Excerpts from the chapter “Gender and Police” in the recently released report, “Status of Policing in India Report 2019”, Published by Common Cause & Lokniti – Centre for the Study Developing Societies (CSDS), which is based on a countrywide sample of 2416 (20%) women out of the total of 11836 police personnel interviewed: The representation of women in the Indian police continues to be poor, at 7.28 percent in 2016. Police forces in India lack gender sensitivity, failing to address the needs of women within the police forces. The lack of women’s representation in the police further contributes to reinforcement of gender stereotypes, and intensified biases, against both, women within the police as well as women who have an interface with the police. While the numbers have improved over a decade, going up from 3.89 percent in 2007 to 7.28 percent in 2016, the question is–is this pace good enough? Further, the question that we attempt to address in this chapter is whether we are prov

Senior environmental activists Rohit Prajapati and Krishnakant of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Vadodara, Gujarat, in a letter to the secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), have insisted that concerned authorities should not renew the Consolidated Consent and Authorization (CC&A) dated January 6, 2015 to the Vadodara Enviro Channel Limited’s (VECL), and implement the closure order dated December 13, 2018 of the Gujarat Pollution control Board (GPCB) under section 33 A of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Text: *** The Vadodara Enviro Channel Limited’s (VECL) has continued non-compliance of GPCB’s prescribed norms, terms and conditions of its Consolidated Consent and Authorization (CC&A) dated January 6, 2015 since its inception. It clearly demands that their Consolidated Consent and Authorization (CC&A) needs to be cancelled. A copy of the same is attached herewith . CC&A of VECL clearly mentions: “…VECL have

Gujarat Khedut Ekta Manch president Sagar Rabari’s letter to the Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Government of India, seekingcancelation of the Environment Clearance certificate granted to M/s Ultratech Cement Ltd for Talli and Bambhor village in Bhavnagar District, Gujarat: Reference your communication dated 5th January, 2017 to M/s. Ultratech Cement Ltd, as a non-profit farmers’ organization working on issues of agriculture and rural economy, we would like to draw your attention to the very serious issues emerging in the wake of limestone mining lease granted to M/s UltraTech Cement Ltd. in Talli and Bambhor, of Talaja taluka of Bhavnagar district in Gujarat. We write to draw your attention to the fact that the Environmental Clearance (EC) has been granted on the basis of:the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report prepared which contains false information, misreporting and misleading interpretation of data, and, concealment of facts; Flouting o

By Shankar Sharma* India has embarked on plans for a massive addition to its nuclear power capacity. The Parliament was informed by the concerned minister on 3rd January 2019 that 21 nuclear power reactors, with an installed capacity of 15,700 MW was under implementation, envisaged for progressive completion by the year 2031. Whereas it looks very ambitious to plan to add 15,700 MW of nuclear power in the next 12 years as against about 6,780 MW which was actually added in the last 60 odd years, what is even more astounding is the plan to take India’s total nuclear power capacity to 250,000 MW by 2075, as per an official plan by the department of atomic energy (DAE). Such a plan to add enormously large capacity in the next few decades at humongous financial, economic, social and ecological costs to the country should make anyone worried about the overall impacts on our communities. Whereas, the global experience since the Fukushima nuclear disaster has been one of the decision to deco