People and Organisations

Manual scavenging is the most obnoxious and inhuman practice violating the dignity and human personhood of safai karmacharis. It involves the engagement or employment of sections of people to manually dispose human excreta from dry latrines with bare minimum aids such as scrappers, brooms and baskets.

Manual scavenging is integrally linked with caste system and is imposed on certain dalit sub-caste groups particularly on their women. As a result all persons engaged in manual scavenging are dalits, and of them 82% are women.

This report by the World Bank examines the evolution of the management of India’s waters, describes the achievements of the past, and the looming set of challenges. The report draws heavily on a set of twelve background documents by eminent Indian practitioners and policy analysts, and addresses two basic questions - 

• What are the major water development and management challenges facing India? 
• What are the critical measures to be taken to address these? 

This working paper by the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University offers an analysis of the role of law in the Narmada valley struggle, especially that which was waged by one of India’s most prominent social movements in recent years, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), with a specific focus on India’s Supreme Court. The NBA rose in reaction to the Indian government’s plan to construct a large number of dams along the Narmada river, contesting the relief and rehabilitation provided for displaced families at first, and subsequently challenging the dams themselves as being destructive.

The Eleventh Plan (2007-08 to 2011-12) sought to build on the gains achieved in the Tenth Plan and shift the economy to a path of faster and more inclusive growth. The Mid Term Appraisal (MTA) report for the Eleventh Five Year Plan 2007-2012  by the Planning Commission reviews the experience in the first three years of the Plan and seeks to identify areas where corrective steps may be needed.

The Eleventh Plan recognises the special challenges of water resources management facing India and the likelihood that these will grow over time due to the rising population and industrialisation. 

This chapter discusses the major features of the water problem facing the country followed by a review of the performance of the schemes dealing with water in the Eleventh Plan. The chapter also proposes an alternative approach to be elaborated into an operational strategy to be implemented in the Twelfth Five Year Plan.

The Eleventh Plan (2007-08 to 2011-12) sought to build on the gains achieved in the Tenth Plan and shift the economy to a path of faster and more inclusive growth. The Mid Term Appraisal (MTA) report for the Eleventh Five Year Plan 2007-2012 by the Planning Commission reviews the experience in the first three years of the Plan and seeks to identify areas where corrective steps may be needed.

The Eleventh Plan (2007-08 to 2011-12) sought to build on the gains achieved in the Tenth Plan and shift the economy to a path of faster and more inclusive growth. The Mid Term Appraisal (MTA) report for the Eleventh Five Year Plan 2007-2012  by the Planning Commission reviews the experience in the first three years of the Plan and seeks to identify areas where corrective steps may be needed.

This paper published in the journal Conservation and Society reassesses/debates the decision taken by the government to dredge a new sea mouth in the Chilika Lake in Orissa, India, which was based on Geographical Information Systems (GIS) studies.

The paper argues that decisions such as these need to be understood and evaluated by taking into consideration not only the underlying technical aspects, but by also exploring the political and historical contexts in which decisions are taken. 

Narmada valley is facing yet another crisis beyond the gigantic dams, which has arisen due to the huge canal network of the Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar canals. The canals of these two dams are not yet fully planned, yet certain estimates, which are not yet final by the Narmada Valley Development Authority show that not less than 10,000 hectares of agricultural land is to be acquired, but a larger acquisition is yet to come up in numerous villages, where even a basic socio-economic survey of the affected land and families is yet to be undertaken.

In the light of the recent major floods in river Yamuna, the enclosed article that deals with the question and futility of man made structures like dams and embankments to control floods may be found useful.

But it is unfortunate that even this otherwise very insightful article does not reflect anywhere on the fact that the floods in monsoon months are natural events and should be acknowledged and planned for accordingly.

There is a need to better understand the phenomenon of floods and not to treat them as some kind of natural calamity requiring artificial man made safeguards.

It may be noted that Dr D K Mishra who has studied the floods in river Kosi for decades has been making these points for many years now. It is necessary to heed to people like him if we do not wish to invite more trouble in future.

Please consider signing this online petition drafted by the Environmental Support Group, who have been AID's partner for 10 years now (esgindia.org). This letter is regarding a 'Draft Paper' on 'Monitoring Compliance of Environment/CRZ clearance Conditions – A New Approach' drafted by an in-house Review Committee constituted on 25th August 2010 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.