-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Despite the Supreme Court's order, the village councils, or gram sabhas of the Dongria Kondh tribals may not be able to decide upon their traditional and religious rights against the mining interests of Vedanta. A narrow interpretation of the SC order by the tribal affairs ministry promises to turn the district administration into the final decision-making body and the village councils of the tribals as...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Ministry has limited scope to empower tribals, says KC Deo -Prasad Nichenametla
-The Hindustan Times "My permission is not required nor my opinion is sought in matters relating to tribals. My voice goes unheard," tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo told HT, referring to what he called limited powers of his ministry in tribal welfare. The tribal affairs ministry was set up in 1999 for an integrated socio-economic development of the tribals, who account for 10.4 crore of the population. In an embarrassment for...
More »Tribals set to decide Vedanta project’s fate -Nitin Sethi
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The villages of Dongriya Kondh tribals around Odisha's Niyamgiri hills are likely to simmer again as the Centre and the state government along with civil society groups are planning to converge on the site for the proposed Vedanta bauxite mine. The Supreme Court order has left it to the villagers to decide the fate of the Vedanta project, and the call revolves on whether the venture...
More »Not in the court room
-The Indian Express Three decisions by the apex court return the power to make policy to the executive The Supreme Court's decision on Friday to set aside the Orissa high court order against allocation of an iron ore mine to steel major Posco - it has asked the Centre to examine objections and take a final decision - follows two other major court decisions. Early this month, the court dismissed a PIL...
More »CAG report cannot be gospel truth on any issue: Supreme Court
-PTI CAG report commands respect and cannot be brushed aside but it cannot be the final word on an issue, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while noting that the auditor's findings cannot be gospel truth as it is subject to scrutiny by Parliament. A bench of justices KS Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said that CAG's report is always subject to parliamentary debates and it is possible that public accounts committee (PAC)...
More »