The Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court's forest bench has put forward recommendations on how the court's order on Vedanta Alumina's plans for mining in Orissa should proceed. Kanchi Kohli reports on a continuing tale of intrigue, as the locals get one more breather.

Resistance to large projects is founded on many fears and objections. Key among them is loss of access to water. Without proper consideration of the water impacts of development plans, public acceptance of these projects will remain elusive, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

The new law's provisions are infusing into the proceedings of the Gram Sabhas a democratic character that they have lacked so far. From a conservation standpoint too, the law is proving to be positive, writes Tushar Dash.

The recession in the West is having a profound impact on the deep rural interior of Orissa. Thousands are returning home, writes P Sainath.

Once-young fighters from Sri Lanka are now mostly family men entrenched in Malkangiri town. The way the one-time, once-brash warriors have woven themselves into the community is touching, writes P Sainath.

Ganjam migrants in Surat send home Rs. 400 crore a year, a fourth of that through the unique Tappawala courier system. But global recession has seen remittances take a hit, writes P Sainath.

Ganjam has been a high-migration district from British times. For two decades, the bulk of its labour force has gone to Surat, but that is changing now, writes P Sainath.

The steel plant and port proposed by the South Korean mining giant in Orissa has remained on paper, as local opposition has successfully fought off the company's efforts. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Despite many violations, protests, and committee recommendations against mining in the Niyamgiri hills, the region's fate lies in the corridors of power. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Christian dalits and adivasis in Kandhamal district of Orissa live fearfully among their Hindu neighbours more than two years after large-scale riots against members of their faith. Freny Manecksha reports.

As in many other struggles around the country, in Kalinganagar too there are fractures within the opposition to the proposed industrial plants, and families are torn apart by bleak choices. Freny Manecksha reports.

The proposed natural resource extraction in Angul district and other nearby places in Orissa will devastate the land and its already-suffering people even further. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Environmentalist Ashish Kothari discusses the politics behind the approval of the POSCO project, and how the FRA is faring in Odisha, in conversation with Pradeep Baisakh.

Why bother complying with regulations if a committee can decide that it didn't matter much that the law was bypassed? MoEF finds itself on the backfoot, after its experts look away from the law. Kanchi Kohli reports.

There is wide-spread failure in safeguarding the rights of forest communities protected under the Forest Rights Act. State and Central Governments are complicit in diluting it. Tushar Dash reports.

The battle between Sterlite Industries and tribal communities over mining in the Niyamgiri hills may not be just over yet, but the most recent Supreme Court judgment empowering the gram sabha has come as a temporary reprieve for the people. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The report of the Roy Paul Committee set up by the MoEF to examine and act on the earlier judgment of the Green Tribunal recommends several studies and assessments, but few of those seem to have been considered in the most recent appraisal. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Their shelters and livelihoods ravaged by the deadly recent cyclone, many women along Odisha's coastline are are so bereft of any hope for the future that they feel it would have been better to be among the dead. Sarada Lahangir meets some of them.

With numerous court cases, regulatory rulings and pending environmental clearances behind it, the South Korean steel major POSCO still persists with its plans in India. Kanchi Kohli looks at the latest in the case and wonders why.

The broad-based Community Based Functional Literacy Campaign launched by the State Resource Centre of Rayagada, Orissa aims to educate women and drop-out girls in three of the most backward districts of the state. Abhijit Mohanty summarises the key take-aways so far.

Rejection of regularisation of mines operating beyond lease areas, and compensation for other violations being used for tribal welfare are among the recommendations of a recent report on mining in the state. Kanchi Kohli places the key points in context.

The struggle to feed themselves and their families round the year drives millions of farmers in India to desperate measures. Abhijit Mohanty’s story shows how sustainable agriculture has helped transform the lives of farmers in Odisha’s backward Kalahandi district.

Abhijit Mohanty brings us the story of certain tribal villages in Koraput district of southern Odisha that have successfully overcome the challenges posed by denudation and inadequate irrigation and have etched out a path towards food security and well-being.

The women of Gunduribadi, a small tribal village in Odisha, go out daily for thengapalli or forest patrolling around their village. They are also members of their Forest Protection Committee which decides how to manage the forest and its resources. Sonali Pattnaik spent a day with these sentinels of Gunduribadi to find out how this movement has restored the forest and empowered the villagers.

In spite of the development and welfare plans and programs implemented since Independence, the tribals of our nation remain the most marginalised group. There are many valid reasons for this as Abhijit Mohanty finds out when he looks into the existing Tribal Sub Plan funds and what's happening with it.

Shripad Dharmadhikary explains why setting up a tribunal to resolve the Mahanadi Water Dispute will not help the people or the river.

