In a major setback to the encroachers, the district administration has begun reclaiming land worth hundreds of crores of rupees from different areas of the city. Buildings constructed illegally on agricultural land along National Highway 8 were razed on Monday, while notices were issued to other encroachers. According to district administration, hundreds of acres of land given for agricultural purpose was misused by the owners and sold off illegally. The...

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has responded to Supreme Court's recommendations of distributing grains to the poor for free instead of letting them rot. "It's not possible to implement the Supreme Court's order," the minister said.   On August 13, the apex court had asked the Centre to consider free distribution of foodgrain to the hungry poor of the country instead of allowing it to rot in Food Corporation of India...

Uttar Pradesh may be ruled by a Dalit Chief Minister but poor Dalits in the state's rural areas continue to suffer under the oppression of upper caste politicians. One such case is that of a 50-year old dalit Budhai Ram of Sidhauli village in Sitapur district, 80 kilometres from Lucknow. Budhai Ram apparently made the mistake of filing a Right to Information petition at the office of the Sitapur district...

Ten bonded labourers from Orissa, including three women, were rescued from a hollow block unit in Tiruneermalai near Tambaram on Monday. Staff from the office of the Revenue Divisional Officer, Tambaram, rescued them with the help of two non-governmental organisations with police protection on Monday morning. They were brought to Tambaram and handed certificates identifying them as “victims of forced labour” that entitled them to government rehabilitation funds. They were also...

EVEN though the Right to Information Act guarantees citizens their right to know and expose corruption in government offices, increasing attacks on RTI activists have put this most important right in jeopardy. The RTI Act was enacted after a long struggle by civil rights organisations. However, those who dare question the ways of the powers that be and expose them are eliminated in cold-blooded murders. The manner in which Amit...