Interim Observations of the Jury of Independent People’s Tribunal on Land Acquisition, Resource Grab and Operation Green Hunt The Independent People’s Tribunal on Land Acquisition, Resource Grab and Operation Green Hunt (organised by a collective of civil society groups, social movements, activists, academics and concerned citizens) was held in New Delhi from April 9 to 11, 2010. Its jury comprised retired Supreme Court judge Justice P.B. Sawant, retired Bombay High Court...

By the end of the third day (i.e. 11th April, 2010) of the The Independent People’s Tribunal that took place at Constitutional Club between 9 and 11 April, 2010, Retired Supreme Court judge Justice Sawant, while concluding, said that participatory democracy has been lacking in India. Democracy can never be equated with elections only. The jury during the 3-day long People’s Tribunal heard the testimonies of a large number of...

SEZ have been hurt by the global downturn and contraction in demand for domestic goods and services The commerce ministry has proposed measures to make it easier for developers to exit special economic zones (SEZs) that have been struggling with a contraction in global demand for goods produced at the tax-free enclaves. Specific provisions for the denotification of SEZs have been been put up for public comments till Thursday, after which they...

Empty protest no substitute for rational framework In a voluminous 300-page report, a committee on agrarian relations and land reforms, headed by the Union rural development minister, has found fault with practically every aspect of land policy in India, attributing the rise of Naxalism, tribal and agrarian unrest entirely to this. However, despite its composition of a mix of officials, experts and activists, the committee has failed to come up with...

The former finance secretary and former Indian ambassador to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), S.P. Shukla, has demanded that the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act be repealed. Mr. Shukla was speaking at a national convention against SEZs organised at Gorai village on the outskirts of Mumbai on November 25 and 26. came together to resist the anti-people model of development that SEZs represented. Farmers, fishermen, labourers, activists, artists,...