Category: Environment, Forest and Climate change

Newest phase in Earth’s history named after Meghalaya rock

NEW DELHI: It’s official, we live in the Meghalayan Age. Scientists have created a new phase in Earth’s geological history and named it Meghalayan, after a stalagmite from a cave in the Indian state of Meghalaya that helped define climatic events 4,200 years ago, marking the beginning of the phase that continues till today.

The Meghalayan Age began with a mega global drought that devastated ancient agricultural civilisations from Egypt to China. It is part of a longer period known as the Holocene Epoch, which reflects everything that has happened over the past 11,700 years. Read more

Courtesy: The Times of India

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

‘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

Mining rehabilitation plan to be revised yet again

The Reclamation and Rehabilitation Plan proposed for residents of villages ravaged by mining activities, under the Comprehensive Environment Plan for Mining Impact Zone (CEPMIZ), is going to be revised again for the fourth time.

The first plan for Rs. 1,590 crore was proposed in November 2014 to be implemented in three years. It was revised in February 2016 with an increased outlay of Rs. 3,700 crore, to be implemented in five years.

It was revised further with an outlay for Rs. 4,500 crore. Read more

Courtesy: The Hindu

क्या बुलेट ट्रेन परियोजना का मौजूदा प्लान किसान ही नहीं बल्कि जापान के साथ भी धोखा है?

एक केंद्र शासित प्रदेश (दादरा नगर हवेली), दो राज्य (गुजरात, महाराष्ट्र), 312 गांव, 850 हेक्टेयर जमीन, पांच हजार से ज्यादा किसान परिवार और एक प्रोजेक्ट यानी बुलेट ट्रेन. बीते साल जापान के प्रधानमंत्री शिंजो आबे के साथ मिलकर इस प्रोजेक्ट का उद्घाटन करने के बाद प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने कहा था कि बुलेट ट्रेन भारत को एक नई रफ्तार देगी. उनका यह भी कहना था कि यूरोप से लेकर चीन तक हाईस्पीड ट्रेनों ने अर्थव्यवस्था में एक अहम भूमिका निभाई है.

लेकिन अपनी शुरुआत से ही मोदी सरकार की यह महत्वाकांक्षी परियोजना चर्चाओं से ज्यादा विवादों में घिरी रही है. इसके ऐलान के बाद से ही कई सामाजिक और किसान संगठन – फिलहाल इसकी जरूरत, जापान से मिलने वाले कर्ज की ब्याज की दर और इसके लिए भूमि अधिग्रहण के तरीकों पर बड़े सवाल उठाते रहे हैं. Read more

Courtesy: Satyagraha.scroll.in

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