-The Telegraph A government panel has recommended mandatory registration of all lease agreements and power of attorney documents to ensure revenue augmentation. At present, only lease agreements for a year and more need to be compulsorily registered. Registration of power of attorney documents is optional. If the proposal is accepted, it will mean that some of the ubiquitous 11-month rent agreements will lose their sheen. Some landlords prefer the 11-month tenure as registration...

-The Business Standard States often misuse emergency powers to muzzle protests from owners A new land acquisition law was on the anvil for years. The latest avatar of the Bill, not yet laid on the table of Parliament, is still being re-looked and reworked with nearly 160 changes proposed. Issues are many, like the "public purpose" fig leaf, the consent clause, sharing the compensation payment, resettlement and rehabilitation of the displaced people...

-The Indian Express They are denied entry to temples, given restricted access to water, made to work for a pittance. Now that Orissa's Dalits are asserting themselves against traditions, many are facing ostracism or violent attacks. Debabrata Mohanty reports Until a month before Naveen Patnaik became Orissa's chief minister in March 2000, Dalit labourer Ganapati Naik, now 42, had been living a happy if impoverished life with his bride and parents in...

-Pragoti The magnificent victory of the CPI(M)-led Left Front in Tripura - winning 50 out of the 60 seats – and the success of the LF candidate in the Nalhati by-election in West Bengal has been interpreted as a “re-emergence” of the Left parties by a senior CPI(M) leader. This does not seem to be a rigorous assessment. While the fifth consecutive win by the LF in Tripura is a matter of...

-The Hindu Citizens march from Vrindavan to Delhi to demand a right to their lifeline – the Yamuna Why are thousands marching presently from Vrindavan to Delhi? Not for jobs, special privileges or Land Rights. But for their lifeline river Yamuna, which for many of them is integral to their daily chores, as to them the river is much more than a mere physical entity. It is well known that the folklore associated...