Drought of equity
A large part of Maharashtra has been declared drought-hit. But distribution of water is quite incongruous. While the few who are politically and financially powerful take the lion’s share for sugarcane
Aparna Pallavi
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Reservoir of corruption
It is not just about large-scale financial and political irregularities. Maharashtra’s irrigation scam has put a question mark on the validity of the state’s high-cost irrigation policy itself. Under this
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Lanco public hearing rigged
Farmers accuse power company of registering bogus speakers, question timing of public hearing with sowing season. The fresh public hearing for Lanco Infratech Limited’s 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant
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Biogas rediscovered
When Vijay Ingle of Chittalwadi village in Akola district decided to install a biogas plant at his dairy last year, everyone was sceptical. It had failed to take off in the Vidarbha region despite the
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Sakri solar power plant may not be shifted after all
Cost escalation made Maharashtra's power generation company reconsider present site in Dhule district. The Sakri solar power plant in Maharashtra's Dhule district is touted as the world's largest solar
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Soybean doesn`t sprout in 40k hectares in Maharashtra
About 30,000 farmers in Maharashtra are feeling cheated. The soybean seeds they had purchased from the state seed corporation, Mahabeej, failed to germinate this season. About 40,000 hectares (ha) of farms in seven districts have been affected. Mahabeej has 45 per cent share in the soy seed business in the state.
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Forest department’s cheat act
<p> Gadchiroli in Maharashtra may have acquired the model district status for clearing a record number of community forest rights (CFR) claims, but its 298 villages are angry with the forest department for stripping them of the basic right to manage forest produce.</p>
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Betrayal via bamboo
<p>In April this year, Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra made history. One of its villages became the country’s first to win the right to sell and harvest bamboo. <strong>Down To Earth </strong>reports how India's largest paper manufacturing company Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT) is using most of the bamboo in Maharashtra, leaving little for residents.</p>
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Unhealthy countryside
<p>It was once associated with the rich and urban. Today, hypertension is fast spreading in rural India. This is a cause for concern because hypertension, if not checked, can lead to heart and kidney diseases. Healthcare facilities are already poor in villages, where nearly three-fourths of Indians live.
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Mahad loses river, crops
<p>Despite closure notices several industrial units are operating in Mahad tehsil of Raigad district, polluting a river and wells. As a result fishing and farming in the region have been badly affected. 5,000 fisher families have lost their means of living due to pollution in the Savitri river.</p>