The Konkan Bachao Samiti (KBS), which is opposing the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant (JNPP) in Ratnagiri, has said that several questions on the project remain unanswered. At a recent press conference, Vivek Monteiro and Adwait Pednekar of the KBS said several issues were raised at meetings held among the KBS, Janhit Seva Samiti (JSS) and officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and the National Environmental Engineering...

The implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is plagu-ed by a series of lapses including financial misappropriation worth several crores of rupees and graft leading to booking of cases against officials including mandal parishad development officers and suspension of several technical and field staff in Godavari districts. In East Godavari, a whopping amount of Rs 4.06 crores were found misappropriated during social audit being held at the village...

New Delhi : Stating that only 33 per cent of the urban population knew about the Right to Information Act, the government on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that steps were afoot to increase awareness about the law. “Government instituted a study in 2009 which found that awareness level about the RTI Act is low. Only 33 per cent of people in urban areas were aware of the Act till 2008-09,”Minister...

NEW DELHI: Thousands of farmers from western Uttar Pradesh descended on the capital on Thursday and blocked all key roads leading to Parliament. They were protesting against the Mayawati government for carrying out land acquisition for the Yamuna Expressway project. Though traffic movement in central Delhi areas was affected for a few hours, the protest was peaceful and no untoward incident was reported. Traffic movement was affected at Rajghat, Jawaharlal Nehru...

India has rejected controversial plans by mining group Vedanta to extract bauxite in the eastern state of Orissa. The project had breached environmental protection acts and raised concerns for the rights of local tribes, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said. Vedanta's other ventures in Orissa were being investigated separately, he said. The company has yet to comment on the decision. It says it will bring jobs to the area - tribespeople say the plans...