Himachal Pradesh has expressed reservation over the provision of ‘minimum five hectares of land for granting Mining lease’ under the proposed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill that has already got the nod of Group of Ministers. The existing Act, which will be replaced, did not have any such regulation. The government has already represented to the Centre that such large tracts of land for Mining activities in Himachal, where...

Did former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu assault a tribal woman  during a meeting in East Godavari district? Yes, says a television channel, which repeatedly telecast the scene but Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) denies it. The visuals show TDP chief raising his hand to beat a woman, snatching the mike from her and even hitting her on her arm to force her to sit down. The main opposition...

About three kilometers from this village, across dirt tracks and open scrubland, there is a settlement of seven mud huts bordered by millet and lentil fields. No electricity or telephone poles run to these huts. There’s not a satellite dish to be seen. In the dry, open land that surrounds the settlement — part of the great Thar Desert that dominates the western part of the state of Rajasthan — black...

The new Mining legislation will make woman of the house chief beneficiary of the compensation for land acquired for Mining project, as the government seeks to ensure the large amounts provided go into ensuring livelihood and are not depleted quickly. This is in sync with the government’s attempt to empower women by giving them a bigger role in financial decision-making. “Women are known to manage the household finances better than their male...

Finance minsiter Pranab Mukherjee has favoured a balanced approach on the issue of displacement of tribals due to Mining projects, saying that solution does not lie in stopping these projects altogether. “Answer does not lie in the companies stopping Mining activities. Answer lies in providing alternatives to those displaced... in what form we can compensate them and make them beneficiary of economic development,” Mr Mukherjee said at a coal summit on...