Dear Reader,

Maharashtra is often celebrated as India’s richest state. Yet, hidden within it is Nandurbar—its poorest district—nestled deep in the forests of the Satpura range. Here, development promises fade away. Over 70% of the population is Adivasi, whose lives remain bound to forests, land, and daily struggles.

In this ground report, मैं भी भारत journeys into the Satpura jungles to witness tribal life up close. The story documents the daily drudgery of collecting water—long walks across rugged terrain, heavy pots balanced on tired bodies, and the constant risk of injury—all for a basic necessity. This labour, repeated every day, exposes the deep inequities that persist behind the state’s prosperity. The report captures the invisible burden borne by tribal women and raises urgent questions about inequality, access to water, and development in one of Maharashtra’s most neglected regions, despite its wealth.

Alang, a town in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, was once globally recognised for its ship recycling yards that dismantled vessels from around the world. Today, its aura is fading. Pressures over the last decade—from the declining importance of the Suez Canal as a shipping waterway to rising costs of environmental and safety compliance—have led to a marked drop in the number of ships making their final voyages to Gujarat’s coast, from 415 in 2011 to just 101 in 2024. The Migration Story travels along the ten-kilometre stretch to speak with migrant workers lingering in this declining industry.

Workers speak of the allure and power of reducing structures taller than skyscrapers, larger than the Taj Mahal, to dust. But ship dismantling has always been dangerous. It endangers both labourers and the environment, who bear the disproportionate burden of the Global South’s role as processor of the world’s waste. Deaths from falls and fatal inhalation of toxic fumes were routine. So were extreme levels of asbestos exposure, leaving workers with lifelong, often life-threatening illnesses. Now, as fewer ships arrive, newly adopted safety protocols risk becoming hollow gestures, even as the world’s fleets are redirected to other vulnerable shores.

As cities across India choke under soaring levels of pollution, a disturbing pattern has emerged in Madhya Pradesh, where blatant violations of norms and manipulation of data have led an activist to file a case before the National Green Tribunal. Using data carefully compiled from the state pollution control board, the petition has drawn attention to the alarming conditions of what were once India’s greenest cities, Ground Report finds.

In Indore—touted as India’s cleanest city—officials were found to have strategically placed air-quality monitors in sheltered locations. Calibration gases had expired, and filter ribbons were not replaced, skewing readings to suggest cleaner air. The distortions were both absurd and striking. The Central Pollution Control Board has since excluded Indore’s data from its national portal. In Bhopal, long-protected green zones that once acted as carbon sinks are being eaten away by development, offering little relief from relentless construction dust. Alarmingly, neither city has spent a single rupee from the crores allotted under the National Clean Air Programme—underscoring the casual disregard of municipal and state authorities for urban environments and citizens’ right to clean air.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), a flagship public institution jointly owned by the Centre and the Delhi government, earns nearly 20% of its revenue from non-fare sources by leasing commercial spaces at metro stations. These prime public assets are traditionally allotted through transparent, competitive bidding for long-term, 30-year licences to ensure fairness and maximise public revenue.

An investigation by The Red Mike suggests this system has been quietly diluted, with key decisions allegedly taken outside established tendering norms. The DMRC is accused of allotting metro land to private companies on a “nomination” basis, bypassing open competition. The issue came to light after Delhi’s Transport Minister intervened to suspend a 5,650 sq ft lease at Vasant Vihar station granted to Wise Spends LLP without bidding. While DMRC claims such deals follow internal due diligence to sustain revenues and keep fares low, the probe points to potential violations of CVC guidelines and Article 14 of the Constitution, triggering demands for a CAG audit amid concerns that public land is being treated as private patronage.

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

Warmly,

Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF