Dear Reader

In the riverine plains of Assam near the Dibru Saikhowa National Park, the ground is shifting. An investigation by The Reporters’ Collective reveals how the environment ministry is bending its own rules to enable oil extraction in some of India’s most fragile ecosystems. Oil India Limited’s (OIL) project in Baghjan has been cleared to drill for hydrocarbons beneath the protected forest using Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) technology — a proposal rejected in 2016 but revived as a “research and development” venture. This rebranding allowed OIL to rely on expired environmental clearances and bypass public hearings, the only formal avenue for local communities to raise objections.

Memories of the 2020 Baghjan blowout at OIL’s Well No. 5 — which caused a massive gas leak and fire for over five months, displaced about 9,000 people (1,610 families), and destroyed 60–70 hectares, devastating local communities and biodiversity — remain raw. Yet new drilling has begun under softened regulations and diluted safeguards. Expert panels that once blocked such projects now approve them, citing procedural loopholes and novel readings of environmental law. By disguising extraction as “research,” the ministry risks legitimising industrial incursions into ecologically sensitive zones, quietly rewriting the rules meant to protect India’s natural heritage.

The unfolding cough syrup tragedy in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara — which has claimed the lives of 22 children so far — has drawn attention once again to India’s fragile regime of medical manufacturing and regulation. Though the first recorded death by kidney failure after consuming the syrup occurred in August, it has taken until October for the state to swing into action. Madhya Pradesh’s testing labs lie either defunct or underutilised, obliging the state to send samples to Uttar Pradesh for analysis. This delayed the withdrawal and recall of the offending cough syrup, which was found to contain up to 48% of the toxic chemical diethylene glycol, as against the permitted 0.1%.

As families reel from the loss of their children, the tragedy has led to a widespread loss of faith in the medical system itself, finds Ground Report. Doctors are scrambling to respond adequately. Some have taken to silently registering their anguish, while others point to the lack of control and awareness of the medicines they prescribe, owing to lax monitoring and weak enforcement of regulations.

The Probe’s investigation into the Alipur factory fire in Delhi, which erupted on the evening of February 15, 2024, exposes severe failures in governance, safety oversight, and labour protection. The paint factory inferno killed eleven workers and injured several others. Nearly twenty months later, families are still waiting for justice and the promised compensation.

The tragedy underscores the human cost of Delhi’s industrial neglect—migrant workers labour in hazardous, overcrowded units without insurance, safety gear, or legal safeguards. Families of the deceased continue to face bureaucratic delays, while officials evade accountability. The Alipur fire and the state’s apathy exemplify a broader urban crisis, where unchecked industrial growth, weak oversight, and systemic neglect render workers’ lives expendable.

The Karnataka government has spent heavily on high-profile events even as it cites budget constraints for establishing new student hostels in educationally underserved districts like Yadgir. For instance, the 2025 supplementary budget allocated ₹10 crore for the Sadhana Samavesha in Hosapete, ₹3.7 crore for a cabinet meeting at Nandi Hills, and over ₹100 crore for the Invest Karnataka summit.

The File’s investigation finds that students in the district face severe challenges due to overcrowded hostels and limited educational infrastructure. Many operate in rented buildings lacking basic amenities, forcing students to travel to distant towns. Despite pressing demand, proposals for new hostels have been repeatedly rejected, highlighting a stark imbalance in the state’s spending priorities.

For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.

Warmly,

Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF