'Babus Flouting Norms, Giving Away Forest Land'

The committee set up under National Advisory Council member N C Saxena by the environment ministry reviewed the implementation of the Forest Rights Act. It severely indicted the forest bureaucracy for failing to uphold the law in several instances and even hindering its roll out.

After the director-general, forests - the highest forest official in the country - rejected the recommendations of the committee, the forest officials' body has now accused the members of the Saxena committee of generating `public euphoria' to parcel out the forests lands to claimants against the provisions of the Forests Rights Act. Read the full report here.

Source: Nitin Sethi, TNN, New Delhi.