-The Hindu Implementation in a phased manner: Mohanan ALAPPUZHA (Kerala): Agriculture Minister K.P. Mohanan has said that the government is seriously considering a ban on use of chemical fertilizers in the State. He was inaugurating an exhibition-cum-sale of dairy, agricultural, and industrial products organised by the Chengannur block panchayat here on Wednesday evening. Mr. Mohanan said the government was mulling over implementing the ban in a phased manner from next year. He said a study...

-The Times of India BAREILLY: Farmers already owning more than 80 bighas of land in Meerganj tehsil and driving SUVs were given allotment of land meant for the poor, under government schemes. The divisional commissioner was reportedly surprised on receiving the information and has asked for a probe into the matter. The matter came to light when residents of Asadnagar Sisauna village, under Meerganj tehsil, reported large irregularities in the distribution of patta...

-The Hindu Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu): Efforts are under way to procure pulses, including black gram and green gram, directly from farmers in the district. These pulses would be procured with the help of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Marketing Federation at fair price from farmers to avoid middlemen, Collector M. Ravikumar said here on Monday. The procured pulses would be marketed through farm fresh vegetable outlet and also despatched to markets in Chennai. The...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: Vegetables are the noble folk of food world, loved equally by doctors and grandmothers. Vegetarians live off them and meat-eaters are told to live off them. But in Delhi, under every crunchy leaf of radish or the shiny brinjal hide dangerous amounts of pesticides that can slowly kill, shows a new study by JNU. Pritha Chatterjee and Aniruddha Ghosal report how growers, consumers and the authorities may...

-The Indian Express The Ministry of Rural Development seems undecided on whether to blame former Minister Nitin Gadkari or the media for some of the problems with the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). An internal note of the Ministry - prepared ahead of a Performance Review Committee meeting this month - blamed Gadkari for contributing to delays in the payment of wages under the scheme. Soon after...