THE NEWS IN
PROPORTION
17 February 2020
17 February 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A paean to Chhattisgarh from an exiled lover
A paean to Chhattisgarh from an exiled lover
Dr Ilina Sen’s association with Chhattisgarh and her deep, empathetic understanding of its society and culture have come lyrically alive in Inside Chhattisgarh: A Political Memoir. Freny Manecksha reviews the book.
PARSA COAL BLOCK
Ignoring the ‘public’ at a public hearingAt a recent public hearing for the Parsa Coal Block in Chhattisgarh, citizens likely to be affected by mining there raised several concerns. However, much of it has been completely ignored in the official record of minutes, reports Kanchi Kohli.
WATER DIVERSION
Powerful forces get water for powerThe construction of barrages to meet the water needs of thermal power plants in western Chattisgarh shows that irregularities involved in the allocation of this resource may be as large as the ones in coal allocation itself. Shripad Dharmadhikary throws light on the issue.
INTERVIEW: ILINA SEN
"I try to hope that I will live again with Binayak in my lifetime"Dr Ilina Sen, well-known social activist and feminist scholar, who currently heads the Department of Womens Studies in Mahatma Gandhi University, Wardha, Maharashtra speaks in detail to M Suchitra about her husband's trial and her appeal to the Chhatisgarh High Court.
ENVIRONMENT CLEARANCE
Setting the clock back on clearancesWhat happens if you decide to expand your industrial project without getting fresh environment clearances? In Jindal Steel's case, it appears, you get to go on scot free. Kanchi Kohli reports.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Cleared, denied, cleared, ...The environment clerance process continues to make a mockery of the law. As the Athena case shows, when a project is pulled up, the Ministry simply finds another channel by which to continue it. Kanchi Kohli reports.
NAXALISM IN CHHATISGARH
Democracy in the deep woodsIn mineral-rich lands, adivasis still find it hard to make ends meet. Violence between the state and Naxals threatens to divide and disenfranchise them further. Freny Manecksha reports.
MINING WASTE
Coal waste darkens the KeloIt is plain for all to see that untreated mining waste is being discharged into the river around Khamaria, but it is equally plain that the government is doing nothing about it. Kanchi Kohli reports.
SMALL TOWNS
Growing without a planRajnandgaon's location along a national highway has helped it to grow. It is also not cash-strapped. But its problem is the absence of good governance, writes Kalpana Sharma.
SMALL TOWNS
Between a village and a townJanjgir has a poor base to raise finances and is heavily dependent on fund transfers from the state government. There is little here that would qualify this as a town, writes Kalpana Sharma.
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT
Hot ash burns child to deathIllegal dumping of industrial waste around Raigarh takes the life of 7-year-old Twinkle Thakur, raising familiar troubling questions about the trajectory of 'development' in India. Kanchi Kohli reports.
SUICIDES IN CHHATISGARH
"Only the idiots are committing suicide"In Chhatisgarh's Durg district, there is no shortage of farmers who have taken their lives - the district ranks second in the state on this count. But equally, there is no shortage of those who don't see these suicides. Shubhranshu Choudhary reports.
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCES
Fail, fail, fail .... and pass!Construction without approval. An incomplete public hearing. Failure to notify local residents in a timely manner. It seems no amount of non-compliance with the law is enough grounds for the proposed expansion of the Monnet plant in Chhatisgarh to be halted. Kanchi Kohli reports.
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Amitabha Basu
- Retired Scientist
- National Physical
- Laboratory
- India Together reader
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