-The Times of India If the Cabinet approves the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2012, then squatters too will have to be given rehabilitation and resettlement packages if the land they occupy is acquired. Squatters will need to show that they have been working/living in the affected area for three years to be eligible for compensation. Infrastructure ministries are irked at this inclusion, especially the short eligibility period of three...

-The Indian Express In keeping with Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council's social welfare approach of rights-based entitlement, the government plans to rename the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) legislation as the Right to Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act (RTCRRTLA). The Department of Land Resources under Jairam Ramesh has suggested moving an official amendment to rename the Bill that was introduced in Parliament last September. The draft note suggests...

-The Telegraph Acquiring land for special economic zones may become tougher. The rural development ministry has redrafted the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Bill with a provision that says the proposed law would apply to land acquisition under the Special Economic Zone Act, 2005. This means if the redrafted bill is passed, landlosers will have to be consulted and their consent taken before their land can be acquired under the SEZ Act,...

The NAC lies defanged; the markets leap for joy at Manmohan’s & Co’s charge of a ‘new’ economy How swiftly things change. Just a month ago, the great Indian growth story was being written off. Now, the “new economy”, run by the PM-cum-FM, will sift through the rubble of under-seven per cent growth, find the hidden springs of recovery and throw in some reforms for good measure. A top taxman says...

With the threat of a failed monsoon and an impending drought, the need for public works and for greater numbers of workers will arise in many states, says National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy Despite all its seminal achievements, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act is at the receiving end of the most controversial critiques any government programme has received so far. We could perhaps invert this to say...