-The Hindu     They used a legal loophole to violate environmental norms Ninety-four of the 192 iron ore mining leases in Odisha do not have the mandatory environmental clearances. And of the 96 that did have them, 75 have mined far beyond their permitted levels over the past several years, the Justice M.B. Shah Commission report on illegal iron and manganese ore mining has said. The Hindu has accessed parts of the report,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The law to check Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace came into force this week, about eight months after it received the president's assent. Union minister for women and child development (WCD) Krishna Tirath told Parliament that the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, came into force from December 9. The ministry also informed the House that complaints of sexual...

-The Hindu Compensation sought for those who died of asphyxiation Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Hundreds of members of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) seeking abolition of manual scavenging were arrested when they picketed the arterial Anna Salai on Tuesday. Their demands included compensation for those died of asphyxiation in manholes, abolition of manual scavenging on the premises of railways and framing of rules under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and...

-The Hindu     To be able to deliver appropriate legal services to the rural and tribal communities, we need an alternative delivery system with a different model of legal service providers Delivery of legal services to the rich and the corporate class is organised not through individual lawyers but through a series of networked law firms. These firms employ hundreds of lawyers and domain experts all over the country to provide highly specialised...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Several persons with disabilities (PWDs) who crack one of the toughest exams in the country and get selected for the civil services are routinely rejected with the government claiming there is no suitable service for them. They are good enough to overcome their disability and get selected for the civil services after clearing two levels of exams and the interview, but the Department of Personnel and...