-BBC   Police in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have registered cases against 16 police officers nearly six months after they were accused of rape. The personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) are accused of committing the crimes during protests by farmers in Bhatta-Parsaul villages. Villagers had clashed with the police in May while protesting against the government acquisition of their land. Farmers said they were being forced to give up land...

Biraj Patnaik, principal adviser to the Supreme Court commissioners on the right to food, is up in arms against the National Food Security Bill. “Despite multiple meetings and many suggestions put forward, what we have is a mockery of a bill. The government has made a dog’s breakfast out of the right to food bill,” he exclaims. Patnaik’s is not a one-off complaint. Some argue that the country’s law-making process is...

Directs Centre to submit detailed report on project cost and land acquisition The ambitious river linking project, connecting rivers of peninsular India with  Himalayan rivers through canals, has hit a roadblock after the Supreme Court's observation that the project would burden the Union government because of escalating costs. While environmentalists and activists have welcomed the order seeking detailed report on the project's cost, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has commenced...

Court verdict, a relief to farmers in Gautam Buddha Nagar district In a setback to the Mayawati government and relief to farmers of Noida extension areas (Greater Noida) in Gautam Buddha Nagar district, the Allahabad High Court on Friday set aside land acquisition in three villages — Devla, Yusufpur Chaksahberi and Assadulapur — and ordered that an additional compensation of 64.70 per cent be paid to them. The farmers should also...

-IBN   In a major setback for the Uttar Pradesh government, the Allahabad High Court on Friday cancelled the land acquisition of three villages in Greater Noida. The land acquisition of Asadallapur, Devla and Saberi villages were cancelled by the court. As per the order, the farmers who have already taken the compensation, can return the amount and claim back their land. The farmers in the remaining 37 villages, where planning has already taken place,...