-The Economic Times   The Orissa High Court on Friday stayed the acquisition of land for building the much-delayed 12-million tonne Posco project, dealing a further setback to the India plans of the South Korean steel major which has not been able to progress much for the past five years. In a ruling on Friday, the high court ordered status quo on the private land being acquired by the state government that...

Anna Hazare isn't taking his eyes off Parliament yet and his next campaign, announced on Saturday, will demand annual performance audits of MPs, right to recall elected representatives, right to reject candidates contesting elections and mandatory approval of gram sabha before acquiring any land. "Hazare will send the letter shortly and seek Prime Minister's views on these three vital issues", said Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal, who briefed the media after...

-The Hindu   The Orissa High Court on Friday refused to pass any interim stay with regard to acquisition of forest land by the State government for Posco project but ordered that the status quo with regard to acquisition of private land for the project shall be maintained. The Division Bench of Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice B N Mohapatra, which had been hearing at least two PILs with regard to...

-IANS   Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said the draft Land Acquisition bill is a "political bill which strikes a balance between social benefit and economic growth" and gave the "entire credit" for it to Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi. Referring to the recent agitations over Land Acquisition in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Ramesh said Rahul Gandhi made "key contributions" in the draft Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill,...

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on Wednesday introduced the politically crucial Land Acquisition Bill in the Lok Sabha, less than two months after the ministry of rural development began drafting it. The National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2011, aims to address rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) by providing safeguards for both landowners and livelihood losers while clearly defining the “public purpose” for which land can be acquired...