Category: News

Why many tribals don’t mind being ousted by dams

Millions of words have been written on the woes of people forcibly displaced by dams, of whom tribal oustees (who lose access to forest produce and grazing) suffer most. The counter-criticism is that these activists are denying tribals the right to development.

Many research projects have tried to assess the impact on tribals ousted by the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat, arguably the most controversial dam ever in India. Such studies do not clearly distinguish temporary from long-run impacts, or assess what living standards might have been without the dam. Nor have researchers asked non-ousted tribals if they might actually want to be ousted and garner the benefits of modernisation.

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Courtesy: The Times of India

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SAMATA JUDGMENT

COMMON CAUSE || Vol. XXXVI No. 3 || July-September, 2017

A Weapon of the Weak and the Marginalised

“Poverty in the land of plenty”, wrote Minoo Masani way back in 1953 in his book Our India. Masani rightly
recognises the paradox of our nation — the land with abundant natural resources has been the home for the
poor and the most deprived. The tribal areas in particular have been victims of this paradox despite the fact
that the Constitution laid down various provisions for the betterment of the tribal population. For instance,
Article 342, by providing that the President’s power to ‘notify communities as Scheduled Tribes’ (STs),
unconditionally recognises the fact that the ST communities are the ones which have suffered the worst
dispossession. The STs are guaranteed various forms of reservations by Articles 320, 332 and 334 of the
Constitution. PESA , 1996 provides tribal communities Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act
powers with regards to natural resource management and self-governance. Yet the widespread non-implementation of these provisions has created stark inequalities leading to poverty and deprivation of India’s tribal communities. Read more

52 children die in 30 days at MGM Hospital in Jamshedpur; main cause is malnutrition, says administration

Weeks after deaths of over 70 children in government-run hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, 52 infants have been reported dead in last 30 days at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College (MGM) Hospital in Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur.

According to a report by the ANI, the hospital superintendent has blamed malnutrition for the deaths.

The tribal belt of Jharkhand has been long battling the problem of malnutrition among the kids. According to a report by the UN agency for children, UNICEF, 47 per cent children in Jharkhand are undersized and 42 per cent of them are underweight. The report was part of the UNICEF’s Rapid Survey on Children 2013-14. Read more

Courtesy: India TV

Punjab Cabinet approves formulation of the Punjab District Mineral foundation rules 2017

Punjab News Express || August 24, 2017 08:54 PM

CHANDIGARH : The Punjab cabinet on Thursday took a series of important decisions, including formulation of the District Mineral Foundation Rules to ensure implementation of development programmes in the areas affected by mining in the state.

The cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to issue appointment letters to 1337 candidates out of the existing merit list in the unemployed qualified Teacher Eligibility Test namely PSTET-2. De-reservation of posts in certain categories in the Department of Defence Welfare, approval to the Guardians of Governance scheme and extension, till June 30 next year, to service providers in the Veterinary Department are other key decisions taken by the cabinet meeting held here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Read more

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