A farmers' protest against diversion of irrigation water and land acquisition turned ugly on Tuesday, as three people including a woman, were killed when the police opened fire to quell the agitation which became violent at Bahur village near the Pune-Mumbai express highway. The firing occurred around 11 a.m. Thousands of farmers had gathered in the morning to protest diversion of water from the Pavana Dam to the twin industrial township...

The “80 per cent consent” clause in the draft land acquisition bill may be extended to government projects too, rural development ministry sources have said. In its current form, the draft bill makes the consent of 80 per cent of the landowners mandatory only in case of land acquisition for private industry. In case of land acquisition for government projects, the draft merely requires “consultations” and not consent. However, among the several...

The country’s first legislation on land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement is out as a first draft. Here is a sharp critique of the bill THE GOVERNMENT has made public the new Draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2011, which FW has run in these columns over three days. This is what I think of it. In terms of the definition of public purpose, the Bill is more colonial...

Bellary is only the tip of the rotting earthmound. Can a new proposed legislation clear the air? Two years ago, when the ministry of mines decided to use satellite imaging to survey projects, it unearthed several “unusual activities” across the country. “The amount of mining done and material being exported didn’t match in areas where certain companies had been given licences,” recounts a former senior bureaucrat with the mines ministry....

After the brutal murder of Azad, is there any hope for well-meaning routine calls for “dialogue” and “peace talks”? What can the "civil society" do as a serious, real intervention? It is reported that the decades-old talks with Naga insurgent groups has made some progress recently (See “Differences ‘narrowed’,” Times of India, July 19, 2011). One reason why talks have a chance in these cases is that separatism comes in...