Compromise marks talks on Narmada project
The government and anti-dam activists gave ground during the first-ever talks on the controversial Sardar Sarovar Project
"Power" to the people irks Bengal villagers
Villagers near Calcutta contend they have been unfairly done out of their land by a private thermal power plant project
Working children find a home in Bangalore
A voluntary group helps street children by organising them into associations and building a home for them.
A valuable study of
Big Dams, Displaced People: Rivers of Sorrow, Rivers of Change Edited by Enakshi Ganguly Thukral Publisher: Sage Publications, Delhi Price: Rs 120
Ministries clash over project clearances
Despite an acute power shortage in the country, the ministries of power and environment find each other the main obstacles in achieveing their …
Thick-skinned policies
Dozens of families displaced from Gujarat villages in the vicinity of the Sardar Sarovar dam years back have returned to their original homes …
The closing of the gates
A controversy boiled over when the construction sluices were closed abruptly and affected scores of people
Not in my backyard
Delhi, reduced to a gas chamber due to the proliferation of highly polluting industries, now requires the social and political will to enforce an …
Northeast ahoy!
Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has grand plans to illuminate the whole country by now harnessing hydropower from the northeast region. His …
New rules for secrecy
Critics have condemned the World Bank's new information policy, as a mockery of the basic rules of informed public debate and environmental …
Caring for the handicapped
Handicapped children are being helped to overcome their disabilities through special programmes and innovative schemes such as art.
No headlines, no rehabilitation
Oustees of the Kutku and Auranga dams in Bihar complain media attention is the only way of getting justice from the government, but the media …
Officials shed crocodile tears
Crocodiles today abound in captive breeding centres in India. But the government still applies to them a protection law that was relevant two …
Japanese unhappy about resettlement plans
The Japanese have refuted Indian press reports that they were satisfied with R&R measures for the Narmada dam project
Gender bender
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY IN INDIA: CASES, MATERIALS AND STATUTES By Shyam Divan and Armin Rosencranz •Second edition • Published …
Political hand behind tribal encroachment
Tribals displaced by the Salandi river dam in Orissa are encroaching on the Hadgarh sanctuary, allegedly at the instigation of the Socialist …
Was India forced to reject World Bank aid?
Various reasons are being put forward to explain why India refused further World Bank assistance for the controversial Sardar Sarovar project.
Koel Karo battles on
Tribals have been fighting the Koel Karo dams for the last 20 years - the longest struggle against a project. Now, a fresh budget fuels the …
How and when to displace
THE DAM AND THE NATION DISPLACEMENT AND RESETTLEMENT IN THE NARMADA VALLEY·Jean Dreze, Meera Samson and Satyajit Singh·Oxford …
Development on its haunches
KAISE JEEBO RE·VHS· 80 minutes·English· Directed by Anurag Singh and Jharana Jhaveri·Jan Madhyam, New Delhi
Quarry in quagmire
Caught in a death trap, Jharia residents await doomsday. While BCCL openly displays a let-them-die attitude and the government remains silent, …
Orissa okays mining in tribal territory
In a move that threatens to dislocate the lives of millions of Orissa's tribal people, the state government has decided to allow transfer of land …
Patkar populism lights sparks on Zee TV
Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar fended with dexterity the provocative questions posed to her in Zee TV's Aapki Adalat.
Teaching people green rights
Many groups across the country are working to educate the people on the importance of the laws that govern people's rights to natural resources.
No more bribes, Gujjars tell foresters
The prospect of being kept out of forests they have occupied for 50 winters, on the pretext of environmental conservation, the Gujjars of Uttar …