BHUBANESWAR: Governor S C Jamir on Wednesday took stock of the steps the state government has taken since the April 18 Supreme Court order on proposed mining in Niyamgiri hills, official sources sa

Maharashtra’s Tribal Development Department is helping 18 villages in three districts to use the Forest Rights Act to exercise their control over tendu leaves.

Following the Supreme Court judgment over bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills in Orissa last month, Union tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo has written to Governor SC Jamir to invoke his

In its April 18 order, SC had directed the Odisha govt to conduct Gram Sabhas at Niyamgiri within three months to seek the mandate of the locals

The Odisha government today said it would seek six more weeks from the Supreme Court (SC) to conduct Gram Sabhas to decide the fate of bauxite mining at the ecologically sensitive Niyamgiri hills.

The villages of the Dongriya Kondh tribals around Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills are likely to simmer again as the Centre and the state government along with civil society groups are planning to converge on the site for the proposed Vedanta bauxite mine.

The Supreme Court order has left it to the villagers to decide the fate of the Vedanta project, and the call revolves on whether the venture would affect their religious and other rights.

Bangalore: Forest department officials must step out and visit the wooded areas regularly to prevent illegal activities like growing marijuana, Kaushik Mukherjee, additional chief secretary and dev

Decision by Chavan comes after agitations by CPI(M), Kisan Sabha

Responding to the agitations by the CPI(M) and the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the Maharashtra government has agreed to re-examine around two-lakh rejected claims of land rights made under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

The refinery, which since inception has run on bauxite obtained from external sources, has been shut since Dec 5 last year for the want of raw material

The Odisha law department will submit its views on the Supreme Court (SC) order on Niyamgiri bauxite mining in 2-3 days, paving the way for the government to hold gram sabhas that will decide if mining activity can take place there.

The Supreme Court’s decision to let gram sabhas decide the fate of Vedanta’s Niyamgiri mining project will make it difficult for the government to divert forestland for industry without the consent of tribals and local population.

The apex court’s ruling on Thursday puts gram sabhas or village assemblies virtually at par with statutory and regulatory bodies, and gives a broader prism of rights to indigenous communities by defining the Forest Rights Act as more than just heritable property rights.

New Delhi: The government’s plan to detach tribal rights from clearances to projects requiring forestlands partially boomeranged after the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that the gram sabha shou