By Bharat Dogra*  In 2023 the 50th anniversary of the famous Chipko Movement  will be observed. This name (which translated from Hindi means hug the trees) and the movement it represents has caught popular imagination and become almost a household name in India. This refers loosely to a series of efforts, starting about 50 years back in India’s state of Uttarakhand, in West Himalayan region, in which people of these Himalayan villages were involved in protecting trees in natural forests from being axed by contractors or government agencies, as well in asserting more local rights over forests. In Uttarakhand region (then a part of Uttar Pradesh, now a state), forests play a very important role in the life and livelihood of villagers. This socio-economic reality is celebrated in culture, reflected in festivals and folk-songs. Hence it is not difficult to understand that people and communities here have a history of resisting anti-people forestry policies. In an agitation in Rawa...

By NS Venkataraman*  Dawn of year 2023 will be celebrated with people all over the world welcoming the year with bright illumination, bursting of fire crackers and exchange of good wishes, with sooth sayers and astrologers predicting the events in the forthcoming year and leaders of various governments across the world greeting the people promising an era of peace and prosperity. Of course, prayers are also offered in religious centres seeking prosperity and happy conditions. Events in the past several years show that such celebrations and wishes on the new year eve have not been followed by showering an era of peace and harmony but the world continued to be strife torn with conflicts and animosity between nations and individuals remaining undiminished. Of course, in the year 2023, there would continue to be spectacular achievements in the field of science and technology with greater reach in communication facilities and in variety of other fields . But, however, w...

By Anjali Bhardwaj, Amrita Johri*  The Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) has compiled a Report Card on the performance of the 29 information commissions (ICs) set up under the Right to Information (RTI) Act across the country. The report can be accessed by clicking here . Highlights of the report: There is lack of diversity in the composition of information commissions, nearly 60% commissioners being retired government officials. Merely 10% of all commissioners across the country have been women. Currently no commission is headed by a woman. Large number of cases being returned by ICs - Several ICs were found to be returning a very large number of cases without passing any orders. The CIC, Uttar Pradesh SIC and Andhra Pradesh SIC returned around 40% of the appeals/complaints received by them. Tardy disposal rate - Several commissions have an extremely low rate of disposal per commissioner. For instance, the SIC of West Bengal had an annual average disposal rate of 222 cases per commis...

Counterview Desk  Well-known academic and Magsaysay award winning social activist Sandeep Pandey in an open letter to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, alluding to a recent protest padyatra he and his colleagues had planned in support of the Azamgarh farmers' opposition to the international airport, has wondered: why, when their contingent was as small as about a dozen persons, his government was feeling so insecure as to send a huge police force to block it? Accusing the UP police of resorting to illegal ways of violating the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression, assemble peaceably, form associations or unions, and move freely, Pandy, who is, general secretary, Socialist Party (India), said, "It is unclear why they have to resort to illegal ways of detaining people, snatching their mobile phones, not allowing pictures to be taken or talk to media while they are in detention without any case being lodged against the detainees." Text: ...

By Thomas Franco*  Contrary to the claims of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, India is in recession. Even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) agrees. Inequality is on the rise. From jobless growth, we are in ‘job loss’ growth. Study after study confirms it. Oxfam India Report 2022 on inequality stated that 84% of households suffered a decline in income, whereas the number of billionaires increased from 102 to 142.  While 4.6 crore Indians fell into extreme poverty, the wealth of the billionaires rose from Rs. 23.14 lakh crores to Rs. 53.16 lakh crores. The report suggested that a 1% surcharge on the richest 10% amounting to Rs.7.6 lakh crores will be enough for investments in school education, universal healthcare and social security benefits like maternity leaves, paid leaves and pension for all Indians. That will ease the worsening inequality to some extent. The Credit Suisse report stated that median wealth in India was 50% of the global median in 2000 which has fallen by 4...

