-PTI Government auditor CAG on Friday said private firms are likely to gain Rs 1.86 lakh crore from coal blocks that were allocated to them on nomination basis instead of competitive bidding, which amounted to the loss to national exchequer. The CAG in its report, tabled in Parliament, names 25 companies including Essar Power, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Tata Power and Jindal Steel and Power which have got the blocks in various states. "Delay...

-Pratirodh Bureau Activists led by Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar have alleged that the much awaited Land Acquisition Bill was actually a "diluted version" of the Standing Committee's recommended bill.   The activists under belonging to various groups, including National Alliance of People’s Movements, National Forum of Forest people and Forest Workers, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti and Sangharsh claimed that the "positive" position taken by the Standing Committee had been diluted by the...

-Tehelka Activists say that the agricultural land should not be acquired for non-agricultural purposes A group of activists on Tuesday 7 August raised concerns about the Land Acquisition bill in its new form. The activists have demanded a white paper stating the extent of land acquired by the government. The new bill, called the Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement and Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, is at odds with the recommendations...

-The Economic Times The government has made key changes to the proposed legislation for Land Acquisition, making it more attractive for industry by easing some of the stringent conditions, a person privy to the draft told ET. The rural development ministry has proposed to not implement the legislation with retrospective effect, besides relaxing the requirements of consent from landowners, and tightening the definition of market value. The amended Bill has been rechristened 'The...

-The Telegraph Ranchi: Jharkhand High Court today granted three weeks to the state government to resolve the deadlock over land for building campuses in Nagri for three national academic institutions that are presently working out of temporary accommodations in the state capital. A division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Tatia and Justice Jaya Roy, while hearing a petition filed by Bar Association seeking a law university in Jharkhand, allowed the state government...