-The Indian Express   The UP government has deepened the ongoing controversy over land acquisition in the state by bringing the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development (amendment) Bill 2011 which was passed by the Assembly on Thursday. The bill seeks to remove a provision that gave landowners the right to ask for restoration of their acquired land if it was unused for five years. Section 17 of the UP Urban Planning and Development...

-PTI   Stepping up pressure on the Uttar Pradesh government for better compensation, more farmers in NOIDA Friday decided to move court seeking to quash acquisition of their land. At a panchayat meeting in Sadullapur, farmers decided to file petitions to quash acquisition of their acquired properties. "Without court case, authorities do not agree for negotiations," farmer leader Surinder Bhatti said. At other panchayat meetings in Amnabad, Jewar and Dankore areas, farmers were of...

The $12 billion Posco investment in India was supposed to be the biggest FDI project in the country. After six years that still remains on paper Horangineun jugeumyeon gajugeul namgigo, Sarameun jugeumyun ireumeul namginda (When tigers die, they leave behind leather. When people die, they leave their names behind) —Old Korean Proverb The news flash from Press Trust of India came on July 10, 2011. Posco, the $32 billion South Korean steel giant had decided to...

-Orissa Diary   The Odisha High Court on Tuesday reserved judgment on a petition seeking quashing of the land acquisition proceedings undertaken for the Posco steel plant proposed to be set up at Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district. The two-judge bench of Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice B N Mohapatra reserved judgment after hearing arguments from all sides on the land acquisition proceedings. The two-judge bench had reserved judgment on it on July...

The “80 per cent consent” clause in the draft land acquisition bill may be extended to government projects too, rural development ministry sources have said. In its current form, the draft bill makes the consent of 80 per cent of the landowners mandatory only in case of land acquisition for private industry. In case of land acquisition for government projects, the draft merely requires “consultations” and not consent. However, among the several...