Garhwali villagers resist new central farming plans, stick by age-old ways attuned to nature Jardhargaon is a sprawling cluster of villages tucked away in the Himalayan folds in Tehri district of Garhwal. A panoramic view of pine- and sal-covered mountains, green and freshly showered, surrounds us, as little streams spout out of boulders at every turn of the winding hill roads and clouds hang like a dark cover overhead. But...

-PTI   CHENNAI: The Government has increased the allocation for Health and Family Welfare Ministry by 20 per cent to Rs 26,760 crore in 2011-12, Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan said here today. "To address the overall healthcare requirements of the country, the allocation for Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been increased by 20 per cent from Rs 22,300 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 26,760 crore in 2011-12," he said,...

-The Indian Express   Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh Friday hinted at introducing the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Bill, 2011, in the current session of Parliament by cutting short the period of public consultation on it. “The revised draft Bill was sent for inter-ministerial consultation on August 12. I hope to get Cabinet approval by the first week of September,” he said, hoping to introduce the Bill in the current...

-The Economic Times   A clause introduced in the draft land acquisition bill will bring cases where the award of land is underway or possession has not taken place within the scope of compensatory and acquisition norms. This will make private developers, industries and the government, who are currently involved in the process of acquiring land, shell out generous compensation packages to land owners with retrospective effect. "The new clause that we...

Bringing an aggressive outlook to the ministry of rural development, Jairam Ramesh, who took charge of the portfolio in July, has attempted to address and fast-track contentious issues such as the proposed land acquisition legislation and the census for identifying households below the poverty line (BPL). Ramesh spoke in an interview about his blueprint for the ministry and revisiting controversial elements, including identifying the poor and poverty caps imposed by...