What is good governance? How well can a person or a community access help or push for a needed change? How often are they heard? Village Square shines a light on the people and schemes making the biggest impact or providing the most unique solutions.
Governance
Dry land distress drives people to break stones in quarries
A lack of livelihood opportunities is compelling villagers of Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh to take up jobs in local stone quarries, where unregulated work conditions are often extremely hazardous for their health
Are farmers collateral damage of modern economic growth?
People living in villages, who are migrating in large numbers to urban spaces in search of livelihoods, could be victims of our economic development or perhaps the dismal income growth of farm households is semi-deliberate to keep labor costs low
Community resource persons are torchbearers of a resurgent countryside
The silent revolution of community resource persons fanning out across the country in the past few years to deliver last-mile services needs to be strengthened to bridge the divide between shining and deprived India
Local tribes protest changes in Jharkhand land laws
Recent amendments to laws that govern the use of land owned by tribals in Jharkhand has led to a rash of protests because local communities feel that they might lose their land and livelihoods to industrial development
Development a distant dream on Elephanta Island
Finally set to get electricity 70 years into Independence, the development and availability of basic necessities of life such as clean drinking water or a health facility remains illusive at the three villages on Elephanta Island
Murshidabad children set example in local governance
Children in remote parts of Murshidabad district in West Bengal are taking an active role in community governance that not only lets them tackle social ills at a tender age but also nurtures them as future community leaders
Wild animals spoil farmers’ hard work in Darjeeling
Crop depredation by wildlife is one of the biggest problems facing the livelihood security of many farmers in Darjeeling, with most of them losing up to 40% of their crop every year
After defeating Posco, farmers turn to reclaim betel leaf economy
The formal closure of Posco’s steel plant project in Odisha is seen as a victory of agrarian economy over unwanted industrialization and the betel leaf farmers of Jagatsinghpur are rejoicing, although those who lost their land face new challenges
Living with the clockwork floods of Barak River
The state seems to be indifferent to the plight of the large number of people settled in the Barak Valley in southern Assam, and they are left to fend for themselves when the river routinely floods its banks every monsoon