By Silvana Mossano  The release of asbestos fibres from the extensive area of 'eternit' roofs and the so-called improper uses of the material (attics, courtyard squares and playgrounds lined with compacted dust) in Casale exceeded those produced by the Eternit plant and the former Piemontese area where the open-air crushing of waste took place using a caterpillar. This is what the defence experts claimed at the trial taking place in Novara in the Court of Assize, where the defendant Stephan Schmidheiny is accused of the murder (with possible wilfulness) of 392 people from the Casale area, all mesothelioma victims. Claims were based on the scientific models and mathematical formulae, illustrated in past hearings. Are the defence experts right? Prosecutors Dr Gianfranco Colace and Mariagiovanna Compare asked the Court of Assizes to hear other consultants, in particular technical experts from the regional Arpa (The Environmental Agency) to assess the method and application of the ...

By Parineeta Dandekar  In the leaning golden sun, 65 year old Hari Ganpat Nikam dived like dolphin under a wooden contraption in the Vashishti River. He emerged a whole minute later bearing a beautiful woven basket, his right hand placed firmly on its mouth. As he brought the basket closer, he gradually removed his hand. Inside, tens of small fish and crabs shimmered in the evening light. Tonight’s fish curry was sorted. In Chiplun and throughout Western Ghats, tribal Katkari communities have devised an ingenious way of catching riverine fish. This is through what is called as Bandhan. Bandhan is a fishing dam made from wood and vines from riparian trees. It involves laying a strong wooden log (called Vila made of Ain wood, Terminalia elliptica) across the stream, supported by wooden branches in the upstream parallel to the stream. The river is excavated below the horizontal log and woven baskets (called Toke) made of a riparian plant (Sherni, Homonoia riparia) are placed under the...

By IMPRI Team*  A panel discussion on “Combating Air Pollution in National Capital Region” was organized by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), Ministry of Home Affairs, and #IMPRI Center for Habitat, Urban and Regional Studies (CHURS), IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi on 7th December, 2022. Inaugurating the session, Ms Fiza Mahajan, a researcher at IMPRI, welcomed the speakers and participants to the program with an introduction to the eminent panellists. M The session included Dr Rumi Aijaz, Senior Fellow and Head of Urban Policy Research Initiative, Observer Research Foundation, India as the chair for the event. The panellists included Prof Umesh Kulshrestha, Professor and former Dean, School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, Ms Bhavreen Kandhari, Founder, Warrior Moms, Mr Himanshu Shekhar, Senior Editor (Political and Current Affairs), New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) and Mr Vimlendu Jha, CEO, Gre...

By Rosamma Thomas*  In September 2022, in an accident at Palghar near Mumbai, Cyrus Mistry, former chairman of the Tata Group, died in a road accident . On December 28, 2022, a road accident in Mysore left one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brothers injured. What is common in these accidents? The car that crashed into the divider on the road, in both these cases, was manufactured by “prestigious” German manufacturer Mercedes Benz. One former dealer of Mercedes Benz cars in India has been raising issues of the threat to the lives of those riding these cars for many years now. Cama Motors, among the oldest dealers of foreign cars, having started business in pre-independence India, noted over 10 years ago that Mercedes Benz was indulging in corrupt practices . The cars are currently priced between Rs 41 lakh and Rs 2.92 crore in India; few people realize that the pride of owning a Merc comes at considerable risk to life. Cama Motors carefully documented several of the flaws on a w...

Counterview Desk  Marking one year of the Government of India withholding the release of over Rs 7,500 crore MGNREGA funds to West Bengal, the civil rights network NREGA Sangarsh Morcha, in alliance with the Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS), held Black Day on December 27, with workers holding black flag demonstrations, thaala bajao, road blockade and public meetings. Releasing a note on the occasion along with Status of MGNREGA Employment & Wages in West Bengal by Libtech, India and Fact Finding Investigating the Stoppage of MGNREGA Work and Wages , senior activists Anuradha Talwar, Jean Dreze, Nikhil Dey, Parul Saboo and Sanjay Sahni called it “one year of Injustice: one year of NREGA workers wage theft in West Bengal”. Text : MGNREGA workers in West Bengal have not been paid wages since 26th December 2021 . Today, we mark one year of centre withholding the release of over Rs 7,500 crore MGNREGA funds to the state for ‘non-compliance of central government dir...