Citizens' Rights and Duties

Featured Articles
July 7, 2022 PMAY needs policy commitment to rehabilitate slums in small and medium cities of Gujarat
Need for legal framework for land rights in small and medium cities of Gujarat under PMAY (Image: Homes in the City)
December 6, 2019 A report by the India Rivers Forum highlights the need to focus further than the main stem of the Ganga river.
Distant snow clad mountains, the smaller hills and the Ganga river (Image: Srimoyee Banerjee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
November 21, 2019 A report by NIUA brings to light the chinks in Jaipur's sewage system and suggests some solutions.
Routine check done by the sewage treatment plant staff in Delawas, Jaipur. The plant is part of the ADB best practices projects list. (Image: Asian Development Bank, Flickr Commons)
November 18, 2019 Bangalore's water utility is understaffed, under financed and unable to service the city's water needs.
Image credit: Citizen Matters
November 15, 2019 On World Toilet Day, we bring to light the labour of India’s sewer workers - those who do the unclean work that a Clean India relies on.
Photo credit: Sharada Prasad
Mangroves: The green coast guard
Mangroves in the country are under threat from rapid development. A video tells us how investing in nature can reverse this ecological crisis. Posted on 23 Aug, 2017 07:09 PM

In our effort to make space for infrastructural developments, India's green cover is declining at an alarming rate. The overall mangrove cover in the country stands at 4,740 sq. km., which is 0.14 sq. km of India’s overall geographical area. 

Mangrove nursery (Source: India Water Portal)
To some, floods can be good news
A large part of the Kanwar Lake has been converted to permanent agriculture compromising its ecological diversity. A video tells us why it is important to restore it. Posted on 02 Aug, 2017 05:52 AM

Floods are generally considered destructive but in some cases, overflowing rivers have the potential to create wetlands. These wetlands can serve as agreeable landscapes that turn resourceful due to the multiple functions it can host. The Kanwar Lake in Bihar is a striking example of this shared, altering landscapes. 

Red-naped Ibis at the Kanwar Lake (Source: Wikipedia)
Playing the soil health card
Is the soil health card scheme introduced to improve the economic condition of the farmers by bettering the health of the soil effective? Posted on 01 Aug, 2017 11:49 AM

Decades of skating over environmental concerns have clearly cost us dear. The folly of pursuing better crop yields using chemical fertilisers in an indiscriminate manner has been surfacing lately. “Decades of agricultural abuse using fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides have taken its toll on us.

The electrical conductivity of a diluted soil sample is being tested as a measure of soil salinity. (Image:CSIRO, Wikimedia Commons; CC Attribution 3.0 Unported)
How a poor labourer became a rich farmer
A video tells the story of a poor farmer who, through effective water conservation methods, became rich and a role model to other villagers. Posted on 27 Jul, 2017 07:59 PM

Vasant Baburao Parkale, a 52-year-old farmer, has become a role model for many farmers in the drought-prone Marathwada region. His determination and the will to excel in life have helped him to transform his dreams into reality.

Vasantrao Parkale (Source: India Water Portal)
The Little Rann of Kutch
The Little Rann of Kutch is under threat. The video tells us how investing in nature can reverse this impending crisis. Posted on 19 Jul, 2017 03:13 PM

How often does one get to experience a terrain that is as dramatically transformative as The Little Rann of Kutch? With changing seasons, it adorns itself with different landscapes, thus, completely shifting shape, its functions and appeal. 

The Little Rann of Kutch (Image source: India Water Portal)
SC strict over wetland preservation
Policy matters this week Posted on 18 Jul, 2017 01:02 PM

Supreme Court pulls Centre over preservation of wetlands

Deepor Beel in Assam (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Urbanisation: Pushing farmers out of fields
Various push and pull factors of urbanisation are driving the farmers in peri-urban Hyderabad out of their fields. Posted on 17 Jul, 2017 02:46 PM

A dominant characteristic of a peri-urban site is its transition out of an agrarian economy due to industrialisation and urbanisation. This usually manifests in the form of agricultural land either left barren or sold for developmental activities and farmers and agricultural labourers looking for an alternative source of livelihood.

Agriculture is slowly vanishing from peri-urban areas. (Source: SaciWATERS)
Floating national park calls for help
Loktak lake is more than just a waterbody and treating it as a reservoir doesn't do justice to this natural wonder. A video tells you why. Posted on 13 Jul, 2017 05:43 AM

In a country as diverse as India where the mountain meets the ocean and deserts blend into forests, one hallmark of beauty that is often left out of the travel catalogues is the outstanding Loktak lake in Manipur. 

Loktak lake (Source: India Water Portal)
Managing willows in Wular lake
The flood in the Kashmir valley in 2015 was the result of the destruction of wetlands. A video tells us what we can do to save the valley. Posted on 10 Jul, 2017 05:07 AM

The devastating flood in 2015 in the Kashmir valley affected more than 2.5 lakh houses and displaced about 5.5 lakh people. The economic loss was massive.  

Many researchers and experts believe that careful conservation and protection of the lakes, ponds and wetlands in the Kashmir valley could have reduced the scale of the devastation to a large extent. 

Wular lake seen from Saderkote Park. (Source: Wikipedia)
The good clams of Ashtamudi
Thanks to the timely intervention of fishermen who adopted sustainable fishing practices, the clam population in the Ashtamudi was saved from total depletion. Posted on 03 Jul, 2017 08:03 PM

Spanning an area of 61 sq km, the Ashtamudi lake is considered the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala. While the lake on the outside radiates with natural beauty, there is a notable treasure nesting deep within its waters--the short-neck clams.

(Source:Ken Hammond, Wikimedia)
×