Tribal communities on a free fall to poverty
The Salwa Judum movement, an armed counter insurgency campaign in Chhattisgarh is precipitating a crisis instead of solving the problems caused by extreme left Naxalite groups. State support of civilians fighting with armed insurgents has deepened the conflict. Earlier, the local people were caught between the police and the Naxalites. Now, with the entry of Salwa Judum, they are also involved in a fratricidal conflict. The situation is chaotic in the forested state, in danger of spinning out of control.

For more from Down To Earth :

Leader: Anti naxal operations cover for exploiting tribal people
Oct 31, 2006 | Read complete article
Cover: Red alert in Chhattisgarh
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Garibi Hatao 20 point programme makes a come back
The programme initiated by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the mid-1970s as the country’s main poverty eradication programme is back. Land reform, a key feature in the earlier programme, however is not in the new list of priorities.more>>

NSSO poverty survey: Too little, too slow
National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)s yet to be released poverty estimate points at very slow rate of poverty eradication in India, and is out of step with the last decades spectacular economic growth. more>>

Panchayat elections will be less whimsical
A Supreme Court order empowers state Election Commissions to hold local elections irrespective of the wishes of state governments.more >>

Parliamentarians to be out of rural development committees
The Ministry of Rural Development is planning to keep Members of Parliaments (MPs) out of district committees meant for vigilance and monitoring of rural development programmes. The reason: MPs failed to show up for meetings.more>>

Additional funds for water projects
The Ministry of Rural Development has released Rs 744.2 million to 18 states as a first installment of funds against additional allocation of Rs 1,798.4 million under the centrally sponsored Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP) during 2006-07.more>>

Updated NREGA trend analysis
The development effectiveness of the NREGA crucially depends on what types of works it gives priority to. An updated trend analysis points at water conservation getting marginally less importance in October than in August. To see how NREGA is performing in productive assets creation click here


Expansion of NREGA under doubts?
The rural development ministry’s plan to expand the NREGA to other districts from the coming summer may not get a favourable nod from the ministry of finance. Recently, the ministry of rural development has written to the Planning Commission to expand the districts under NREGA from May 2007 above the current 200 districts, but sources in the finance ministry say that fiscal restraint might limit the plan. The finance ministry has opposed the NREGA since its inception on grounds of fiscal prudence. The rural development ministry has already spent 42 percent of its budgeted expenditure during April-August 2006 compared to a mere 34 percent last year. The Planning Commission itself may not be favourable to the expansion since it has also warned the Union government in a letter to spend less on social sectors citing restrictions imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act.

District Rural Development Authorities to strengthen NREGA
The two-day conference of project directors of District Rural Development Authorities (DRDA) in Delhi held on October 16-17, has recommended that all natural resource management activities must be brought under the NREGA. The conference, inaugurated by the prime minister, also agreed to use the NREGA for watershed development works and to empower the Panchayats to speed up village planning as required under this Act.

Here are some of the recommendations:
· Village level natural resource management plan a must for NREGA
· Watershed approaches to be followed in village planning to harmonise NREGA with current rural development model
· All natural resource management activities to be brought under the NREGA while their productivity or livelihood enhancement activities to be covered under the watershed development schemes.

Capacity Development Resource and Tools
As an individual, organisation and campaigner, capacity to do research and disseminate findings are crucial to advocacy goals. www.ictwhoiswho.net provides resources and tools for capacity building on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) issues.

Poverty and Social Impact Analysis
Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) is an approach used increasingly by governments, civil society organizations and other development partners to examine the impacts of policy reforms on the poor and vulnerable. A new book by World Bank Publications elaborates on the broad range of analytical tools and techniques that can be used for PSIA.