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
Problems of mine: When coal threatens Raigarh
From increasing health issues among residents to declining forest produce, coal mining in Chhattisgarh has devastating outcomes. Posted on 30 Mar, 2017 05:50 PM

It was in the late 90s that Raigarh emerged as the hub for power, coal mining and sponge iron in Chhattisgarh. The coalfield in Mand Raigarh is spread over an area of more than 1,12,000 hectares with an estimated 21,117 metric tonnes of coal. 

A villager looks at the changing landscape due to coal mines at Kosampalli village in Raigarh.
Water worried no more
The residents of Yavatmal come together to solve their drinking water problem. With crowdfunding to aid their effort, the result is inspiring. Posted on 10 Mar, 2017 01:44 PM

Located 10 km from the Yavatmal city in Maharashtra, the Nilona reservoir has been the primary drinking water source for its residents since 1972. As in many other parts of the country, the 1990s saw the city growing and the population increasing. The Yavatmal residents, who had not experienced water shortage till then, started facing acute drinking water shortage.

Nilona dam, Yavatmal
Election update: Its hills vs plains in Manipur
The land of gems will have a new government soon. We look at what leading political parties have to say about issues related to natural resources. Posted on 04 Mar, 2017 05:33 PM

The key issue in the Manipur Assembly election is the ongoing economic blockade in the state, which, in turn, is attributed to the present government’s decision to

A Manipuri family. (Source: Coffee Table Book, Government of Manipur)
Act to clean up the system
In our quest to feature unsung heroes who go about their good work silently, we met Pushpa RTI, an enthusiastic right to information activist, who fights for transparency in governance. Posted on 27 Feb, 2017 01:53 PM

With the Right to Information (RTI) Act coming into force in the year 2005, the country saw many RTI activists making the most of it to demand the rights and entitlements of the people from the government. Pushpa, warmly known as Pushpa RTI, is one of them.

Women at Jan Jagriti Sanvad organised by Lok Shakti Manch. (Source: Lok Shakti Manch)
Maharashtra goes Doha for water
How the Doha model of groundwater recharge saved the livelihoods of farmers in Maharashtra. Posted on 22 Feb, 2017 12:02 PM

There was a time when the farmers of Yavatmal district depended completely on rainfed agriculture. That was before the introduction of Doha, a water harvesting structure by NGO Dilasa Sansthan in 2014. Farming changed drastically after that, something which Sitaram Kove, a 40-year-old farmer of Rajini village in the district, will vouch for.

A Doha canal at Rajini village. (Source:Dilasa)
A watered-down scheme
The new urban water supply scheme in Madhya Pradesh that encourages private sector participation is replete with lacunae, according to an NGO that studied the scheme. Posted on 16 Feb, 2017 12:25 PM

In November 2011, the government of Madhya Pradesh sanctioned Rs 493 crore to 37 Urban Local Bodies (ULB) for drinking water supply projects under the Chief Minister’s Urban Drinking Water Supply Scheme (CMUWSS) along the lines of the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT).

Source:India Water Portal
What WatSan got from the budget
Budget 2017-18: Which social sector schemes and ministries got major shares of the pie? An analysis. Posted on 09 Feb, 2017 12:26 PM

The much-anticipated budget this year treads largely on the path set last year with the rural sector receiving more allocation than its urban counterpart.

Water pots lined up for filling. (Source: McKay Savage, Wikimedia Commons)
The search for a shelter
The sorry state of urban slums are testimony to poorly implemented policies for the rehabilitation of migrants. Posted on 01 Feb, 2017 08:46 PM

In the last few decades, India has seen an increasing number of people migrating from rural areas to urban cities in search of work and better living. These migrants often get employed in the informal sector as construction workers, vendors, domestic servants, etc. They also live in informal settlements, generally known as slums.

Residents struggle for a pot of drinking water at Bhuri Tekri, Indore.
All eyes on agriculture
With the budget 2017-18 round the corner, we look at the needs of the agriculture sector in the country and what the budget can offer to support its growth. Posted on 31 Jan, 2017 07:28 PM

The agriculture sector in India’s drought-ravaged regions is in a state of crisis. Millions of farmers are pushed out of their farms and into the cities for jobs.

Farmers thresh paddy during harvest at Sangrur, Punjab. (Source: Neil Palmer, CIAT, 2011, Wikimedia Commons)
Opposition to Teesta Stage IV hydel project
News this week Posted on 30 Jan, 2017 04:20 PM

People of Sikkim stand against Teesta hydel project

The people of the northeast India protest against dams. (Source: SANDRP)
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