Comprehensive review of resettlement sites vital: Medha Patkar Calling for a review of resettlement sites for the people affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam and of the irrigation project itself, Medha Patkar, leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) said, there were as many as 40,000 families still in the submergence area, waiting to be resettled. “Initially, the [Narmada Water Disputes] Tribunal, which gave the award, estimated the number of families affected...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Delhi claims maximum of Farmers’ loan
According to the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) data on loans given out by nationalised and cooperative banks, there are more farmers doing agriculture in Delhi than Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal. The farmers in Delhi were allotted loan of Rs 22,077 crore in 2009 alone at mere 5% rate of interest, which is the second highest after agriculture-rich Punjab. Delhi’s loan disbursal amount is bizarre,...
More »Panchayat polls: Unusual candidates try their luck by Maulshree Seth
Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh this time have seen unusual candidates jumping into the fray. There are teachers, shopkeepers, businessmen, relatives of politicians and even wives of BSP ministers. Some of them took leave from their normal work and some even sold their properties to take part in the polls. All claim they want to serve their village, block or district, but it is alleged that the lure of money pouring...
More »Jairam picked activists for POSCO panel, their 3-1 stand is no surprise by Amitabh Sinha
The 3-1 conclusion of the POSCO panel that all clearances to the Rs 50,000-crore project be scrapped should haven’t come as a surprise to at least one person: Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh. The panel’s report now wends its way through the Ministry’s official expert committees. For, Ramesh had handpicked these members and each of the three who opposed the project has, in the past, taken clearly stated positions on infrastructure projects,...
More »RTE hits roadblock as civic bodies look the other way by Maroosha Muzaffar
The Directorate of Education (DoE) is having a tough time implementing the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act in Delhi with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) refusing to hand over their schools to the Delhi government. The DoE had asked both civic bodies to either upgrade their schools to Class VIII or hand them over to the department,...
More »