Citizens' Rights and Duties
Polavaram fraud - The Polavaram dam on the Godavari could displace 400,000 people and submerge nearly 4,000 hectares of forest land - Article from Down To Earth
Posted on 06 May, 2011 08:33 PMMost of the people threatened to be displaced cannot be relocated until their rights over forestland are recognized under the Forest Rights Act. How did the Andhra Pradesh government meet this immense challenge? It quietly told the Union environment and forests ministry that all claims have been settled.
The ministry gave forest clearance to the project last year. Now over 50 villages have written to the ministry, saying their forest rights have not been settled. Richard Mahapatra visited the villages and found the state had indeed lied.
Following similar complaints, the ministry had scrapped Vedanta’s proposal to mine Niyamgiri hills and withheld forest clearance to the POSCO steel plant in Odisha. Will it apply the same yardstick to Polavaram?
Residents of Teladibbalu did not know they had forest rights. The village is in the dam’s submergence zone and accessible only by boat. (Photo: G Srinivas).
A demo on the use of hydrosheds (hydrological data & maps based on shuttle elevation derivatives) at multiple scales for Orissa
Posted on 27 Apr, 2011 02:21 PMThe national hydrographic dataset can be used to delineate watersheds and mark all streams and channels that contribute to the flow at the outlets of these watersheds. Even though I was able to find out pdfs created by the National Information Center, I felt we need something better than the pdfs.
Role of indigenous knowledge system in conservation of forest resources – A case study of the Aka tribes of Arunachal Pradesh – A paper in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge
Posted on 23 Apr, 2011 09:01 PM
Indigenous knowledge is the basis for local level decision making in agriculture, healthcare, food preparation, education, natural resource management, and a host of other activities in rural communities.
Inviting endorsements on a submission to the WGEEP for declaring the rivers in the Western Ghats as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs)
Posted on 22 Apr, 2011 12:58 PMDear friends,
We are all aware of the immense ecological, cultural and social significance of rivers originating and flowing through the Western Ghats. This includes source regions of East flowing rivers like Krishna, Godavari and Cauvery and the source, riparian and estuarine region of all West flowing rivers.
We are lucky to still have some of the very few and very rare 'free flowing rivers' in the country. Most of the rivers in our country have been dammed and diverted. This has changed the ecological and physical characteristics of these rivers completely. Today, it is difficult for us to visualise the amazing range of ecological goods and services that an undammed, free flowing river can provide. Some such rivers in the Western Ghats are Shastri, Aghanashini, Gargai and Seetha Nadi.
Eradication of inhuman practice of manual scavenging and comprehensive rehabilitation of manual scavengers in India – A report by Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan
Posted on 21 Apr, 2011 09:15 PM
The practice continues in the country in spite of efforts of several people, implementation of government schemes such as the National Scheme for Liberation and Rehabilitation of Scavengers since 1992 and Self Employment Scheme
Development of training module for water safety plan in urban areas - A document by ESCI
Posted on 20 Apr, 2011 03:48 AMA Water Safety Plan (WSP) is an improved risk management tool designed to ensure the delivery of safe drinking water. It identifies hazards, means to control them, means and actions to identify loss of control and its restoration. It comprises system assessment and design, operational monitoring and management plans (including documentation and communication). Water quality guidelines have been issued by the WHO.
Transparent & participatory governance in functioning of the decision-making committees on water resources
Posted on 16 Apr, 2011 03:46 PMTo
Shri Salman Khurshid,
Union Minister of Water Resources,
Shramshakti Bhawan,
Rafi Marg,
New Delhi - 110001
2. Secretary, Union Ministry of Water Resources
3. Chairman, Central Water Commission
4. Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
5. Member (Water), Planning Commission
6. Ms Aruna Roy, Chairperson, Working Group on Transparency, Accountability, Governance at National Advisory Council
"I want my father back" - A 50-min film by Suma Josson on farmers' suicides in Vidarbha
Posted on 15 Apr, 2011 05:23 PM