In Rajasthan, a Public Land Protection Cell is Removing Encroachments, But Challenges Abound
A 2019 order passed by the Rajasthan High Court called for the formation of a Public Land Protection Cell, a district-level conflict resolution institution to investigate cases of encroachments on common lands. In this two-part series, The Bastion investigates the efficiency of these unique Public Land Protection Cells through interviews and information received via Right to Information applications. Part 1 uncovers the types of conflicts that occur on these “commons”, and how a delayed start to these cells and slow disposals might be plaguing their functioning.
How India’s Private Infrastructure Projects Risk Economic Stability, Environment, and Public Welfare
This article is the first of #FinancingDevelopment, a series analysing the finances behind India's development journey, in collaboration with the Centre for Financial Accountability.
In India,...
Profits, Protection, and People: Is Legalising Sand Mining in MP’s Chambal Sanctuary Worth it?
The Madhya Pradesh government has justified denotifying 350 hectares of the Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary for legal sand mining as a way of preventing wasteful expenditure from monitoring, while also improving local livelihoods and protecting the environment. How valid is this reasoning?
Catching Environmental Crime
Environmental justice movements and institutions face hard questions when it comes to accountability: who is actually responsible for environmental crimes? How should they be...
Finding A Middle Ground: Wildlife vs Human Rights Conservation
If you were to study global environmental protection movements today, there's one common aspect you might find. Each of these movements, regardless of geography,...
When Conservation, Community and Education Come Together: Kaas Plateau’s Sustainable Ecotourism Model
Over the years, influx of tourists during the flowering seasons has caused vehicular pollution and destruction of plants and shrubs at Kaas Plateau. To address these issues and conserve Kaas’s biodiversity, the local stakeholders came together to devise a sustainable ecotourism model.
Can Uttarakhand’s Push for GI Tags Revive its Traditional Crops?
Why have some Indian GI-tagged crops found international popularity, while others face competitive prices and the threat of reducing biodiversity?
The Making of Increasing Tiger Attacks in the Sundarbans: Common Forest Dependencies, No Compensation,...
In February 2022, West Bengal’s Forest Department entrusted the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to look into the causes behind the surge in human-tiger conflict in the Sundarbans. The answer lies in the interplay between forest livelihoods, the pandemic, weak social security recourse post-attack, and the history of conservation in these mangroves.
How Colonial Era Policing Impacts Communities Today
Hosted by Vaishnavi Rathore
Edited by Manasi Nene
This April, the Parliament passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022. The Act authorises taking fingerprints, handprints, footprints,...
Behind the Facade of Forest Conservation Lay One Lakh Displaced Residents of Khori Gaon
The abuse, mistreatment and erasure of the residents of Khori Gaon in the name of forest conservation is emblematic of the challenges that marginalised residents (being termed as ‘encroachers’) face across the country.
