The debate in the Congress and the UPA government over land acquisition acquired a new edge with party president Sonia Gandhi favouring a balanced approach in securing land for industrial purposes without losing large fertile tracts. "New industries and infrastructure cannot be built without acquiring land. This is obvious and there is no argument about it. "But land acquisition must be done in a manner that it does not result...

Dow Chemical, which bought the Bhopal disaster-tainted Union Carbide, will abandon a proposed research hub in Pune and return the land because of protests by an influential sect which fears pollution of a revered river. Dow India, an arm of the US giant, will return the 100 acres to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the state government entity yesterday told Bombay High Court where a suit against the project has...

Congress President Sonia Gandhi said on Thursday that land acquisition should not result in loss of fertile land. "We must protect environment to ensure sustainable development. In whatever we do, we should not forget forest and environment," Gandhi said, adding, "Farmers should be provided adequate compensation." Sonia Gandhi's remarks come a day after The Supreme court dismissed an appeal by a farmer body and upheld the Uttar Pradesh government's land acquisition...

The government will set up a National Tribal Council headed by the Prime Minister to monitor implementation of the many policies and schemes for tribals it has announced. The move comes at a time the Centre has identified tribal development as one of its two prongs to defeat the Maoists. The Congress too has stepped up efforts to woo back its once committed Adivasi vote bank, as Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit...

Back in 2005, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), now called Mahatma Gandhi NREGS or MGNREGS, was offered as a tool to liberate Dalits and weaker sections in rural India by giving them employment. Five years down the line, a Union Ministry of Rural Development-sponsored investigation has found that the scheme has become “yet another instrument in the consolidation of the existing exploitative power structure”. The investigation report, which became available...