Himanshu Upadhyaya examines a CAG audit report to point out the blatant non-compliance of environmental laws largely by the Forest officials.

Ignored by the government, shunned by society and caught in a time-warp of their own, the nomadic castes and tribes of India are almost "non citizens" of the land. R. Akhileshwari describes the abysmal plight of such people from Andhra Pradesh and highlights the injustice and neglect that they are subject to.

Days before Telangana goes to polls, Venugopalrao Nellutla examines the lack of exuberance and the dilemmas among people in the region, even as they look ahead to statehood and their own government in weeks from now.

Widely labelled as the first of its kind, the Intensive Family Survey conducted in Telangana on 19 August gave rise to a range of speculations, and predictably drew its share of brickbats and bouquets. Venugopalrao Nellutla seeks to decipher the real motives and usefulness of the survey.

Deccan Development Society (DDS) is transforming the lives of villagers of Zaheerhabad, Telangana. Ashish Kothari visited the place recently and writes about how DDS is successfully working with Dalit farmers towards ecologically sustainable farming, women empowerment and community-led communications.

Telangana’s free registration of plain paper land sale initiative to digitally clean up its land records not only benefits its dispossessed farmers but makes land governance transparent, reports Manipadma Jena.

New Delhi concedes a long-standing Bodo demand to set up an independent council for the tribal people, and demands that rebels now disarm.

Dr Indira Goswami, Assamese writer and Bharatiya Jnanpith Award-winner, has recently taken up a new role - that of a peacemaker in Assam. Nava Thakuria reports that the initiative has been welcomed by students, politicians, and cultural figures in the state.

Jhum, a traditional form of shifting cultivation common in the North-East, was the focus of a recent international meeting in Guwahati. But dilution of the original practice has impacted the ecosystem in some areas. Should jhum persist or perish? Surekha Sule has more.

For scores of students in Assam's primary schools, cooked food served in school under the Midday Meal Scheme is an attraction. Headmasters vouch for its impact in increasing attendance, but point to several challenges in making the scheme work statewide. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

The Assam government has claimed credit for the rise in pass percentages in high schools in recent years. But, reports Ratna Bharali Talukdar, a closer look at the numbers shows there is still much room for improvement in state-funded education in high schools and colleges.

With large parts of the state experiencing regular conflict between insurgents and security forces, and also between various ethnic groups, children in Assam, many of them forced into relief camps, face the risk of losing all access to education. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

On the streets in Guwahati, there are thousands of children outside the reach of the normal schooling system. Many have run away from their homes, and most must work to make ends meet. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports on the challenges of bringing them into the mainstream.

Hundreds of artisans in Hajo are finding their livelihoods threatened by a local monopoly and other factors that have driven the prices of raw materials very high. The Assam government is intervening to help, but the beneficiaries wish they were consulted more. Ratna Bharali Talukdar writes.

Dramatic erosion of embankments, and continuous siltation threaten to wipe away a large island settlement on the Brahmaputra. Residents unhappy with the government's efforts to stem the erosion are now hoping the island's heritage and ecology will attract more attention. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

At the Guwahati IOC Refinery, labour is divided between organised and unorganised workers, with social and cultural factors at play too. How do the unions handle complex issues? Is there a workers unity? Sriram Ananthanarayanan digs deeper.

Conflict-ridden and marked as 'backward', Karbi Anglong is the first district in the North-East and the fourth in the country to have implemented a quality management system in compliance with the ISO 9001:2000 standard. Ratna Bharali Talukdar has more.

The struggle of Adivasis in Assam is more or less unique. It is the only state in India where, post Independence, adivasis were given Other Backward Class (OBC) status instead of Scheduled Tribe (ST). Sriram Ananthanarayanan says this, and their struggle, warrants an examination.

Shifting cultivation in the Northeast, called jhum, is under stress because of conflicts and industrialisation. Sriram Ananthanarayanan examines how the cycle of jhum cultivation is getting adversely affected, causing immense hardship to the people dependent on it.

A cluster plantation scheme promoted by the state government in Assam is providing new opportunities in silk production for thousands of families. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports on the effort and the challenges it faces.

Recent conservation efforts, linked to the development of alternate livelihood options for local communities along the Brahmaputra, have led to new hope for Assam's state aquatic animal. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

In a region mired in conflict for a decade now, the emergence and growth of weaving as a livelihood option for Bodo women has been welcome, and the women have taken to it with great entrepreneurship. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Assam is blessed with more than 150 indigenous ornamental fish species, and these are found in abundance in its natural waters. Now, the government is trying to organise the market for these, and promote new businesses. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Farmers in Assam have had to move out of agriculture during the past two years because sand dunes created over their fertile lands. Comprehensive bungling of river flood control and other ill-thought out projects are the cause, finds Surekha Sule.