-The Guardian Communities have more hope than ever of seeing off companies trying to acquire their land, with support from media and NGOs A new report on land acquisition by the Munden Project/Rights and Resources Initiative brings an important angle to the land "grab" debate. Rather than focusing on the ethics of land grabbing, the report makes the business case for working with local communities, arguing that failure to inform or fairly...

-The Hindu By exempting some projects on forest land from gram sabha consent, the government has undermined the rights of local communities and their crucial role in protecting the environment In early February, the Ministry of Environment and Forests partially revoked a crucial order it had issued in August 2009, which made the consent of gram sabhas mandatory for projects seeking diversion of forest lands for non-forest purposes. Now, the ministry has...

-The Hindu In his article in The Hindu (editorial page, “Making a mockery of domestic gas pricing,” January 18, 2013, Surya P. Sethi attacks the gas pricing formula proposed by the Rangarajan Committee, curiously enough, for being based on numbers from foreign markets that do not reflect the supply, demand or cost of production in India. I say “curiously” because on the exact opposite side, domestic producers are also pillorying the committee’s...

-Frontine Walmart’s disclosure that it spent huge amounts of money on lobbying in India and the allegation that it entered the retail sector through indirect means highlight the power of global capital in dictating the country’s policies. The world’s largest multi-brand retailer Walmart’s disclosure to the United States Senate that it had spent $25 million (Rs.135 crore) since 2008 on its various lobbying activities, which include enhancing access to the Indian...

-The Economic Times When asked where the coal blocks will come up, the forest officer draws a clover-shaped map. Take the right at the traffic intersection, he says, and you will enter Pathriya Dand coal block. Keep going for 11 km and the road turns to the left, which is where Gidhmudi coal block is. Come back to the main road, cross over to the other side, and you will enter...