-The Hindustan Times Dalits of Maha Singh Wala village in Moonak subdivision of Sangrur district have been rendered jobless due to their social boycott by upper-caste landlords. Following a dispute over daily wages, a kangaroo court of village landlords had issued the diktat a month ago. All Dalits working as farm labourers or domestic help have been sacked. The supply of milk and other essential commodities has been disrupted, forcing them to...

-The Telegraph Acquiring land for special economic zones may become tougher. The rural development ministry has redrafted the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Bill with a provision that says the proposed law would apply to land acquisition under the Special Economic Zone Act, 2005. This means if the redrafted bill is passed, landlosers will have to be consulted and their consent taken before their land can be acquired under the SEZ Act,...

-The Telegraph Ranchi: Faced with an imminent Jharkhand High Court hearing on the progress made at Nagri where three premier educational institutes are coming up, a cornered state government has planned a desperate defence to counter allegations of mishandling the issue and escalating the battle of ownership of 227 acres. According to sources, the government will tell the court of a plan to set up police barracks at the construction sites of...

-Inclusion.in There is good news. And there’s bad news. The good news first. There’s been a bumper wheat crop and the granaries are overflowing. And the bad news? Where do we begin? A lot of that grain will rot. Millions will still remain hungry. Heavily in debt and distressed, farmers are committing suicide. Food prices are soaring. There’s more… Farmers don’t have money. Their land is too small and isn’t yielding much. Fertilisers and...

-CNN-IBN A drought of a different kind has affected Karnataka. One of governance. While 27 districts in the state are facing a rainfall deficit and farmers are worried, the state's Agriculture, Water and Rural Development Ministers have not taken corrective steps. In fact, what they are more bothered about is who should be sitting in the Chief Minister's Chair. Estimates show that just about 15 per cent of the crops have been...