Jadugoda, Jharkhand, has the distinction of being India’s only underground mine for uranium. his coveted uranium, however, comes at a huge price for the local inhabitants in the area. Villagers in the proximity of these mines suffer from the ill effects of this toxic substance and face major health problems. These videos highlight the stark reality of our so called ‘progress’: the plight and the health and safety issues of the tribals in this area.
This document by Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation provides guidelines for the low cost sanitation scheme. The main objective of the scheme is to convert the existing dry latrines into low cost flush latrines and to construct new ones.
This document is a collection of case studies on ways to ameliorate water scarcity in rural Gujarat by Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust. It provides first-hand accounts of how water programmes impact lives of hundreds and thousands of villagers. The solutions to deal with water scarcity include the promotion of rainwater harvesting (RWH), groundwater replenishment and drip irrigation.
Manmohan Singh laments on how farmers have little incentive to conserve groundwater, in spite of practices such as drip irrigation that reduce water consumption.This and other week's news.
Shadi Khampur in West Delhi's rich history and its connect to larger narratives from the past, like the series of land acquisitions in Delhi, the Emergency, and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 which had gone largely undocumented and unarchived have been chronicled in the Neighbourhood Museum of Local History of Shadi Khampur, at Studio Safdar, a cafe cum bookstore. The project attempts to give an account of the living urban habitation and its specific characteristics, as embedded strongly in people's minds. The way the urban spaces of its narrow lanes have grown is really fascinating.
"River basin atlas of India", is an outcome of joint project “Generation of Database and implementation of web enabled Water Resources Information System (India-WRIS) in the country”.
A practical paper that addresses vital gaps in water quality monitoring and institutional weakness, focuses on the role of access and interventions in severely contaminated areas and calls for a drastic shift in the monitoring and intervention strategy to address safe water provision for rural Bihar
This dissertation - ‘Recommending a set of guidelines for a green community development following the roadmap of The Land Ethic’, by Jatina Thakkar and Vinit Mirkar, deals with understanding the principles of “The Land Ethic”, using the book ‘A sand county almanac ‘ by Aldo Leopold and analysing the three existing green rating systems for community development, in relation to land ethic principles and ecosystem services
This document by Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development provides operational guidelines of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005). These guidelines aim at enhancing rural livelihoods by strengthening agricultural productivity.
While developmental projects are beneficial for growth of an economy they do have negative impact on the environment. This impact varies significantly by project type, size and location. In order to identify, examine, assess and evaluate the probable impacts of a proposed project on the environment the Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) in 2006, constituted different committees. The committees are called as Expert Appraisal Committees (EAC). An EAC committee on River Valley & Hydroelectric projects was also set up on these lines. In this backdrop South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDARP), an informal network of organisation and individuals working on water issues has come up with an analysis on how has this committee performed till now? This document presents an analysis of the same
Lush green spaces thrive in the heart of Mumbai, thanks to a green initiative ‘ Urban Leaves’ that provides information and knowledge to the local community to reconnect with nature. Individuals, friends and families – all eager learners pledge their time and energy, come soil their hands and grow organic greens together.
The paper ‘Simple filtration and low-temperature sterilization of drinking water’, describes how a straight forward, simple technique can provide clean drinking water that is pathogen free, using a simple sari!
In a candid interview with Lakshmi, Vani Murthy speaks on solid waste management practices that we follow at home. About 4500 tons of garbage is produced daily in Bangalore, that ultimately reaches the landfill sites, contaminating soil, water and the environment.
Of the waste that we throw away daily, at least 80% is recyclable. Unfortunately, this hidden resource is lost as part of trash thrown away. Segregation at source will not only effectively reduce the burden on the overflowing landfills, but also help in pollution control.
This article in Economic and Political Weekly, by analysing various budget documents, attempts to capture the quantum of budgetary outlay for Water and Sanitation Services (WSS) in the slums of Bawana and Bhalaswa in Delhi. Further it captures various systemic weaknesses that impede the effective delivery of WSS in these two slum areas.
The number people practicing open defecation in India is more than 600 million. Though the access to improved sanitation has increased since 2000 the pace of change has been slow. If the current trend continues then it will be difficult for the country to meet its Millennium Development Goal for sanitation. Thus accelerating access to and use of toilets and hygiene practices has become a national priority.
In this backdrop the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) along with UNICEF and other partners has developed the National Sanitation and Hygiene Advocacy and Communication Strategy Framework for 2012-2017. The overall goal is to make sure that people have access to, and use a toilet and practice good hygiene, including hand washing with soap after the toilet and before food.
Concerned by the growing health issues, Mallesh, an IT professional started Purna Organics in Bangalore. This start up organisation offers the following services: creating awareness about organic farming, helping interested individuals and families in setting gardens in their homes and also provide routine maintenance services. The video shows how families can practise high density micro organic farming in small tubs, with adequate watering and protection from pests.
The weekly headlines include Punjab being ranked as the worst performing state in water pollution, an analysis of the MGNREGS, the zero rejection state of the MoEF, TOI social impact awardees and decision of the apex court on the ongoing water feud between Tamil Nadu & Karnataka states.
The February edition of the newsletter from 'The Resource and information networks for the coasts (TRINET)' highlights Madurai's initiative for solar power, Kerala's free technical assistance provisions along with Mumbai's new coastal zone management plan.