaknanda. Bharat Lal Seth …
Model in a fix
Chhattisgarh's much appreciated public distribution scheme is falling apart due to corruption and mismanagement
High risk
Problem: Tall buildings risky in high seismic zones; Status: Hill-stations are getting concretised and growing vertically; Challenge: Use local …
What goes down
Problem: Lack of space for garbage disposal; inadequate sewerage; Status: Garbage disposed on hill slopes ends in streams/rivers; Challenge: …
Defying gravity
Problem: Terrain forbids water supply systems that work in plains; Status: Water crisis in peak season every year; Challenge: Develop …
Local travails
Problem: Tourist influx too large; earnings flow downhill; Status: Residents forced to share meagre facilities with tourists; Challenge: Regulate …