If you’ve ever bought land, chances are you have a Rolodex of ownership documents, and even that isn’t conclusive proof. The land registry is not sacrosanct; the sale deed — even if registered — isn’t endorsed by the government. If disputes break out, and they frequently do, there is no single ownership document. The only way to do that is to fight a lengthy court battle, spend cash on lawyers,...

The Union Ministry of Rural Development has released grant-in-aid worth  Rs.93,91,000  as first installment of central share of funds for the implementation of centrally sponsored Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY)  to be spread over 8 districts of  Mizoram during the current financial year 2010-11. The objective of the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) is to bring the assisted poor families (Swarozgaries) above the poverty line by ensuring appreciable sustained level of...

Maoists capitalise on mistrust between JFMCs and tribals Move intended to counter Maoist influence over local tribals Panchayats in tribal areas will soon be controlling forest management at the ground level, replacing the control of the Forest Department. At a meeting held earlier this week between Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh and Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj C.P. Joshi, it was decided to remove Joint...

In the least remarked upon move by the government to take on the development challenge in left-wing extremist (LWE) areas, Sudha Pillai was elevated to member-secretary of the Planning Commission on the eve of her retirement from the IAS. A topper in her batch, Sudha was initially posted to her home state of Punjab and then moved to Kerala after her marriage to her batchmate, present home secretary Gopal Pillai....

In India peasantry is under assault. There is a five-pronged attack on this class and the mighty Indian state is sometimes an active and sometimes a passive abettor. The first point of attack is from the corporate sector. The corporate sector is in a land grab mode. Though not justified, one could understand their urge to get land for industry and real estate purposes. Not that they are causing aggressive...