Choking the fields: Impact of mining on Goa’s paddy
Mayem is a village in Bicholim taluka of the north-eastern hinterland of Goa. It is most famous for its lake, a popular tourist spot called the Mayem lake, which underwent…
Mongabay series: Environomy
The precarious journey of Goa’s mining-affected and dependent people
Chandrasekhar Shirodkar, 48, returned from Saudi Arabia in the early 1990s. When he came back to Maem, a village in the north-eastern mining belt of India’s western state Goa, he…
Is joint community ownership the way forward for mineral governance in India?
“Mining companies come to our villages and our forests to exploit the resources underneath and everyone in the value chain makes money. But it is the tribal community that bears…
Whose minerals are they anyway?
To tackle the already slowing economy, whose condition further deteriorated after COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government is pushing for more mining. But is this push for more revenue in line…
India proposes overhaul of mining sector amid concerns over legality and social impact
In its latest endeavour to battle the slowdown in the economy following the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, the government of India has proposed reforms in the mining sector by…
[Commentary] Onam is a day to remember the environment to economics connect in Kerala
The rains have eased in Thrissur in Kerala. The sun stays longer than overcast skies. Flowers have opened bright - different sizes, different colours. The pollinators are busy, moving from…
[Commentary] Why the plane could, yet the country can’t, run on biofuel?
In August 2018, SpiceJet airline made history in the Indian transportation sector. A journey of about 285 kilometres from Dehradun (in Uttarakhand) to New Delhi was completed with a fuel…
Will the ease of doing business make life harder for farmers in Karnataka?
Ups and downs don’t seem to end for the farming community in Karnataka. After the COVID-19 associated lockdown caused severe losses to the farmers, whose produce got spoilt in the…
Government’s crackdown renews interest in draft EIA 2020
Earlier this month, a complaint from India’s Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to the Delhi police against mass emails to his inbox led to blocking of websites of three environment collectives…
Despite an early vision for sustainability in mining, is India’s progress faltering?
Despite its known ill-impacts, the mining sector directly or indirectly contributes significantly to India’s economy. India had a vision to incorporate sustainability in this sector at least almost a decade…
