-The Business Standard Quick step by govt to provide alternate source only hope for Lanjigarh refinery Bhubaneswar: The 12-0 drubbing in Gram Sabhas held to seek a referendum on bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills has pushed into uncertainty the fate of Rs 5,000 crore one million tonne refinery of Vedanta Aluminium (VAL) at Lanjigarh, which is struggling to stay in operation by sourcing bauxite from different places outside Odisha. The Dongaria tribes of...

-The Hindu Collector asks people to have a blueprint for making their village free from open defecation Vellore (Tamil Nadu): Gram Sabhas conducted four times in a year - on Republic Day, May Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanthi - are meant to be an open forum to enable public to demand schemes, especially on basic amenities required for the villages and benefits from welfare schemes. But, in reality, the public, especially...

-Outlook Bhubaneswar: In another setback to the Odisha government's plan for bauxite mining for Vedanta on the Niyamgiri hills, an eleventh Gram Sabha and the penultimate one of the scheduled 12 to be held, today voted against the proposal. The Gram Sabha or village meeting at Khambesi village in Rayagada district unanimously rejected the proposal with all its 72 members, including 49 women, saying no. The members said the mining would severely affect...

-The Economic Times Recently, we were witness to a noisy spat between economists Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati. Some commentators linked this to a Congress-versus-BJP fight over development models. Sen, the advocate of investment in education, health and nutrition as necessary for economic growth, was presumed to speak for the Congress. Bhagwati, the proponent of growthfirst model, was seen to be batting for the BJP. Indeed, Bhagwati has cited Gujarat as...

-The Economic Times When the voting stops on August 19, the scorecard, which is currently 9-0, may well read 12-0. An emphatic and embarrassing rejection of state and corporate plans to mine bauxite atop the Niyam Dongar hilltop in the Kalahandi district of Odisha. Twelve tribal villages that call this mountain range home have, in all likelihood, secured their religious rights over the hill and its natural resources, including 72 million...