Government should consider a freeze on mining in Naxal-hit areas, tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo has said. Deo clarified that he was not against the industry or economic development, but unresolved land rights and mining were principle causes of alienation among tribals. This gave Maoists a toe-hold to exercise control over the area and local population. “To a certain extent, unrest among the tribal population can be traced to...

Former Karnataka chief ministers H D Kumaraswamy and Dharam Singh could be next to face corruption charges, threatening to complete the political triangle over graft in the state with BJP's B S Yeddyurappa already facing a probe for illegality in grant of Mining leases and land scams. The Lok Sabha secretariat has turned down a request from a private individual seeking sanction for prosecution against former PM H D Deve Gowda's...

For the first time, the Centre has urged the governor to use his special powers in Scheduled Areas to cancel bauxite Mining leases given in Andhra Pradesh's Vishakhapatnam district. Linking the issue of bauxite mining to the growing Maoist violence on the Andhra-Odisha border, the Centre has asked Andhra Pradesh governor ESL Narsimhan to use special powers, bestowed to governors in Scheduled Areas under the Constitution, to cancel the leases. The Centre...

The proposed liberalisation of the mining and minerals sector is an assault on the rightful owners of the land and its resources. Tribal and indigenous communities across the world have been asserting their rights to the mineral wealth often found under the land they own or possess or have traditional rights to. They have been historically denied even a share of that huge wealth, leave alone legal rights of ownership. Under...

A fact-finding report on the recent demolition of a century-old rooftop mosque at Pur in Rajasthan has held “crony capitalism” and “mining greed” responsible for the incident. It demanded a judicial inquiry into the role of a corporate house, ruling Congress leaders and a section of the clergy in making the deal for sale of the place of worship. Jindal Saw Limited, owned by the O.P. Jindal Group, bought the mosque...