-The Hindu ‘Vision document mooted to designate them as ‘separate urban natural resources’ The Urban Development Ministry has constituted a working group to suggest ways to preserve water bodies. Rapid disappearance of water bodies from the urban landscape has sounded an alarm vis-à-vis water shortfall and has also put a considerable strain on States’ spending to meet the demand for water. A case in point is Bangalore. Despite having a Lake Development Authority that...

-Live Mint Incidents at Bhopal and Indore highlight irregularities and ethical violations in some trials In 2004, doctors at the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC), established exclusively for treating the victims of the 1984 gas leak, recruited unsuspecting survivors for clinical trials without their knowledge or consent; 14 participants died during the course of the trials. Together with the episode in Indore’s Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital (that Mint reported on 10...

-The Hindu Farmers’ protest against the proposed 1,980-MW power plant in the trans-Yamuna Karchhna tehsil of Allahabad district entered its 777th day on Tuesday. While the district administration recently served a month’s ultimatum on the farmers to return the compensation they had received for land acquisition, the farmers told The Hindu that they would not be able to repay the amount, regardless of the ultimatum. Meanwhile, they say they will continue agitating at...

-NDTV Shares in DLF, India's biggest real estate developer, slumped to a low of Rs. 229.50 Monday, indicating an over 5 per cent cut from Friday's close. Last week, anti-corruption activists Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan had alleged that DLF had gifted Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, a 65-crore interest-free loan and sweetheart deals on a series of apartments in Gurgaon. DLF shares traded at the bottom of...

-PTI The Prime Minister’s Office today termed “untrue and misleading” the claim that Rs 1,880 crore was spent on Sonia Gandhi’s overseas visits and treatment, without naming Narendra Modi. Manmohan Singh’s office asserted the government had spent no money on Sonia’s foreign trips or treatment, whether abroad or in India. “Media reports quoting certain quarters about massive expenses from the exchequer on the UPA chairperson’s overseas visits have been brought to the notice...