Judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of In Re: Zudpi Jungle Lands. A batch of applications involved a peculiar issue concerning the situation prevailing in the six districts of eastern Vidarbha region namely Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. The issue pertains to the status of the …
THE BRITISH blamed the improvidence of the Indian peasantry for the destruction of India's forest wealth. Even with Independence, the bureaucracy continued to toe this line and with such effect that in the 1950s, the new forest policy asserted local people should not enjoy special rights over forests in their …
AS A PEOPLE'S movement, Chipko's achievements are well beyond the ordinary. Launched by a small organisation called the Dasholi Gram Samaj Mandal in the tiny village of Gopeshwar in the Garhwal region of Uttar Pradesh, Chipko exerted an immense impact on environmental movements throughout the world. This, despite Chipko's members …
WHEN I first visited the Alaknanda valley in the 1960s, there were few footprints on the path leading to the Hemkund-Lokpal shrine and the Valley of Flowers and nature was resplendent in all its pristine glory. But by 1969, when I set up a research station at Joshimath to study …
On multinationals: Agriculture is the only field where India can assert its sovereignty. Multinationals will fleece Innocent farmers. Plant breeding is the prerogative of farmers and we will not allow privatisation and'com- mercialisation of agricultural research. On whether India should integrate with the world economy: I want a khadi curtain …
THOUGH Haryana is an agriculturally developed state, its Rewari district is poor and handicapped by lack of drinking water, sharp gander inequality and educational backwardness. Rewari averages 65 cm of rain annually, not enough for efficient fuming and its salinity is such that cultivating the undulating stretches of the Arivall! …
On the aim of his agitation: Our broad objective is to accelerate the movement towards a freer economy and an open society. We are against state intervention in agriculture and so-called subsidies because the Indian farmer is taxed, not subsidised. Thus, our rally is not a counterpoise to Tikait's. On …
On Dunkel draft opponents: If the proposals become effective, bahuton ki dukanen bandh ho jayengi (many rackets will collapse). If agriculture is controlled by market forces, what -will farm leaders who thrive on raising issues like fertiliser subsidies and procurement prices do? They want to retain their position as traders. …
• Plant varieties to be brought within the purview of patents. This provision will be reviewed four years after the agreement comes into force. • Countries to provide market access to foreign produce. Custom duties on agricultural products to be reduced by 36 per cent, with a minimum rate of …
RESISTANCE to GATT secretary general Arthur Dunkel"s proposals is building up in India. But even as the government tries to pacify fears that it will give *in to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) - the all- encompassing global trade rules that are being negotiated - its game …
WHEN ALL the good-sized trees had vanished from the forest around Khudamunda hamlet in Sambalpur district, Orissa, a villager went into a reserve forest nearby in search of poles for his hut. He was caught and beaten by a forest guard, who then took a hefty sum and a goat …
VILLAGERS in Lapanga, Sambalpur district, assert they initiated forest protection as long ago as 1936, making Lapanga one of the first villages to do so. The villagers protect about 250 ha of forest, of which 75 ha. are ryoti (private) land, donated for use as a community-run forest. The protection …
I was talking the other day," said William Rogers to the other villagers gathered around the inn fire, 'to a gentleman about the place called Louvain, what the Germans have burnt down. He said he knowed it well - used to Wait a Belgian friend there. He said the house …
Indian government"s concerns with theDunkel draft Commerce ministry"s comments: What the critics say: If the facility for process palents, currently enjoyedby Indian drug manufacturers, is taken away,prices of several medicines patented by MNCs will soar. The magnitude of the price rise will depend on a variety of factors. in any …
Developing countries are concerned by the silent disappearance of some and the qver-simplificalion of other provisions of the Brussels Draft, 1990 -the first draft agreement reached during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations. These provisions were of special interest 10 developing countries and were open for negotiations. But they …
On the Dunkel proposals: Ye Dunkel to hamen dank maregi (Dunkel will sting us badly). This is a conspiracy against Indian farmers. Why did the government keep this a secret? Why wasn't the draft translated into Hindi? Why should we allow multinational companies to dominate Indian agriculture? If Dunkel gets …
A CONTROVERSY is raging over the chir (Pinus roxburghill trees that are being planted oin Himalayan slopes because it grows quickly in virtually ravaged soils, though local residents complain the chirs absorb groundwater and discourage undergrowth. Chir trees are found in abundance from Pakistan to Arunachal Pradesh and its logs …
THE SEEDS sowed by Arthur Dunkel are beginning to sprout discord. Farmers are split on the merits of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) proposals to patent plants and genes. After initial hostility to the Dunkel draft, some farmers now say it's good for them. First, there was …
A RURAL health programme operating arolmd Sevagram in Maharashtra has given new expression to Mahatma Gandhi's dream of rural development. The scheme, based on self-help and risk-sharing through insurance, is proof that quality health care can be provided in rural areas at an affordable cost. The moving force behind the …
Controversy continues to dog the helicopter crash in Corbett National Park last year, with the Indian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) filing a case recently in Delhi High Court, for unauthorised flying in the Project Tiger park. The helicopter's occupants, from the Thapar group of industries, …
The Union and Madhya Pradesh governments have been ruled culpable by a Rome-based tribunal of violating the rights of the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy. The Permanent People's Tribunal (PPT) based its ruling on hearings conducted in October 1992 in Bhopal. The PPT ruling noted the failure of industry …
