Gary R Watmough’s PhD explored the spatial associations between socioeconomic variables like female literacy and employment in the non-agricultural sector derived from a subset of the 2001 Indian National Census and environmental metrics. The study was based on freely available remotely sensed satellite sensor data - Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) in Assam.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 6 months ago
There has been quite a bit of news and excitement about the Prime Minister's Rural Development Fellows recently appointed by selecting young professionals from top professionals institutions like IITs, IIMs, TISS and others. It is a welcome idea that large numbers of professionals have been attracted to be such Fellows. It is to be seen if they will deliver what is expected out of them, especially while working in the districts affected by left wing extremism. I wish them all success but the history of such ideas and experiments have failed globally and we should have deeper analysis of them, says Achyut Das of Agragamee, Orissa.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 6 months ago
The Maharashtra Water Resource Regulatory Authority (MWRRA) has in March 2012 circulated its approach paper on criteria for determination of bulk water tariff for the period 2013-2016. The draft is now put out for public consultation, which is the next step in the exercise as per the regulations.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 6 months ago
The report on the State of Indian Agriculture placed by the Government to the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, calls for wide-ranging reforms in agriculture sector to enable it to meet the growing demands and meet the challenges posed by various human and environmental factors. The first issue of State of Indian Agriculture series had been published by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) in 2009.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 6 months ago
The Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) had in 2011 constituted a Committee on Restructuring of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) under the chairmanship of Shri V Ramchandran, Chairmen-Emeritus, Centre for Management Development, Thiruvananthapuram with the objective of strengthening and professionalizing DRDA to meet the challenge of rural development in the present context. The committee has now submitted its report which has been put in the MoRD website for comments before a final view is taken.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 6 months ago
The Government of Rajasthan (GoR) has recently come up with a strategy for rural sanitation based on its experience of implementing Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) in the state. In Rajasthan, TSC was initially launched in four districts in 1999 and scaled up in all the thirty two districts in 2004-05.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 6 months ago
A number of citizens have made a public statement, expressing serious concern about the Supreme Court’s Order of Feb 27, 2012 on the Interlinking of Rivers Project. The statement endorsed by more than sixty eminent persons has urged the Supreme Court to put this order on hold and reconsider the matter. The statement first states the concerns relating to the propriety of the apex court making this specific order, and then proceeds to state the concerns relating to the Project itself.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 6 months ago
The Draft National Water Policy 2012 seems to be an improvement over earlier versions due to a fundamental shift from the ‘project oriented’ approach espoused so far by the bureaucracy and political establishment to a ‘resource’ oriented approach. Water, considered state property due to eminent domain principle, was hitherto seen only in terms of projects- irrigation or multipurpose. Now at least it is defined as a ‘natural resource’.
But what does it really mean, to call water as a ‘natural resource’? What is the relationship we as humans are seeking to establish with this part of nature? What are the relative roles of citizen and state in India towards this resource?Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 7 months ago
The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), Government of India (GoI) has recently prepared a National Water Policy whose draft has been put up on the Ministry's website for public comments by February 27, 2012. The MoWR also stated that it would incorporate reasonable comments and suggestions into the new water policy after discussions. NEER Foundation, Meerut organized a one day intensive dialogue on February 18, 2012 at Hotel Crystal Palace, Meerut on the policy draft in which experts from across the country and farmers participated.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 7 months ago
The sixth lecture in the series titled "Living Rivers, Dying Rivers" was delivered by Parineeta Dandekar and Pandurang Hegde.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 8 months ago
PATH organized a Dissemination Workshop of its Safe Water Project at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on January 19-20, 2012.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 8 months ago
Ramaswamy Iyer responds to comments in EPW by Rahul Banerjee and Chetan Pandit on his alternative National Water PolicyAmita Bhaduri posted 12 years 8 months ago
A report by Amita on the round table meeting held at India International Centre, New Delhi on the topic of river basin planning for Ganga on February 1, 2012.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 8 months ago
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has come up with a Compendium of Environment Statistics 2011, the twelfth edition of the series, which started in 1997.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 9 months ago
Mangroves are tropical and subtropical coastal forests that grow in inter-tidal saline areas and estuary mouths between the land and the sea.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 9 months ago
This is the report on “Sustainable Groundwater Management” by the Working Group set up by the Planning Commission as a part of the process to prepare the 12th Five Year Plan.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 9 months ago
This article by Arun Kumar Nayak in the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) examines the movement against the construction of the Hirakud dam in Orissa.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 9 months ago
The fifth lecture in the ten-part series titled "Living Rivers, Dying Rivers" was delivered by Dr. Ajaya Dixit and Dr. Dipak Gyawali.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 9 months ago
This report of the CAG deals with the results of the performance audit of water pollution in India for the year ended March 2011.Amita Bhaduri posted 12 years 9 months ago