KEY TRENDS   • Section 105 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which provides for excluding 13 Central legislation, including Land Acquisition (Mines) Act 1885, Atomic Energy Act, 1962, Railway Act 1989, National Highways Act 1956 and Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, from its purview, has been amended for payment of compensation with rigours $ • The amendments have now...

The government is ready with a revised Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill 2010 that has kept the interest of farmers and landowners in mind, officials today asserted in the backdrop of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi’s strong pitch favouring a pro-farmer policy on the contentious issue. Officials in the Rural Development Ministry today hinted that the revised Bill may contain provisions that will allow for better and adequate compensation for those whose land...

The government will set up a National Tribal Council headed by the Prime Minister to monitor implementation of the many policies and schemes for tribals it has announced. The move comes at a time the Centre has identified tribal development as one of its two prongs to defeat the Maoists. The Congress too has stepped up efforts to woo back its once committed Adivasi vote bank, as Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit...

Will earmark regions out of bounds for mining To identify areas of dense forest cover where mining will not be allowed Bid to avert delay of projects and their getting stalled on environmental grounds Seeking to adopt a holistic approach to the issue of mining and avoid a repeat of the Niyamgiri incident, the Mines Ministry will soon draw up a new policy that would clearly earmark regions that would be out of...

The government is planning to put in place a more transparent Mining Policy by designating parts of mineral-rich regions as out of bounds for industry because of environmental concerns, a move that can avoid episodes such as the recent ban on mining at Niyamgiri in Orissa but could hurt expansion plans of companies located in such areas. The plan is to divide the country’s mineral-rich regions into so-called ‘go’ and...