How government is subverting Forest Rights Act
Does this official data betray a conspiracy? Only 1.6 per cent of the 2.9 million claims approved under the Forest Rights Act recognise community …
The beetle and the bureaucrat
Eleven lakh sal trees face the axe in order to exterminate a beetle that is boring a hole into the image of the forest bureaucracy
The lull sets in
Scientists warn that conditions are favourable for another sal borer epidemic. State forest departments are unprepared
Odisha to procure sal seeds from 9 districts; tribals say it’s too late
Several tribal people, mainly seed collectors, will be deprived of the procurement scheme, as the corporation will not collect from other districts
GST breather for Sal plates, Sabai ropes
Tax on these two minor forest products, a source of livelihood for millions of tribals, has been reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent
Plantations, CAMPA loom large over community rights
Sal trees, which form an important source of livelihood for the tribal community, have been replaced with teak plantations in an Odisha village
Eaten hollow
The sal heartwood borer is all set to destroy sal forests in Madhya Pradesh. But this would not have been possible without the assistance of an …
GST removed on sabai rope, sal and siali leaves
The GST rate on these products was brought down from 5% to nil by the GST Council in its 28th meeting held on July 21
1.5 million tribals in Odisha hit by 18% GST on Sal leaf
Forest-dwelling communities have been granted rights to trade Sal leaf and other minor forest produce without any taxation under the forest rights act
Ahead of elections, Odisha waives off sal leaf royalty
Imposition of GST and royalty had together almost stopped the procurement of the leaves, which are used to make biodegradable plates
Orissa's stick is Chhattisgarh's carrot
orissa might well be at the receiving end of one of Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi's pre-poll sops meant to benefit his own states's …
Orphaned by apathy
Hidden from the outside world, this is the plight of the Van Taungiyas. They were hired during the British rule as resident labourers to plant …
At which road head?
Not the path of economic growth, but the trail leading back to the village is the answer
Jobs Jobs Jobs
The government is obsessed with economic growth. Employment is bound to follow, it claims. That's a delusion. The swelling numbers of unemployed …
“Come elections, our forests are looted”
Angry villagers from the hotbed of political violence told Sayantan Bera, the day a new government took oath in West Bengal
Disowned 100,000
Taungyas have lived in Uttar Pradesh for decades but law does not recognise them. FRA gives hope
Between Maoists and mines
Ho tribals lose hold of Saranda as mining is set to take over the pristine sal forest. A report and photographs by Sayantan Bera
Saranda for sale?
First by diluting it and then by delaying it, the Jharkhand government ensures slow death of a plan meant to safeguard Saranda and its wildlife …
FOLLOW UP
Chocolate's sal connection
Richard Mahapatra reveals how a chocolate supports people in forests
IN FOCUS
Illusive relief
For Nepal's forest users
Inherent faith runs deep
In Jharkhand, sacred groves define social and cultural consciousness of tribal people
Terai damming away its wildlife
Pine pressure
Pine culture has altered the Himalayan landscape with disastrous effect on its fragile ecology