The Calcutta high court upheld the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act on Wednesday, saying that it was within the powers of West Bengal’s legislators to impose such a law, rejecting the challenge by Tata Motors Ltd over the seizure of land that was meant for its Nano factory. Justice I.P. Mukerji said in the judgement, however, that the Hooghly “district officials have exceeded their powers in taking possession of the...

-The Telegraph   An atmospheric depression that created a zone of rain across parts of Orissa caused water levels to rise in several rivers, meteorologists said today. The depression had delivered rain over Balasore, Keonjhar, Angul districts late last week, causing the upper Brahmani and lower Brahmani to swell, but scientists today said they expect no rainfall over the next two days. “At 9 this morning, the Brahmani (river) at Jenapur had risen to...

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against the June 26, 2010, Orissa High Court decision to refrain from acting on a PIL drawing attention to the multi-crore coal mining scam in the state. The PIL, filed by Cuttack-based lawyer and activist Nishikanta Mishra, had demanded a probe by an independent agency, such as the CBI, into the scam involving high-ranking bureaucrats and politicians in Orissa. The scam, the petition...

Social activist Anna Hazare has now threatened the Maharashtra government with a fast-unto-death if his version of Jan Lokayukta Bill is not passed in the Assembly by the end of winter session. He wrote a letter to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday, saying that he would go on a fast-unto-death at Saint Dnyaneshwar Samadhi at Alandi near Pune if the Bill was not passed. The state already has a Lokayukta...

Nearly 166 jawans of the Indian Reserve Battalion rebelled in Jangalmahal on Wednesday, alleging they were being made to work in inhuman conditions and are getting no help from the police in high-risk operations. The flashpoint of the rebellion was in Silda, where Maoists had massacred 24 EFR jawans in February 2010. Three other critically located IRB camps - Salboni, Barikul and Ranibandh - are affected. As news of the revolt...