-Outlook   In a boost to ongoing land acquisition for Posco project, Orissa government today accepted all the six core demands of the residents of plant site villages, including jobs and other facilities, officials said. "The demands of villagers are justified and, therefore, we accepted them. We have assured the members of United Action Committee (UAC) that the state government will consider their case sympathetically," Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) P K Mohapatra...

-The Times of India   The state government on Monday took yet another step forward in ensuring smooth land acquisition for the mega Posco steel plant in Jagatsinghpur, assuring to fulfil certain demands of a pro-industry outfit having considerable clout in the project area. At a meeting in Cuttack, the revenue divisional commissioner (central range) Pradipta Mohapatra assured representatives of the United Action Committee (UAC) that the government would consider fulfiling...

As NGOs gain traction in public and policy spaces, they face increasing pressure from the political class and citizens to reveal their sources of funding, show impact of their work, and demonstrate who they represent DHAN Foundation in Madurai has had a remarkable run in the southern heartland for over a decade, focusing on livelihoods, water and food security . Its work, particularly in tank-based watershed development, is an exemplar....

A state government announces it is going to acquire land for 'public purpose'. The public purpose is to hand over the land to a specific private company. It decides to do so through one of its corporations claiming there is urgency – which helps override any legal objections from the landowners. Everyone in the region and the state government knows who the land is intended for – Posco -- but...

-The Business Standard   The land acquisition for the 12 million tonne Posco steel plant in Orissa has picked up pace with United Action Committee, a pro Posco outfit active at the project site near Paradip, extending its support to the process. On the fifth day of the exercise today, the revenue officials demolished 36 betel vines on the government land and distributed compensation of Rs 57 lakh to the beneficiaries in...