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Maharashtra Denies Habitat Rights to the Most Backward Tribal Communities

In January 2016, a decade after the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was passed by Parliament, 60 gram sabhas in Khutgaon, Gadchiroli, became the first forest-dwelling people in Maharashtra to file a claim for habitat rights. These people are part of a community called Madia Gond, classified as a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG). Almost three years since their claims were submitted, since also approved by the authorised body, they are yet to receive their legal titles.

PVTG is a subcategory of scheduled tribes (ST), characterised by a pre-agricultural level of technology, stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy rate and subsistence level of economy. There are 75 listed PVTGs in India; Maharashtra has three: Katkaria or Kathodi in Thane and Raigad districts, Kolam in Yavatmal district and Madia Gond in Gadchiroli district. Among STs, the PVTGs have distinct societies and cultures rooted in their territories and forests. Most PVTGs are known to identify themselves as part of a larger clan of villages of the same community, with large and shared bio-cultural territories. These territories or habitats provide livelihood and resources as well as social and spiritual significance. Read more

Courtesy: The Wire

Property and land rights are key to women empowerment: Vice President

New Delhi: The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that empowerment of women is central to achieving the objective of inclusive, equitable and sustainable development and it is not only a national goal but also a global agenda.

He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the International Conference on ‘Empowering Women: Fostering Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability’ organized by the NITI Aayog and Shri Ram College of Commerce, here today.

The Lt. Governor of Puducherry, Dr. Kiran Bedi, the Vice Chancellor of Delhi University, Prof. Yogesh Tyagi and the CEO of NITI Ayog, Shri Amitabh Kant and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. Read more

Courtesy: Pragatiwadi

‘Without tribal society, environmental protection is incomplete’

Due to the lack of clean drinking water, two lakh people die every year. Moreover, 54 percent of India’s groundwater sources / wells are drying up.

By 2020, groundwater is expected to end in 21 major cities of the country. In India, there are ongoing disputes between the 11 states regarding water, like the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

These crises grew when the government stood in favour of an open and uncontrolled market. On the other hand, Delhi’s air has not been viable to breathe. 26 states of the country believe that desertification is growing at a fast pace. Approximately 30 percent of the country has come under the scope of desertification, where dust storms are rising at an unprecedented speed. Read more

Courtesy: ANI

VV Minerals takes strong objection to special team’s assessment report

CHENNAI: Minerals major VV Minerals of Tirunelveli has taken strong objection to the findings of a special team headed by IAS officer Satyabrata Sahoo, in his report on the assessment of beach sand minerals stored at various places in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari districts, that has been filed before the Madras High Court in March last.

Originally, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, the then Revenue secretary, was appointed as head of the special
team in 2013. While so, one G Victor Rajamanickam filed a PIL petition in the High Court for constitution of another special investigation team to probe alleged beach sand mining in the three coastal districts.
Following a direction from the first bench on the PIL and other batch of writ appeals and petitions, the government on April 7, 2017 nominated Sahoo, who was then chairman and managing director of TIDCO, as the head of the special team. The court had also appointed advocate V Suresh as the amicus curiae to assist the court. The report was filed before a division bench of Justices M Sathyanarayanan and N Seshasayee in March last. Read more

Courtesy: The New Indian Express

Japan stops cash for bullet train after project stalled over land row

The protest against land acquisition for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project has become a huge roadblock for the cash flow from Japan.

The latest installment that funding agency Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was supposed to release for last quarter, did not reach, said sources from Gujarat government. The JICA stopped the payment on the grounds that the project did not show any progress due to several disputes.

A senior state official, said on condition of anonymity, “As issues over acquisition of land for the bullet train project surfaced in Gujarat as well as in Maharashtra, no progress could be made. The agreements for payment of installment is conditional and the funds arrive from JICA if the progress is constant. The first installment of Rs 125 crore was sanctioned when the Japanese PM visited Gujarat in last September.” Read more

Courtesy: DNA

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