Enthused by the Centre's nod to Korean steel giant Posco's mega-steel plant, the Orissa government on Monday said it would soon resume land acquisition at the project site. At the same time, given its past experience with a reluctant environment ministry, the government said it will adopt a wait-and-watch approach on issues like mining and renewal of memorandum of understanding. ''We welcome the decision and thank the Union government and...
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Wajahat Habibullah to head minorities panel by Vidya Subrahmaniam
India's first Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah is the next chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM). Mr. Habibullah, who received his orders on Tuesday, will formally take charge on Thursday. Mr. Habibullah, a 1968-batch IAS officer, will be filling a post that has been lying vacant for the past five months. His predecessor, MoHAmmad Shafi Quereshi, retired on September 2, 2010. A member of the NCM, who described the chairperson as...
More »Navigators Of Change by Lola Nayar
As government, corporates seek to engage with NGOs, they gain new significance Brave NGO World? * The Planning Commission is courting NGOs for policy inputs, views on how to make plans work * NGOs and local activism forced govt to stall Vedanta, Posco plans * NGO opposition to snacks being served in schools changed plans to scrap hot meals * NGO have made the government rethink the Polavaram dam project ...
More »NREGS helps Kandhamal come out of communal hatred by Deba R MoHAnty
Just two and half years ago, Kandhamal was India’s shame as a communal violence triggered by the killing of a Hindu seer left 38 people dead, thousands of houses and hundreds of churches burnt and vandalised and several thousand people scurrying to relief camps for safety. As Christian were slayed and attacked by VHP and RSS goons across the district, it forced Prime Minister ManMoHAn Singh to call it a...
More »Kandhamal burning to Kandhamal shining by Debabrata MoHAnty
Two-and-A-half years ago, Kandhamal was tagged as a “national shame”, after communal violence triggered by the killing of a Hindu seer left 38 people dead, with houses and churches burnt and vandalised, and thousands of people homeless. But on February 2, Kandhamal is set to get a different tag — one of “national pride” — as the Union Ministry of Rural Development awards it for being one of the top 10...
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