A PPP project, hailed as a milestone in logistic infrastructure development at the time of launch shows scant growth three years later, costing the Cochin Port trust dearly in the process. P N Venugopal throws light on all that has gone wrong with it.

The need for integrating land use with mobility has never been fully addressed within the profusion of plans for Bangalore. The revision of the Master Plan for 2031 may provide a good opportunity to develop a comprehensive mobility strategy, says Shrimoyee Bhattacharya and Sujaya Rathi.

Is modernisation of transport the sole answer to air pollution problems in Delhi? In view of the NGT's proposed ban on older vehicles in Delhi, Sarath Guttikunda draws attention to several problems that need to be addressed for cleaner air in the NCR.

Darryl D'Monte analyses why the proposed Bullet Train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is not the need of the hour, nor worth the cost.

Responses to the disappearances of the common house sparrow have been muted, although the change is clearly a sign of the extent to which our urban environments have been altered. Monitoring programs would protect the birds, and also better inform us about our environment. Vasudha V reports.

The people-versus-tiger conflict haunts every protected habitat of the beast, and unless relocated communities' needs are met, conservation efforts will remain uncertain. Rajasthan's plans to relocate villagers from Sariska's core zone will have a profound impact on all other tiger reserves, writes Sudhirendar Sharma.

The locking up of the notorious poacher and wildlife trader Sansar Chand was proof that India's police officers could make a difference. But stopping wildlife trade needs more, writes Malini Shankar.

Both for vast array of species it shields and the sustainability of the ecosystems it inhabits, the tiger is the sentinel of the ecological destiny of the whole Indian subcontinent. Malini Shankar says tiger conservation is no longer a mere choice.

Simultaneous protection of rights of both tigers and human tribes is a utopian dream; where co-existence is an inescapable reality, political will to reduce human imprint to a minimum and sensitisation of forest dwellers are critical to conservation, writes Malini Shankar

Abuse of animals by humans in various garbs is a sad reality across countries and communities. Deeply moved by an HBO documentary, Malini Shankar explains why the issue of animal rights and prevention of cruelty must be inextricably linked to conservation efforts.

Wildlife experts across India stress the need for more stronger cases backed by scientific evidence and administrative efficiency, speedy trials and effective prosecution of the guilty. Bosky Khanna reports.

A CAG audit report finds that despite the revocation of clearance for forest land diverted to a public sector power company, the land continues to be used by them. Himanshu Upadhyaya details this and other findings, which show thegloomy picture of forest governance in West Bengal.

Rejuvenation of the Ganga has purportedly grabbed a big share of the new government’s focus, but would plans ignoring the upper Ganga basin really be effective? Shripad Dharmadhikary discusses the findings of an expert body that could be crucial to the agenda.

In operation now for more than two years, Gorus has a network of about 50 committed families as consumers and 25 farmers as suppliers, and growing steadily. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

The thrust on chemical-free cultivation of vegetables that started as an experiment in the 90s has now evolved into a culture in Kerala’s Kanjikkuzhi Gram Panchayat. P N Venugopal traces the growth and success of this initiative so far.

The World Bank, IMF and WTO want 'coherent' operations, but poor nations worry that behind this vague objective is a determined effort to hijack their aspirations.

The government's recent traditional knowledge digital library will send data to patent offices abroad, so that indigenous knowledge that India abundantly has is not patented overseas. Following India's example, other nations too are showing interest in similarly protecting their interests. Ramesh Menon reports.

The country's latest Geographical Indication certificate offers some new hope - of putting the sheen and colour back in a vital piece of Indian heritage, and livelihoods linked to it. Puja Awasthi reports.

In search of new funds to keep the growth story alive, the Centre opens the doors to foreign investment a little further.

It is far from clear if capital exports out of India are good for India. What is apparent, from their enthusiasm, is that Indian companies believe it is good for them. Kannan Kasturi reports.

The drying up of the dollar and the resultant plummet of the rupee reflects on the government's flawed economic strategy. Shyam Sekhar draws upon the famous business fable Who Moved My Cheese? to show the kind of behaviour and actions that could resolve the crisis now.

The worse things have become in Anantapur district, the more fancy cars have shown up in town. Drought, says P Sainath, is the organised plunder of the poor.

By having elections at a time when people are forced to migrate in search of work, we are simply excluding an ever-growing number of citizens from the vote, says P Sainath.

The media have decided that 70 per cent of the population does not make news. The electorate has decided otherwise. P Sainath contrasts expectations before the elections with actual outcomes, and finds plenty that should have been always evident.

Even allowing for under-valuation, many candidates are worth crores officially. P Sainath looks through election candidates' disclosures in Andhra Pradesh.

Church income has fallen sharply as the laity have gone into debt in Wayanad. But the larger reality is also more complex. While the church does reflect the pain of its farmer base, it is also, in some cases, a source of at least a few of the dues that worry them, notes P Sainath.

