-The Economic Times Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has ruled out any significant changes in the land acquisition bill. "There will be no significant changes to the bill. Just like the Supreme Court has ruled that there is a basic structure to the Constitution, there is a basic structure to the bill that cannot and will not be tampered with," Ramesh told reporters here on Monday. The bill, which was taken up...
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Stepping up pace on the long road to TB control -Virander S Chauhan
-The Hindu Tuberculosis (TB) has remained a major infectious disease in developing and poor countries despite all efforts from health agencies to manage and control it. In fact, even an easy and effective way to diagnose the disease has remained a challenge. Emergence of drug resistant strains has made its management more complex. The steps It makes the situation in countries like India, with the highest TB burden in the world, even more...
More »Kashmir amends RTI Act, commissioner cries foul -Peerzada Ashiq
-The Hindustan Times The Jammu and Kashmir government’s fresh amendments have rendered the most successful institute of public transparency and accountability, state Right to Information Act, powerless, triggering sharp reactions from civil society and political parties. Surprised state’s chief information commissioner G.R Sofi accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led government of making unnecessary changes to make state information commission (SIC) a “toothless body”. “In first place, there was no reason to come up with...
More »Finally, the will for the right ban-Enakshi Ganguly Thukral
-The Hindu The Cabinet decision to seek total prohibition of child labour is a step long overdue The Cabinet Committee has passed the proposal seeking a total ban on employing children under 14 years and of 14-18 year olds in hazardous occupations. When passed in Parliament as law, it will be a huge milestone in the journey that many of us had started in the mid-1980s. This also marks a milestone in...
More »Medha Patkar responds
-The Hindu The response to my article by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Rural Development, and his colleagues is a welcome move towards a public debate which we have suggested, time and again, should be held in every State with all people’s organisations. I would like to briefly reply to some points in the Minister’s response: His argument that land is finite cannot be used to justify forcible acquisition. The Bill...
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