THERE is money on offer, but the farmers of Halligudi, a hamlet of 5,500 people in Karnataka's Gadag district, are hardly happy at the prospect of 3,382 acres (one acre is 0.4 hectare) of farmland being acquired for a Rs.32,336-crore steel plant south of National Highway 63, which runs between Karwar and Bellary. The plant is to be set up by the Indian subsidiary of the South Korean steel major Posco...

A host of steel-manufacturing units are keen to set up plants in Karnataka, and all want captive mines. South Korea'S Posco is not the only steel-maker keen to do business in Karnataka. The State's estimated 9,000 million tonnes of good-quality iron ore reserves, which is the second largest in India, the State government's assurances on a smooth land acquisition process, the availability of water and the promise of speedy regulatory clearances...

Plans to hold an Asia level conference in Delhi in November The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), which plans to form an Asia-level alliance to give momentum to the street vendor movement in different parts of the continent, is planning to hold an Asia-level conference in Delhi in November later this year. The organisation hopes the Union Housing and Urban Poverty Ministry will be a key partner for this...

Batting for a Posco steel plant in Gadag, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa says the government will try to persuade farmers to part with their land. The situation does not warrant the South Korean steelmaker to relocate from Halligudi in Gadag district to anywhere rlse in the state. "The government is trying to convince the farmers; the company stays in Gadag. We hope that everything will go well,'' he told...

The groundswell of public opinion is firmly against South Korean steelmaker Posco. Of the 536 farmers whose lands are to be acquired for the proposed Rs 32,000-crore integrated steel plant, 365 have said a clear 'no' . Just 25 farmers have agreed to hand over land provided they are paid a compensation of Rs 25 lakh per acre. The proposed compensation could be between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 8...