It is imperative that the committee constituted to look into charges of corruption in the Commonwealth Games should also include violations of labour laws within its purview. One of the more blatant and visible scams of the recently concluded Commonwealth Games relates to how the thousands of workers who worked on the games construction sites were denied minimum wages, safety equipment, housing and other benefits constitutionally due to them. In an interview...

The state government is likely to file a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court on October 29 Challenging  the judgement  of  the Orissa High Court to set aside recommendation of prospecting license (PL) in favour of Posco  . As per section 11 (5) of Mining and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, the state government  will  urge the Apex court to lease out Khandadhar mines on the basis of...

Both Posco and the Orissa government said there were no tribals on the land for Posco’s 12 mn tonne steel plant. The presence of 21 tribals in the voters list has hit their credibility and probably the plant as well A 4-member environment ministry committee has recommended that the environmental clearances given to Posco be revoked for the violation of existing laws, for serious lapses and suppression of facts. As always,...

Vedanta, Posco and Sindhudurg. The issue is the same — the need for a well-thought-out policy relating to extractive and resource-based industry. The government’s withdrawal of mining permission to Vedanta on the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa’s backward Kalahandi district; the divided verdict by the Gupta Committee on the Posco iron ore project; and the environment ministry’s concern on 49 mining licences issued by the Maharashtra government for bauxite and iron...

A worried government has put on fast track the proposed bill to regulate micro-lenders, as it seeks to ensure that over-Regulation by states does not kill the sector that is envisaged to play a big role in furthering financial inclusion. The finance ministry could move a bill in the winter session of Parliament that will make Nabard responsible for Regulation of all non-profit microfinance institutions structured as trusts, cooperatives, or mutual...