Calling for an immediate halt to the Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra, the Communist Party of India(Marxist) on Tuesday said environment clearance should be withdrawn and the entire issue re-examined in the backdrop of the developments in tsunami-hit Japan. In a statement, the Polit Bureau said a party delegation which recently visited the project area confirmed that locals were totally opposed to the location of the plant and to forcible...

Tension prevailed in the area selected for the proposed mega steel plant of Posco in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district on Sunday as villagers opposing the project came out to vent their anger against the State government for trying to mislead the Union Ministry of Environment Forests about the implementation of the Forest Rights Act in their locality. Participating in a public rally at Balitutha, the entry point to the Site, demarcated for...

Giving a new dimension to poor farmers whose land is acquired for public purpose, the Supreme Court has held that right to possess a land being a right to property cannot be taken away without conducting an enquiry under the Land Acquisition Act (LAA). Giving this ruling a Bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice A.K. Ganguly said: “Admittedly the LAA, a pre-Constitutional legislation of colonial vintage is a drastic law,...

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) will now audit the Land Acquisition policy of the Haryana government to examine the alleged irregularities in the acquisition of agricultural land and compensation paid to the farmers. Sources have stated that a CAG team from Delhi has been dispatched to Chandigarh to begin the audit process. The state government’s Land Acquisition policy has been witnessing farmers’ protests at various places regarding anomalies...

On the eve of a massive agitation by Tikait Singh-led Bhartiya Kisan Union, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met representatives of the Union and assured them that “farmers interests will be fully protected at all times.” The Prime Minister told the delegation that he would convene a joint meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to have an in-depth discussion on the various issues raised by the BKU...