-Economic and Political Weekly   Much work remains to be done if the new Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act has to mark a meaningful shift for India's adivasi communities. Chitrangada Choudhury (chitrangada@csds.in) Chitrangada Choudhury (chitrangada@csds.in) is a multimedia journalist and researcher, and currently with the Publics and Policies program at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi. Among the worst excesses committed in India's six decade-old democracy, the forcible displacment...

-The Business Standard The process prescribed in the law is so cumbersome and time consuming that neither industry nor landowner will benefit Fast economic growth in the last two decades has increased demand for land from many sources, such as infrastructure, industry, mining, and urbanisation, including real estate. Even when these activities are funded privately and are driven by profit motive, they serve a social purpose since employment generation per unit of...

-Economic and Political Weekly The government has notified a Draft Land Reforms Policy which, on paper, has all the requisites of an earnest programme. Yet, the near total failure of earlier efforts at land reforms in India leave little room for hope that something substantial will at last be done to combat landlessness. Harsh Mander (manderharsh@gmail.com) is with the Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi, and works with survivors of mass violence,...

-The Hindu Palakkad (Kerala): The Scheduled Caste Development Department has recommended the Government to cancel the acquisition of 3.5795 hectares of land of nine tribal families for a private company for granite mining at Dhanyam tribal hamlet in Padavayal village of Attappady. Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) officer of Attappady P.V. Radhakrishnan, on the complaint of usurping tribal land, on Friday said that the acquisition of all their land including houses made...

-The Hindu Kozhikode (Kerala): The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has intervened in the problem of malnutrition deaths plaguing the tribal belts of Attappady in Palakkad district in the State. A letter written by T.K.A. Nair, Adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has urged Kerala Chief Secretary E.K. Bharat Bhushan to take preventive measures to find an amicable solution to the grave problem. (As many as 54 children have reportedly died owing to...