The violent agitation by farmers in western Uttar Pradesh spread further on Tuesday, despite the state government's offer of more money as compensation for land acquired for the 165 km long Noida-Agra Expressway. While the agitating farmers of Aligarh and Mathura rejected the government's offer, farmers in neighbouring Agra district also began protesting on Tuesday. Under pressure from agitating farmers and political parties, the Mayawati government on Monday night increased the total...

A police constable has been arrested and three persons detained in connection with the murder of Right to Information (RTI) activist Amit Jethva here last month. Jethva, who had filed a public interest litigation against illegal mining in the Gir forest area, was shot outside the Gujarat High Court on July 20. “After a long investigation, we have tracked down the main accused, Bahadursinh Wadher, a police constable in Junagadh district, for...

With the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) showing the red flag to Posco and Vedanta projects in Orissa while giving a green signal to the Polavaram hydel project in Andhra Pradesh, the ruling Biju Janata Dal has accused the UPA of hatching a conspiracy to sabotage the state’s growth. All the 20 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members of BJD on Wednesday staged a dharna in Parliament alleging that the...

When former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde recently said that vested interests were controlling the mining industry, he was not exaggerating, considering that India registered over 182,000 cases of illegal mining across 17 states in the last five years alone. The Union government data show that Andhra Pradesh — the single largest contributor to the country’s mineral production of roughly Rs 1,28,000 crore — alone registered a 110 per cent increase...

Parliament on Monday came to a standstill over the firing on protesting Aligarh farmers when anti-BSP outfits joined hands to corner the Mayawati regime over land acquisition for Yamuna Expressway. The Sunday firing saw Congress, SP, BJP and RLD block proceedings in the two Houses of Parliament as they demanded a discussion on the issue. BSP opposed the demand saying it was a state subject. While the provocation for blockade...