The ambitious Polavaram project, the multi-purpose project proposed across the Godavari for making optimum utilisation of water going waste into the sea, is mired in problems. The much-talked about project, aimed at stabilising the century-old Krishna delta and irrigating over 7 lakh acres in the upland areas of East and West Godavari districts, is dogged by uncertainty since it became a bone of contention between different regions and faced with litigation....

The Naveen Patnaik government is facing court strictures and opposition criticism for irregularities in grant of mining leases. WHEN Naveen Patnaik stepped into his father Biju Patnaik's shoes and donned the mantle of leadership of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to become the Chief Minister of Orissa for the first time in March 2000, he was seen as a crusader against corruption. In his initial years in power, he did...

The 9900-MWe Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project has received environmental clearance, but with quite a few strings attached. Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh announced the clearance with 35 conditions and safeguards during a press conference here on Sunday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan termed it a historic day and said that the project would see an investment of Rs. 1 lakh crore. “It is the largest engineering project...

MP Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil on Sunday said the new Pune airport plan remained a non-starter because of lack of serious efforts on part of government officials to convince farmers about its need. Adhalrao, considered an opponent of the airport plan in Chakan area, was at pains to say that he was not anti-development. “Rather than my stand, it would have been better if the officials had taken efforts to explain to farmers...

For past several weeks, thousands of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Jharkhand have been left in the lurch. They had planted urd and til crops in a large acreage, and to their dismay no grain formation took place in the standing crop. Unable to bear the economic loss, at least four farmers have reportedly committed suicide. Thousands of farmers have been pushed deeper into economic distress....