-The Times of India If the Cabinet approves the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012, then squatters too will have to be given rehabilitation and resettlement packages if the land they occupy is acquired. Squatters will need to show that they have been working/living in the affected area for three years to be eligible for compensation. Infrastructure ministries are irked at this inclusion, especially the short eligibility period of three...

-The Indian Express India topped a list of 17-nation on best sustainable behaviour, with consumers in the US last on the list, according to a new survey. The global analysis by the National Geographic Society found that Indian consumers were the most conscious about their envIronment footprint and were more guilty about their impact despite having the best sustainable behaviour. Ironically, people in developing countries like India, China and Brazil -- in that...

-PTI Goa cannot have unlimited mining given its ecological sensitivity, the Mashelkar Committee said, demanding that the cap should be such that it will protect the envIronment and social well being of the state Panaji: A committee of experts constituted by the Goa government has recommended a cap on extraction of Iron ore in the coastal state to 20-25 million metric tonnes (MMT), which is almost half the existing exports, reports PTI.   The...

-Kafila.org Almost a century ago, Katherine Mayo published a book titled ‘Mother India’ that criticized the Indian way of living, and Rudyard Kipling  spoke of the ‘White Man’s Burden’. These writings reflected the colonial perspective that what colonizers did was in the best interest of the colonized people. Consequently, most well-meaning citizens of colonial powers were alienated from the horrible plight of the colonized. Purpose well served – unopposed exploitation. Years later,...

ASHAs will continue to bear the burden of the government's rural health mission as a new order lists more incentive-based services. On May 31, a Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare order listed additional incentivised duties for accredited social health activists, or ASHAs, but was silent on the issue of regularisation of their employment. ASHAs, who bridge the gap between the rural population and the nearest health care outlets under...