The sight on television was heartbreaking: children lying in rows in the searing sun to be human shields against the takeover of their land for Korean giant POSCO’s mega bucks project. Facing them were armed police sent by the state government to assist in the operation. The steel plant and port project, located in a coastal district of Odisha, has been in a six-year-long eyeball-to-eyeball battle with people whose land will...
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Akhil Gogoi granted bail
-The Telegraph Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi was today granted bail by Gauhati High Court in connection with the case filed by Assam police, alleging his involvement in the June 22 violence at Dispur Last Gate. A single bench of Justice Anima Hazarika granted bail after the police submitted the case diary before the court. Akhil’s lawyer Santanu Borthakur said, “The court, after going through...
More »Power centre or toothless body? by Akshat Kaushal
Why is the ruling party unable to pass 3 very important bills? The National Advisory Council draws its exalted status from the fact that UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi heads it. But its inability to get its way on three new Bills indicates that its influence is waning. A couple of weeks ago, the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) cleared the drafts of two significant Bills — the Food Security Bill and...
More »RTE yet to reach tribal children
-The Deccan Herald In the wake of implementation of the Right to Education Act, the earlier decision of the education department to open Residential Boarding Centres (RBC) for tribal children in their settlements has taken a back seat. The state government has been concentrating more on ‘Shalegagi Naavu-Neevu’ under the Right to Education Act. The alumni, elected representatives and education activists are all geared up to visit government schools to inspect...
More »'Only MoEF can take a final call on Vedanta mining rights in Niyamgiri hills'
-The Times of India The Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has said it alone can take the final call on whether Vedanta can mine bauxite deposits in the Niyamgiri hills, asserting that it has the power to turn down the recommendation of the ministry's statutory Environment Appraisal Committee (EAC). Reacting to the report in TOI on Saturday about the EAC's go-ahead to Vedanta to start mining the bauxite deposit...
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