The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to come up with a detailed plan of action regarding the development of education system and implementation of Right to Education in the north-eastern states of the country. A bench of Justice Altamas Kabir, Justice Cyriac Joseph, and Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar gave the direction after the court in 2007 took suo motu cognisance of a...

The rural development ministry has put out a draft of the proposed National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) bill for public comment. There is no doubt it is a big improvement on the 1894 colonial law that was long overdue for repeal; in particular, it is intended to be far more farmer-friendly. Yet, in several respects the Bill is patently inadequate, both in its objectives and the mechanics...

-PTI   In the backdrop of controversies surrounding procurement of land, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today promised enactment of a "forward looking and balanced" law on land acquisition soon to prevent tensions over the sensitive issue.Taking note of the tensions caused in some parts of the country because of acquisition of land for industry, infrastructure and urbanisation, the Prime Minister said the government will ensure that "no injustice is done to anyone...

Reacting to the bandh in West Bengal called on Friday by various trade unions in support of a demand for wage revision of tea garden workers, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared that she would ban general strikes in the state by enacting a law. Banerjee reacted sharply to the strike that caused major disruptions in public life in Jalpaiguri, Terai and Dooars region. “In the name of bandh, hooliganism is going...

On the first anniversary of the farmer-police clash that had claimed four lives last year, farmers of Tappal in Aligarh — who gathered in Jikarpur village on Sunday to observe ‘martyrs’ day’ — demanded that the government honour its commitments, including return of land to farmers who had refused to sell it, within 20 days. They demanded the construction of a memorial near the bridge where the firing took place on...