-PTI   Kerala High Court stayed the government decision to takeover about 85.21 acres of tribal land occupied by Suzlon Energy Ltd at ecologically sensitive Attapady hills in Palakkad district.  The order was issued by Justice P N Ravindran while admitting a writ petition by Suzlon challenging the government decision to takeover the land, allegedly belonging to the tribals, and the two wind mills set up in the land.  According to the company, resumption...

The approach paper for the 12th Five-Year Plan with focus on faster, sustained and inclusive growth is candid and forward-looking. On poverty reduction, the document notes, without comment, the annual trend decline of 0.8% accelerating to 1% during 2004-05 to 2009-10, against a promised target of 2% in the 11th Plan. It emphasises that India will easily meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of halving poverty by 2015, over 25...

The recent Cabinet nod to the National Food Security Bill triggered a flurry of criticism in the mainstream media, focusing mainly on the financial implications. The cost of the Bill obviously needs careful scrutiny and public debate, but it’s a little sad to see so much concern with the cost, and so little interest in what the Bill can do to improve people’s lives. The barrage of attacks was predictable —...

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh is learnt to have reluctantly agreed to file an appeal against a Karnataka High Court verdict in September that NREGS wages cannot be fixed lower than what is prescribed under the Minimum Wages Act. For over a month, Ramesh was opposed to the idea of appealing against the ruling. Government sources told The Indian Express that the Rural Development Minister “agreed with protest” to appeal against...

The ministry of rural development has decided to challenge a Karnataka High Court order that directed the government to pay minimum wages to MG-NREGA workers. The court order had led to a tussle within the government over whether the order should be challenged or not. While rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, who is monitoring the UPA flagship aam-admi scheme, spoke against challenging the order, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee advised him to...