-The Indian Express   Great expectations are pinned to the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, given the sheer volume of unfinished legislative business, and the amazing free fall of the past few months. The opposition’s passive-aggressive behaviour and the government’s reflexive obduracy over a JPC were the reason the winter session had to be written off, and that certainly contributed to the clear authority vacuum of recent months, even as agitations...

The United Progressive Alliance government on Friday unveiled its second draft Bill addressing the burning issues of land acquisition as well as rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R). The National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, as recommended by the National Advisory Council, will make it mandatory that gram sabhas are consulted and the R&R package is executed before the acquired land is transferred. Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh...

To take on the discontentment against land acquisition process, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has cleared a draft bill for public comments. The minister's land acquisition and rehabilitation bill will be up on the ministry website just a fortnight into his term at Krish Bhawan. The Bill proposes a compensation of more than six times the circle rate of land, acquired for industrial and real estate projects. This is in...

The Noida-Greater Noida imbroglio will be instructive for the draft land acquisition bill In The Works...     * Government to acquire land, “public purpose” to be redefined     * Land acquisition only after getting written consent of 80 per cent of landowners     * Monitoring authority to be set up at the Centre and states to ensure compliance     * Payment component split into part-cash-down and remaining in annuity for 33 years     * Post...

In the wake of Dreze quitting NAC, Mander vows to fight for changes. Differences between the National Advisory Council (NAC) and the government have come out in the open over the Food Security Bill, which was approved by a Group of Ministers this month. While Jean Dreze, who had earlier quit the working group on food security after recommendations by the members were diluted by the NAC itself, chose to quit the...