-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Concerns of industry took a backseat as political parties, spurred by the oncoming election season, joined hands in Lok Sabha on Thursday to pass the land acquisition bill that enshrines consent of landowners and steep hikes in compensation. As when the food security bill was passed earlier this week, competitive populism took centrestage with Congress toasting Rahul Gandhi as the inspiration behind the legislation and BJP...

-The Hindu "It is time now for Vedanta to gracefully respect public sentiment and pack off its establishment" JARAPA (ODISHA): Efforts of Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL), belonging to London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc, to mine bauxite ore in Niyamgiri hills in Odisha received a severe blow on Monday with the 12th palli (gram) sabha also voting against mining there. This is the first time an environmental referendum is conducted on a directive by the...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW: Illegal mining in Uttar Pradesh between 2005-11 caused a loss of Rs 1,400 crore to the exchequer, says a draft report of the comptroller & auditor general. The report, prepared on the activities of state geology and mining directorate, belies state government's claims on checking illegal mining and indicates that illegal mining is widespread. It reveals several procedural gaps in legal quarrying as well. The auditors, who...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A Union government panel has found evidence of rampant illegal mining along the Yamuna in Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh where the suspension of an IAS officer who had cracked down on the sand mafia has snowballed into a political controversy. A three-member panel set up by the environment ministry said there has been "rampant, unscientific and illegal mining" at several sites along the river in violation...

-The Hindu As the operations of organised gangs that seek to make a killing out of the insatiable demand for sand are in focus, Environmental Concerns posed by indiscriminate mining grow. Nitin Sethi discusses the imperatives. Should India have a river regulatory zone, on the lines of the coastal regulatory zone, to manage development and mining activity? The devastation in Uttarakhand, and the controversy over the sand mafia's control on river beds,...