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
Delhi’s ground water hits rock bottom
Too many people, too much pollution and too little water – that's Delhi’s water supply situation in a nutshell. Posted on 20 May, 2013 12:40 PM

Green pastures and meadows, tall trees, lakes, wells and the river…those are my memories of Delhi. It wasn’t too long ago that one woke up early to the sounds of lawns being watered, children running off to school and people walking in the parks. A flurry of activity but quite different from what it is today.

A baoli (step well) in ruins
Bangaloreans come together at the ‘Save Our Lakes’ Event
Lakes recharge groundwater. Bangalore, once the ‘city of lakes’ isn’t any more and half the city will likely have to be evacuated by 2023. Can we do something about this crisis before it's too late? Posted on 17 May, 2013 10:50 AM

The Catch Every Drop campaign, which created awareness about water conservation, spun off a few other events in Bangalore. Save Our Lakes, which focused on protecting B

A village creates magic…and a river!
Sukha Raula (dry ravine) to Gad Ganga – the transformation in Ufrenkhal Posted on 30 Apr, 2013 09:23 AM

Ufrenkhal – the village
Driving towards Ufrenkhal, a village in Pauri Garhwal (Uttarakhand), I see a lush, green mountain covered with deodar, banj and utees trees. Little did I realize that this diverse and dense forest, which is alive with wildlife, is very new. 40 years ago, this vast area was a firing range!

Ufrenkhal in Uttarakhand
Job opportunities at Jhatkaa, a citizens group working on cutting edge innovation in citizen engagement
Jhatkaa is looking for people from diverse backgrounds, dedicated to creating change, and ready to put their full heart into their role .
Posted on 29 Apr, 2013 01:04 PM

Jhatakaa

The organisation

Why participatory groundwater management is no longer an oxymoron: The story of Randullabad
Randullabad village has been practising participatory groundwater management for the last two years with ACWADAM's guidance. This article details this achievement. Posted on 15 Apr, 2013 06:04 PM

India is heavily dependent on groundwater use. Domestic use, agriculture and industry all rely on groundwater extracted by means of pumps, wells and tanks. This  dependence is illustrated by falling groundwater levels. Frequently, this overuse and consequent decline trigger conflicts.

The story of how blissful ignorance allows Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages to deprive Mehdiganj, Varanasi of its water
What does 'being water positive' really mean for the villages where manufacturing plants are situated ? Posted on 01 Apr, 2013 11:39 PM

 

Bottled drinks are commonplace and we often reach for them without a thought. We may even feel good about our purchase as we read about the companies' commitment to water security' printed on the label. 

 

What does 'being water positive' really mean for the villages where manufacturing plants are situated ? This article examines the case of one such plant in Mehdiganj, PO Benipur, Arajiline block, Dist Varanasi and its effect on the groundwater levels in the area. The village has led an agitation against 4 specific negative impacts of the plant, acheiving moderate but measurable success.

This year, the movement comes to a crisis point as despite a warning by the Central Groundwater Development Board, the plant applies for a four-fold expansion.  

Reviving dying springs in Sikkim
A video shows the effort of the Dhara Vikas initiative in rejuvenating the dying springs of Sikkim. Posted on 28 Mar, 2013 11:48 AM

Pure and beautiful, mountain springs confer lives. With change in climate conditions and rainfall patterns, rural habitations in Sikkim face drinking water shortages. Many of these springs are drying up or their discharge declining. But there is hope at the end of an endeavour, where science, government and community come together to revive springs of their local region.

Safe water for all - Some ways we can preserve this natural resource
Maya Ramaswamy shares her views on how discussing "water rights"will be meanigful only if all of us collectively contribute towards preserving and conserving our environment and in turn save our water sources Posted on 21 Mar, 2013 09:36 PM

Water rights are being discussed today as a possibility. This will lead to civil war in this country. Rights are meaningless without paying attention to duties. It is our constitutional duty to preserve and heal our environment. 

If we pay attention to freeing our waters:

Refugees of the Kosi embankments – A booklet by Dinesh Kumar Mishra
This booklet by Dinesh Kumar Mishra deals with the plight of the refugees of the Kosi embankment Posted on 13 Mar, 2013 02:44 PM

Kosi, one of the most vibrant rivers of North Bihar begins its journey at a height of about 7000 m in the Himalayan range. After entering the plains, the bed of the Kosi widens drastically and it spreads over 6 to 10 km.

How have India's flagship development programmes fared ? - Budget briefs on the TSC, JNNURM and MGNREGS by the Accountability Initiative
Read this article to know how the government has spent its money for three of its flagship programmes. Posted on 12 Mar, 2013 11:40 AM

Government of India’s development programmes are aimed to bring in much required inclusive development and pave a way towards an equitable and socially just society. With this motive the Centre had introduced several programmes in social sectors and allocated a fixed amount for achieving the set goals.

An analysis on the performance of the programmes shows how far the targets have been achieved, the shortcomings and the steps that are to be taken to strengthen the programmes. 

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