Prior to 1995, KSRTC did not have a single bus on this route, but nowadays there are 24 trips between Manathavady in Wayanad and Kutta in Kodagu, Karnataka. By the second stop on the journey, there is not a seat vacant. P Sainath continues his series on the agrarian crisis in Wayanad.

With the PM not entirely rejecting British claims to good governance, this Independence Day week is a proper time to review the legacy of the Raj. One finds that colonial governance was certainly good for the British, while tens of millions of Indians died of wilful and callous neglect, writes P Sainath.

The agrarian crisis in Vidarbha has spun almost out of control. Appeals for swift measures by many have fallen on deaf ears. The farm suicides are the tip of the huge crisis raging here, not its whole. They are, though, its most powerful symbol, writes P Sainath.

Disputes over output do not hide the trouble Maharashtra's cotton economy is in. Small farmers face another year of huge losses. The role of nature is very minor compared to conscious policy measures that have undermined the farmer and world cotton prices, writes P Sainath.

The many ways in which officials in a region gripped by crisis try to deal with it can be intriguing. Even entertaining. From advising farmers to plant crops in line with zodiac signs to suggesting they bear arms against moneylenders — it's all happening in Vidarbha, writes P Sainath.

Converting water to a commercial good to be sold for profit invites disaster. Most of all for poor people whose already pathetic access to water will shrink swiftly, writes P Sainath.

In the long-time UDF bastion of Wayanad, the agrarian crisis has transformed things. All have been affected, writes P Sainath.

The failure of the banks has seen new kinds of creditors emerge in Vidharbha. Some of these now come in from neighbouring States - with a 'home delivery system' of loans. Many farmers owe money to banks, cooperative societies, input dealers, private lenders, close relatives - and 'anna.' Life is about borrowing from one lender to pay off another, writes P Sainath.

The Prime Minister's upcoming visit to Vidarbha has had an impact even before he's reached there. It would, however, be a transient impact if he does not see through the charade. The mess there starts right at the top. Vidarbha's condition is the product of design, not decay, writes P Sainath.

Vidarbha's farmers are unhappy with the "relief packages" announced by the State and the Centre. Debt relief and access to credit are certainly important to them, but they want the larger issues driving the suicides addressed first, writes P Sainath.

The Beautiful People whose next-door neighbours never vote are back, teaching the masses - who do vote - how to go about it in the civic elections in Mumbai. This is the upper middle class trying to preen itself in the one process where they matter less, writes P Sainath.

Eleven young women in Maharashtra have chosen to become Foresters. These women Foresters are mostly from rural Maharashtra. From places such as Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, and Yavatmal and not from the big cities. P Sainath reports.

Remember how keen so many of our national security experts were on sending our own troops into Iraq alongside those of the U.S.? Remember it was to have been such a good thing for India, asks P Sainath.

There have been some 250 farm suicides in just the first three months of this year. Things could be a lot worse after June. And, as always, the farm suicides are a symptom of the crisis, not its cause. They are its outcome, not its engine, writes P Sainath.

In society's eyes, Kamlabai is a `widow.' In her own, she's a small farmer trying to make a living and support her family. She is also one of about one lakh women across the country who've lost their husbands to farm suicides since the 1990s, writes P Sainath.

Several women in Karnataka's Mandya district like Jayalakshmamma, whose husband committed suicide four years ago, still stand up to the unending pressure with incredible resilience, writes P Sainath.

P Sainath

Families left behind by farmers who committed suicide face up to the odds, fighting for survival so that the next generation might do better. As one farm widow puts it, "it is all for the children, sir. Our time has gone". P Sainath reports.

By the Maharashtra government's own count, the 14,221 high-breed cows it gave farmers in Vidarbha add just 1.16 litres each to the milk collection in the region. These cows have cost already indebted farmers over Rs.7.5 crore. P Sainath reports.

Countless rural Indians sacrificed much for India's freedom, to fade into oblivion later, seeking neither reward nor recognition. Gandhian Baji Mohammed, who has been active for 70 years in one or the other cause, is amongst the last of this dying tribe, writes P Sainath.

The state has witnessed 30,000 farm suicides in a decade. Vidarbha is the worst place in the nation to be a farmer, writes P Sainath.

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have together seen 89,362 farmers' suicides between 1997 and 2005. On average, one farmer took his or her life every 53 minutes between 1997 and 2005 in just these states, writes P Sainath.

Even nations that are far below us in the Human Development Index rankings - and which have nothing like our growth numbers - have done much better than us on many counts, writes P Sainath.

Increasingly, job quotas are cited as 'discrimination' - in reverse. But the word discrimination in terms of caste means something very different that the media mostly do not, or choose not to, understand, writes P Sainath.