The environment minister promised much, but his flip-flops of late raise concern Mr Compromised     * Vedanta In ’09, Jairam said no to mining. Now says yes to refinery expansion though water is scarce.     * Polavaram dam Gives forest clearance, then seeks explanation     * Posco Under litigation as the ministry says yes to forest clearance for iron ore/steel plant     * Lavasa township Ministry report says ecologically sensitive Ghats will be affected....

NGOs To No Go’s     * NGOs have mushroomed; so have instances of misappropriation of funds     * Not disclosing expenditure and receipts; nor revealing who funds them     * Not setting up NGO for the task it was funded for     * Flocking to 'hot' topics, inviting accusations of singing to industrialists’ tunes     * For every NGO supporting a cause, another springs up against that cause *** NGO numbers     * 3.3 million Number of NGOs...

Just two and half years ago, Kandhamal was India’s shame as a communal violence triggered by the killing of a Hindu seer left 38 people dead, thousands of houses and hundreds of churches burnt and vandalised and several thousand people scurrying to relief camps for safety. As Christian were slayed and attacked by VHP and RSS goons across the district, it forced Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to call it a...

Two-and-A-half years ago, Kandhamal was tagged as a “national shame”, after communal violence triggered by the killing of a Hindu seer left 38 people dead, with houses and churches burnt and vandalised, and thousands of people homeless. But on February 2, Kandhamal is set to get a different tag — one of “national pride” — as the Union Ministry of Rural Development awards it for being one of the top 10...

The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council has been snubbed once again by the government, this time by the tribal affairs ministry. The ministry rejected all recommendations made by the council to reform the implementation of the Forest Rights Act — the UPA's flagship programme and law to give land rights back to tribals and forest dwellers. The National Advisory Council had recommended strong measures for restoration of forest lands to...