Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Ajit Singh's draft for amendment in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 proposes a complete ban on acquisition of land for profit-making and commercial purposes. The acquisition rights for industry should be allowed only if necessary for national security. Besides redefining `public purpose' for which land is acquired, the draft wants the government to be advocate of farmers' right and not a real estate agent. The...

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has held that there is no legal sanctity attached to verdicts of village panchayats, including khaps, that touch personal lives of couples, even if the community accepts such decisions. Handing out this ruling in a case where a village panchayat in Uttar Pradesh had granted divorce to an Army man from his teacher wife, a Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and B S...

Maharashtra ended famine forever by passing an Act that deleted the word ‘famine' from all laws of the State. Maybe the government, the National Advisory Council and other assorted enthusiasts of the Food Security Bill can learn from Maharashtra about moving towards ending hunger altogether. In 1963, the government of Maharashtra ended famine forever in the State. It did this without adding a morsel to anyone's diet. It did so simply by...

Mayavati had better do something quick about the state of schools in Uttar Pradesh if she wants children to spell her name right. An NGO assessing the District Primary Education Programme and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, a national programme for universalisation of elementary education, asked 16 students of Classes III and IV of a government school in Joar village near Lucknow to write the name of their chief minister in Hindi. Mavit and...

A parliamentary standing committee has recently asked the government to introduce the national food security Bill in the winter session of the Lok Sabha. A promise to implement a Bill of this kind was first mooted in President Pratibha Patil's inaugural speech last year when she mentioned the government's intention to provide each family below the poverty line (BPL) with 25 kg of foodgrains a month at Rs 3 per...