-The Telegraph   Mamata Banerjee today provided a sneak preview of her Land Acquisition policy while announcing plans to build embankments in areas hit by Cyclone Aila in May 2009. She said her government would need to acquire 6,000 acres in the affected parts of the Sunderbans but stressed there would be no forcible acquisition, that market rates would be paid, and that each land-losing family would get a government job. Even before...

-The Deccan Chronicle   Acquiring farmers’ lands for industrial and other non-agricultural uses has been a cause of tension and unrest in different parts of the country in recent years. If Singur in West Bengal dramatically made history and firmly placed Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamul Congress in the lead in the politics of the state, the recent case of the twin villages of Bhatta-Parsaul at Noida in Uttar Pradesh, not...

-PTI   Alleging forcible Land Acquisition for Posco steel project near Paradip, five political parties today resolved to go for a civil disobedience agitation in front of the state secretariat on Monday.The leaders of five parties comprising CPI, CPI(M), Forward Bloc, RJD and Samajwadi Party in a joint meeting condemened the state government's alleged act of using force to acquire land from the residents of the three gram panchayats under Ersama...

-BBC   India's Uttar Pradesh state has unveiled a new policy making it easier and more profitable for famers to sell land, following recent angry protests. Chief minister Mayawati said it would ensure a seller's market for farmland. It would also smooth the way for land to be developed for infrastructure. Land for industry is a burning issue as India tries to balance a growing economy with the interests of the poor. Last month the...

-PTI   A desperate government's efforts failed today to achieve any breakthrough with Baba Ramdev deciding to go ahead with his indefinite fast here from tomorrow amidst indications that a compromise was likely in a day or two. For nearly five hours, two senior union ministers Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay negotiated with the yoga guru over his demands on eradication of corruption at a posh hotel, a venue totally different...