-The Telegraph The Union environment ministry has raised concerns over the proposed power plant on Nayachar island, casting a cloud on the Rs 8,600-crore investment proposal by NRI businessman Prasoon Mukherjee. At a meeting earlier this month with Bengal government officials, an expert appraisal committee under the central ministry asked the state to come up with a revised environment protection plan. Handing over a 100-page dossier prepared by a group of professionals, chaired...

-The Times of India With the political logjam stalling key legislative business, civil rights activists feel that Parliament should be allowed to function to ensure that the government is held accountable. MKSS head and RTI activist Aruna Roy said that while the issue of corruption was important, Parliament should be allowed to run. "Corruption is a huge issue but there are other laws which will protect people's lives and cub corruption. Political...

-PTI Darjeeling (WB), Aug. 27: In the conflict between forest guards and forest dwellers in West Bengal’s Doars and Terai regions, 13 tribals have died in firing by forest guards since 2007, according to the State Forest Department. While the Forest Department described those killed as belonging to the timber mafia, rights bodies claimed they were just poor and innocent tribals who merely entered the forest in search of firewood and forest...

-The Hindu National Committee in Solidarity with Jaitapur Struggle writes to PM The National Committee in Solidarity with Jaitapur Struggle — a group of like minded political people opposed to setting up nuclear power projects in the country — has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to cancel the proposed nuclear plant at Jaitapur. Citing concerns over the safety of the proposed nuclear reactors at Jaitapur and the financial credentials of the French company...

-The Indian Express A little over 11 years ago, when the Congress defeated the Asom Gana Parishad and Tarun Gogoi took over as chief minister of Assam, people had their doubts. Would this man who had spent most of his political career since 1971 as a Lok Sabha member be able to run this state? The state, with its unique tangle of ethnicity and politics, has, after all, always been a...